· April, 2012

Stories about Freedom of Speech from April, 2012

Azerbaijan: Free Bakhtiyar Hajiyev

  15 April 2012

NetProphet comments on the case of Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, a young activist in Azerbaijan who was sentenced to two years in prison on what international human rights groups consider politically motivated charges, and a new campaign to have him freed.

Armenia: Support for Georgi Vanyan

  14 April 2012

Following the cancellation last week of a festival of Azerbaijani films in Armenia amid threats of violence, alternative voices online comment on the campaign targeting the organizer, peace activist Georgi Vanyan.

Colombia: Photo Exhibit Creator Denounces Attack on Freedom of Expression

  13 April 2012

In the blog El Salmón [es], Carlos Alberto Castaño denounces [es] the confiscation by Bogotá police of his photo exhibition, “Realities, because the eye and the lens do not lie.” Castaño writes about violation of freedom of expression and political persecution due to the content of the gallery, where he denounces “the...

Colombia: Congress Approves “Lleras Law 2″

  11 April 2012

The Colombian Congress approved yesterday, April 10, the proposed Law 201 (2012) on author rights and intellectual property. This has generated many reactions, becoming a local Trending Topic on Twitter under the hashtags #LeyLleras2 [es], #SoyDelincuente [es] (“I'm a criminal”) and TLC [es] (Free Trade Agreement). Anonymous blocked [es] Government websites, and a march has been...

Cuba: No Calm After Papal Storm

  11 April 2012

“The visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Cuba left a storm of arrests, blocked phone lines, and beatings against non-violent dissidents”: Cuban bloggers note that dissidents are suffering in the aftermath of the papal visit.

China: Bo Xilai's Scandals

  11 April 2012

Former Chongqing leader Bo Xilai's corruption scandal and his wife's suspected murder of Neil Heywood topped today's news headline. Yet Chinese authorities still forbid netizens to discuss about the incident by blocking out a long list of sensitive words. One question that netizens asked was what if the murder case...

Thailand: Internet Freedom Threats and Violations

  9 April 2012

Aim Sinpeng reports that internet censorship has continued in Thailand despite the victory of the opposition in the last elections. The government continues to block thousands of websites for violating the local laws. Several bloggers were also arrested for allegedly insulting the Royal Family.

Cuba: Unholy Actions

  9 April 2012

Pedazos de la Isla reports on the “wave of terror” that plagued the island's dissidents over Holy Week, here and here.

Grenada, Barbados: The Fallout over Journalist's Firing

  9 April 2012

Rawle Titus -veteran journalist and president of the Media Workers Association of Grenada since 2008- was dismissed from his post as editor of the Grenada Advocate after he refused to retract or apologize for a front-page story. As yet another regional journalist pays the price for standing by his story, bloggers are wondering about the state of press freedom in the Caribbean.

Iran: Electronic Curtain in Animation

  9 April 2012

Here is a video cartoon, portraying what Iranian users face in Iran for connecting to the Internet. The video invites online users around the world to follow #ConnectIran tag on twitter.

China: Struggle to Remember Fang Lizhi

  9 April 2012

Chinese intellectual Fang Lizhi, who inspired a whole generation of student activists during the 1980s, passed away on April 6, 2012 in the United States, at the age of 76. Authorities were quick to ban the news from the Internet and Chinese netizens now have to struggle with web censors to remember Fang.