Stories about TOPICS from February, 2011
Saudi women demand their rights, on Twitter
It is season for change in the Middle East and Arab world and Saudi women don't want to be left behind. They are now taking their demand for equality online-at...
Syrian Blogger Ahmad Abu al-Khair Arrested This Morning
Close friends of Syrian blogger Ahmad Abu al-Khair reported that he was arrested this morning at 5:00 am local time on his way back to Damascus from the coastal city of Banias. Security forces allegedly have also confiscated his personal computers. His whereabouts are currently unknown.
Human Rights Video, Privacy and Visual Anonymity in the Facebook Age
The successful nationwide organizing and subsequent protests in Egypt to oust the 30-year regime of President Hosni Mubarak have in part been facilitated by Facebook. But as media and technology commentators and human rights activists alike are noting, using Facebook for activism is fraught with risks.
Advocacy Recap: Part II
Last week, we looked back at the US government's handling of G20 summit protesters and pro-democracy bloggers in Vietnam facing persecution. Now let us talk about the Purdue University Professor who...
Thailand: Free speech on trial – day five
Day Five – Police scientist testifies for prosecution ((Please also read day one, day two, day three and day four trial.) The fifth day of trial continued on Friday for...
Thailand: Free speech on trial – day four
Day four: MICT and police lawyers testify (Please also read day one, day two and day three trial) The trial of Chiranuch Premchaiporn, independent news portal Prachatai’s webmaster continued Thursday...
Thailand: Free speech on trial – day three
Day Three – MICT’s legal advisor testifies: “Freedom has its limits.” (Day one and day two trial) The third day for prosecution witnesses in the trial of Prachatai webmaster Chiranuch...
Thailand: Free speech on trial (day two)
Day Two: Thailand’s chief censor continues in Prachatai trial (Day one trial see) The second day in the lèse majesté trial against Chiranuch Premchaiporn, webmaster of Thai independent news portal,...
China: Censorship instructions in January 2011
In China, censorship instructions are issued by a number of government and CCP authorities. The China Digital Times has translated a number of censorship instructions issued in January 2011 to...
Advocacy Recap
After blogging about free speech issues and dangers faced by bloggers and reporters in various parts of the world, I think it would be nice to look back and check...
Thai webmaster facing 50 years for lèse majesté postings
The trial of Chiranuch Premchaiporn, nicknamed Jiew, opened on Friday at Bangkok’s Criminal Court, the venue changed to Courtroom 701. A larger courtroom was needed due to an unprecedented number of observers from numerous Thai and foreign NGOs, local and international media, and foreign embassies.
Malaysia too wants to monitor the bloggers
Following Saudi Arabia's decision to closely monitor bloggers and online news sites, Malaysia is proposing guidelines to reign in the blogosphere. The Malay Mail said on January 27,2011, Yesterday, Minister...
As International Privacy Day is Celebrated, Governments Continue to Chip Away at Privacy Rights
“Effective data protection is vital for our democracies and underpins other fundamental rights and freedoms.” – Viviane Reding, Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and...