Global Voices · December, 2012

Latest posts by Global Voices from December, 2012

#FastforBassel: Campaign Launched for Syrian Netizen Facing Military Trial

  19 December 2012

Bassel Khartabil, also known as Bassel Safadi, is on military trial in Syria, where he is denied a lawyer. The open source software engineer and Creative Commons volunteer has been in jail since March. Supporters around the world have just launched a #FastforBassel campaign on Twitter to raise awareness about his case.

Women Banned from Using Mobile Phones in Indian Villages

  9 December 2012

A village council in the Indian state of Bihar has banned women from using mobile phones because it is “debasing the social atmosphere” and leading couples to elope. Similar bans have also been seen in other parts of India.

Tajik Official Blocks Facebook and Summons its CEO

  6 December 2012

The chief of the state-run telecommunications service in Tajikistan has ordered Facebook blocked and asked the social network's CEO to travel to the Central Asian country and meet with him. Tajik internet users now ridicule the official.

Cuba: Democracy Advocate Rodiles Released; Blogger Diversent Remains Detained

  5 December 2012

Antonio Rodiles, curator of the independent scholarly forum Estado de SATS, was released in Havana last Wednesday after enduring over three weeks of detention. Rodiles was arrested on November 7, along with numerous other bloggers and civil society advocates on the island, including well-known blogger and attorney Laritza Diversent, author of the blog Jurisconsulto de Cuba (Cuban Legal Advisor). There has been no report of Diversent’s release as of December 3, 2012.

Ecuadorian Blogger Paúl Moreno Detained

  2 December 2012

Ecuadorian blogger Paúl Moreno (@paulcoyote) was detained on charges of fraudulent access to computer systems, after he accessed President Rafael Correa's personal database in an attempt to show the vulnerability of an official website.