Featured stories from December 2008
Stories from December, 2008
Iran: Blogger sentenced to prison
Several Iranian news sites such as Amir Kabir [fa], a student site, reported Omid Reza MirSyafi, Iranian blogger and journalist, was sentenced to 36 months prison. He was accused of insulting Iranian religious leaders and doing propaganda against Islamic Republic.
Cuba: Government Officials Tell Bloggers to Cancel Planned Meeting
A Cuban blogger meet-up scheduled for December 6 is in danger of being cancelled by the authorities. The event, which has been in the planning stage for months and had 25 confirmed attendees, is being deemed “counterrevolutionary.” This is according to a recent conversation between officials from the Interior Ministry and one of the island's most well-known bloggers Yoaní Sánchez of Generación Y, who was one of the bloggers recently summoned to the local police station.
The Internet and the Struggle for Voice in Repressive Regime Contexts
(Copenhagen 10-11 November 2008) I attended a Research seminar on Digital Media in Repressive RegimesPublic sphere, civic engagement and political mobilization (.Pdf) hosted by The Danish Institute for Human Rights. This is a video of a talk given by Mariam Memarsadeghi about the Internet and the Struggle for Voice in...
Croatian man arrested for creating a Facebook Group against Prime Minister
Niksa Klecak, the 22 -year-old Croatian who created an anti-PM Facebook Group “I bet I will find 5,000 people who do not like the Prime minister” [Ivo Sanader], has been arrested for allegedly promoting neo-Nazi materials. The police claimed that they found some Nazi symbols and propaganda at his home. Niksa Klecak has been then released by the police due to lack of evidence.
Egypt: Conference to Call for Blogger Release; Another Held in a Military Camp
Egyptian cyberactivists are gathering for a conference being held in Cairo tomorrow (December 4), to call for the release of young Egyptian blogger Mohamed Adel. Meanwhile, blogger Mohamed Khairi, is being held in a military camp.
Iran: Five million dollars for new filtering project
According to several news site including Roozonline, Mahmoud Salarkia,a senior Iranian justice official, said that five million dollars are invested to develop new tools for filtering.
