Stories about Freedom of Speech from January, 2012
Cuba: Hunger Striking Prisoner Close to Death
Cuban bloggers are concerned that there could be a repeat of what happened to political prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo, and draw attention to the plight of Wilman Villar Mendoza, who...
Bermuda: Lack of Political Dialogue
politics.bm thinks that tIt speaks volumes about the PLP's interest in informed dialogue that two brief fact based and civil comments that I posted on their Facebook page were deleted...
Iran: Iranian site is striking against censorship in U.S.A
Amsterdam based Iranian Arseh Sevom site is striking against SOPA and PIPA which seek to deploy online censorship and surveillance in the name of enforcing copyright, employing the same tools...
Iran: More web activists got arrested
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says [fa] Iran has arrested two web activists last week; Mohammad SoleimaniNia, who “hosts and manages websites of many Iranian civil society communities and intellectuals and...
Iran: Second blogger arrested in Tehran
Iranian authorities arrested Marzieh Rasouli, journalist and blogger, last night in Tehran. She writes stories and narrations of her daily life in ‘3 Rouz Pish’ [fa]. This is the second...
Nicaragua: Telecom Company CLARO Censors Clients
The perseverance of Nicaragua's internet community through social networks in denouncing the censorship act by CLARO Nicaragua was the reason the company stopped stonewalling and lifted the access block on the website claroqueno.com.
Global Online Community Protests U.S. Anti-Piracy Bills
Today, January 18, is an important day for the Internet. Corporate websites, from Google to Twitpic, along with civil society groups and individuals, have all joined together in a common cause: to protest two American bills that could have grave effects for global online free expression.
Brazil/Portugal: “Word of Mouth” Launches Online Channel
On January 16, Portuguese-Brazilian independent media collective Passa Palavra (Word of Mouth) [pt] launched the website PassaPalavra.tv – an online channel that brings together independently produced audio-visual materials. Through sharing...
Iran: Jailed Islamic Cleric and Blogger on Hunger Strike
Islamic cleric and blogger, Mohammad Sadegh (Arash) Honarvar Shojayi, is on hunger strike in prison in Iran to protest the four year prison sentence he received in October 2011 for defaming the regime and clergy.
Cuba: Citizen Media Workshop
Crossing the Barbed Wire blogs about a recent workshop “about the basics of citizen journalism and what could be done with the new information technologies”, adding: “The importance of what...
Cuba: Tackling Racism
Iván's File Cabinet profiles “two of the most lucid and coherent voices on the map of Cuban opposition”, who are fighting for democracy and “racial integration for the those of...
Video Highlights: Activism, Freedom of Speech, Identity and Culture
A selection of Global Voices' recent and interesting stories including video from Middle East and North Africa, Sub Saharan Africa, Western, Eastern and Central Europe, East Asia and Latin America, selected by Juliana Rincón Parra.
Iran: We can not achieve freedom with virtual world
Ghorghrou says [fa]” we can not achieve freedom with virtual world…we make a mistake thinking all Iranians in country are as informed as a group of Iranians in Facebook or...
Morocco: Activist Rapper Freed
Mouad Belghouat "Al Haked" (The Indignant), a 24-year-old Moroccan rap artist and outspoken critic of Morocco's monarchy, was released on Thursday from prison where he had been held since last September. The announcement of Mouad's release spread like fire on Facebook and Twitter as several supporters rushed to the prison to welcome him.
Brazil: Student Protests Against Bus Fare Increases in Piaui
Since the beginning of the year, thousands of students have been protesting against the increase in bus fares in the capital of the state of Piaui. The demonstrators are forcefully kept down by the Military Police. They have reacted by setting fire to at least one bus, and dozens of students have been arrested.
Cuba: Prison Conditions
Pedazos de la Isla posts a letter by dissident Ivonne Malleza who, along with her husband and another citizen, have been imprisoned for over a month, ever since being arrested...
South Korea: National Security Law Draws Intense Criticism
North Korea Tech wrote a blog post on South Korea’s controversial National Security Law that bans display and distribution of North Korean material. Recently, several citizens were arrested under this law for posting...
North Korea Punishing People Who Did Not Mourn Enough for Kim Jong Il
A news report came out saying North Korean authorities have begun to punish citizens who did not display enough sadness at Kim Jong Il's funeral. Bloggers have already raised suspicions...
Cuba: Ahmadinejad's Visit
The Iranian president's visit to Cuba has caused much discussion among bloggers, here, here and here.
Cameroon: Essayist and Blogger Arrested and Charged with Robbery
Enoh Meyomesse, a Cameroonian writer and blogger, was arrested on November 22, 2011, at Nsimalen airport in Yaoundé, Cameroon on his way back from Singapore. Charged with robbery by the military court of Bertoua, in the north of the country, he is now detained at Nkondengui prison in Yaoundé.
Greece: Criticism of Politicians During Theophany Celebrations
In Greece, January 6 is the national holiday of Theophany. Every year, government and civic officials attend the celebrations and make official statements. However, due to the economic, political and social crisis in Greece, this year's celebrations were marked by strong expressions of disapproval and criticism of politicians.