Stories about Advocacy from December, 2011
Netizen Report: Remembrance Edition
Vaclav Havel, a poet, playwright, dissident, last president of Czechoslovakia, and first president of the Czech Republic, died on Dec 18 at age 75. His story and words continue to inspire people around the world to fight against repression. Netizens around the world are doing their best to resist injustice and abuse of power, as events of the past fortnight make clear.
Iran: Blogger May Face Death Penalty
Several bloggers and news sites reported [fa] that Mohammad Reza Pour Shajari, a jailed blogger , may face charge of ‘Waging War Against God’ (moharebeh). A death sentence can be pronounced in this case. He criticized Islam and Islamic Republic in his blog, Iran Land's Report.
China: Real Name Registration for Micro-blogging
The Beijing city government introduced a new set of regulations on December 16, 2011 to control the flow of information in micro-blogging platforms. The Beijing Municipal Regulations Concerning the Development and Control of Microblogs [zh] (English version via Bill Bishop) requires users to register their real identity before posting messages...
Bahrain: Blogger Zainab Al-Khawaja Brutally Arrested
Bahraini blogger Zainab Al-Khawaja, whose tweets @angryarabiya are keeping the world up-to-date with atrocities committed by the Bahraini regime against protesters, was brutally arrested on Friday. The mother of a two-year-old, whose father and husband are in jail, has been detained for seven days pending investigation. Netizens were on the ground and documented her arrest.
Iran: Jailed blogger on hunger strike
Hossein Ronaghi Maleki, jailed blogger, is on hunger strike [fa] over his jail's conditions. Hossein is serving a 15 year prison sentence in the security ward of Evin Prison.
SOPA undermines the U.S. in its negotiations for a free, open Internet
Yesterday, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) approved a Recommendation on Principles for Internet Policy Making [pdf]. It contains a set of 14 principles intended as a blueprint guiding Internet policy development for its 34 member states. Many of these principles uphold core values we have long championed:...
For Chinese Netizens, SOPA is Another Great Firewall
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), which expected to brought to a vote in U.S. House of Representatives before the end of the year, has spawned sarcastic commentary around the Chinese-language Internet. The Chinese government has long been criticized by Americans for obstructing the free flow of information through a filtering system popularly known as the Great Firewall. Now it is Chinese neitzens' turn to sneer at proposals for a Made-in-America Great Firewall.
