Latest posts by sami ben gharbia from August, 2007
Chinese cartoon cops patrolling websites
From September, 1st, Beijing’s new virtual cops will be active on 13 of China’s portals, including China’s biggest blog-hosting services, Sohu.com and Sina.com. By the end of the year, the virtual police’s patrols are expected to cover all websites registered with Beijing servers.
GV Advocacy: Toward a Global anti-censorship Network
During the last six months, since the launch of Global Voices Advocacy, we have been trying to cover the increasingly serious threats to online speech occurring around the globe and the efforts to combat them. We’ve documented the arrest and detention of scores of bloggers and online authors and highlighted several anti-censorship campaigns, reports of Internet censorship, blocked blogs and websites.
Thailand: WordPress.com blocked
On August 22th, 2007, access to wordpress.com blogging platform has been blocked by TOT (Telecommunication Authority) preventing Thai Internet users from accessing Thai WordPress and all blogs hosted on wordpress.com. “A notice has been shown when trying to access any WordPress page: “Sorry. TOT Plc., as an organization of Thai...
The Committee to Protect Bloggers is back
The Committee to Protect Bloggers (CPB) “the first organization devoted to the free speech and personal liberty of bloggers worldwide, has come back after a 1+ year hiatus, with a tighter focus. Our primary goal is to act as the comprehensive clearinghouse for information on threatened bloggers and on threats...
UAE: online forum administrator sentenced to prison
Earlier this month, on August 8th, Mohamed Rashed al-Shohhi, an online forum administrator in the Emirate of Ras Al-Khaimah (UAE) has been sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of nearly US$ 13,600 (Dh50,000) for content deemed defamatory published by anonymous on the popular forum board he moderated...
Turkey: wordpress.com ban inspires firestorm of criticism
Matthew Mullenweg, founding developer of the popular WordPress blogging platform, has received a letter from the lawyers acting on behalf of a Turkish Islamic-creationist, Adnan Oktar, aka Harun Yahya, claiming to be responsible for the blanket ban on blogs hosted on the wordpress.com blogging platform in Turkey. On August 17th, 2007, the Turkish Fatih Second Civil Court of First Instance blocked access to all wordpress.com blogs in response to a suit filed by Adnan Oktar’s lawyers on the grounds that blogs hosted on the platform published allegedly defamatory and “unlawful” statements about their client.
Kuwaiti blogger Bashar Al-Sayegh released!
It has been reported that Bashar Al-Sayegh, the Kuwaiti blogger who has been arrested earlier this week for comment posted by an anonymous on his forum, has been released.
Let Hoder Speak!
Following the suspension of Hossein Derakhshan’s blog (aka Hoder) by the U.S. based hosting company, Hosting Matters, an online petition has been launched by The Eyeranian in support of Hoder’s right to freedom of speech: “Hoder, like all of us, has a right to express his opinion. Opinions expressed in...
Turkey blocks popular blogging platform WordPress.com
The popular, and free, blogging platform WordPress.com has been blocked in Turkey and those who are trying to visit it are seeing this message: “Access to this site has been suspended in accordance with decision no: 2007/195 of T.C. Fatih 2.Civil Court of First Instance.” “I didn’t realize Turkey had...
China: Cyber-dissident jailed for four years.
A Chinese court in the southeastern province of Zhejiang jailed Chen Shuqing, an online author and a founding member of the banned China Democracy Party, for four years on charges of “inciting to subvert state power”. “It's totally wrong to convict him … He was only expressing his political views....
Hossein Derakhshan’s blog is suspended
The blog of the Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan (aka Hoder) has been suspended by the U.S. based hosting company, Hosting Matters, after a complaint filed by lawyers representing Mehdi Khalaji, Next Generation fellow at The Washington Institute. The complaint -not filed to the court- centered on allegedly defamatory content published...
Monaco: webmaster accused of defaming the Head of State
In Monaco (Principality of Monaco), Marc Giacone, the owner of a new satirical website, featuring cartoons allegedly defaming and ridiculing the Prince Albert II and other local politicians risks a 6 month prison sentence and a fine of 1500€. The website, Monaco Politic Circus, which was meant to imitate the...
Part Two: Defending online free speech and environmental rights in Bulgaria
In Part One of this article, I outlined recent threats to the Bulgarian environment and the vibrant web-led protest movement that developed in response. In this article I speak to Milena Bokova, BlueLink Information Network executive director, who talks about the intimidation against her colleague, blogger Michel Bozgounov, the threats to the freedom of online expression in her country, and the Bluelink Freenet Campaign.
Bahrain blocks websites critical of the government
“Bahraini authorities launched a campaign against political and human rights websites, which criticize government policies”, The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights reported today, providing a list of the blocked websites: Bahrain center for Human Rights (BCHR), Bahrain Forums, National Edifice Forums, Al-Saheefa newspaper website, Modern Discussion Rezgar website, the...
Part One: Defending online free speech and environmental rights in Bulgaria
The June 29, 2007 decision of the Bulgarian Administrative Court (VAS) to remove the protected status of the National Park Strandzha, has evoked a strong reaction from the Bulgarian blogsphere and also from the country's vibrant environmental movement. The two groups have united to defend the country's largest protected area, which is located on the South Black Sea coast, with its unique eco-systems, biodiversity, cultural and historical heritage.
Belarus to increase its control of the Internet
President Alexandre Lukashenko is planning to increase the control of the Internet. “If we read what is posted there, we will see that it serves as a platform not only for the opposition, but for voices and nations that are hostile to us,” Lukashenko said, urging his government to “put...
Tunisia: online writer freed and website editor to appear in court
On Tuesday, 24 July 2007, the Tunisian government has released the human rights lawyer and online writer Mohammed Abbou who had been jailed for nearly 28 months. Mr Abbou was arrested in March 2005 and sentenced to prison for three-and-a-half years for writing online articles criticizing the Tunisian penitentiary system...
sami ben gharbia's space
I'm the co-founder of several Tunisian online projects:
Nawaat (The Core)
