I´m a Spanish-Syrian activist based in Madrid. I teach Communications at Carlos III University, where I am currently starting my PhD. I write about human rights with a special focus on the Middle East and North Africa. Obsessed with freedom of speech.
Latest posts by Leila Nachawati
A Love Letter to Jailed Syrian-Palestinian Bassel Khartabil
As the ongoing strife in Syria fades from international headlines, Leila Nachawati writes an appeal inspired by a love letter to jailed blogger Bassel Safadi written on Valentine's Day.
Israel Struggles to Win “Hearts and Minds” in Media War on Palestine
Israeli social media strategist Niv Calderon is waging a war of words on Palestine. “There is a media war, and each citizen, each computer user, is a soldier,” he says.
AB14: “We Must Stop Thinking That Technology Will Solve All of Our Problems”
The Arab Bloggers Meeting focused on working against censorship and surveillance, and the preservation of common bonds in a milieu that feels more and more fragmented each day.
Coursera Blocked in Syria — by US Sanctions [UPDATE]
The US federal government that has forced Coursera and other Massive Online Open Course providers to block access for users in sanctioned countries such as Syria and Iran.
Syrian Activists: Crimes Against Media Workers Must Stop
Media organizations in Syria speak out against the increasing harassment of journalists by jihadist groups in the country.
Facebook's Suspicious Behavior
Dead people liking stuff on Facebook. Living people liking and sharing stuff without their knowledge. Leila Nachawati investigates Facebook's unusual behavior.
International Day to End Impunity: Join the Campaign
To demand justice for all artists, journalists, musicians and writers who are forcibly silenced around the world, IFEX has decided to name November 23 the International Day to End Impunity. Join in!
EU to Tighten Rules on Surveillance Technology Exports
“It is unacceptable that regimes in Syria and Iran can use European technologies to violate human rights”. Marietje Schaake Activists have been fighting the battle against technology exports to repressive countries...
Syria Files: More Western technology for the Syrian regime
Western technology has played a key role in providing the Syrian regime with tools to track and repress citizens for years. The latest Wikileaks files on Syria, which include more than two million emails from political figures and companies, reveal that the involvement of Western companies in the crackdown against Syrian citizens has continued despite sanctions and international pressure.
US and European firms help Syrian regime spy on citizens
To track and surveil citizens online, repressive regimes in the Middle East and North Africa have relied on Western technology for years. US company BlueCoat has been accused for months...
Detained Bloggers and Journalists in Syria: The List Gets Longer
Since the street protest movement began in March 2011 in Syria, threats and physical attacks against journalists have increased. The list of detained bloggers and journalists gets longer and includes foreign journalists arrested and deported. Among the latest, prominent blogger and programmer Hussein Ghrer, who disappeared on October 24.
Syria: Prominent Blogger Disappears in Damascus
Syrian blogger Hussein Ghrer left his home in Damascus on Monday, October 24, and has not come back. He is a thirty-year-old married father of two. The most recent post on Ghrer's blog focuses on the arrest earlier this year of now-released Syrian blogger Anas Maarawi in the context of freedom in Syria.
BlueCoat: US technology surveilling Syrian citizens online
In the context of repression in the Middle East and North Africa, surveillance technology has played a key role in providing authoritarian regimes with the tools necessary to track citizens online. Among these companies, BlueCoat has proved to be the most efficient in helping the Syrian regime control every movement of Syrians on the Internet.
Bahrain: Leading blogger Ali Abdulemam sentenced to 15 years in prison, along with other human rights defenders
Nine months after leading blogger and human rights activist Ali Abdulemam was arrested along with other political and human rights activists in Bahrain, a military court has sentenced him...
Syrian uprisings and official vs. decentralized communications
The world looks at Syria for the first time in decades, while hundreds of thousands of citizens demonstrate against the regime that has ruled the country for almost 50 years....
Spanish intellectual property law and global netfreedom
Many of the challenges and threats that Egyptians, Tunisians or Libyans are facing are global and affect civil societies as a whole. Among these is the threat against the Internet...
