Stories about Human Rights from July, 2015
Malaysia Blocks News Website and Suspends Two Local Papers for Reporting on Government Corruption
"Our report is based on evidence corroborated by documents that include bank transfers and statements. How can the work we have done be deemed as a political conspiracy?"
China Blocks Telegram Messenger for ‘Aiding Rights Advocates’
Chinese state-run newspaper People's Daily accused Telegram of aiding human-rights lawyers and advocates, who allegedly used the app and its "Secret Chat" mode to engage in “anti-government" activity.
What You Need to Know About Ethiopia v. Zone9 Bloggers: Verdict Expected July 20
Ethiopia's Zone9 bloggers have appeared in court 30 times in 15 months, and been adjourned each time. "This is no anomaly in Ethiopia’s highly compromised judiciary system," says Endalk Chala.
In Sweeping Effort to Spy on Civil Society, Macedonia Broke Its Own Privacy Laws
"When such a government wiretaps you, it means that you are on the right track," says NGO worker Xhabir Deralla.
Bahrain Releases Human Rights Activist Nabeel Rajab, Only to Send Another Activist Back to Jail
Bahrain released from prison rights activist Nabeel Rajab, and then renewed the detention of political leader Ibrahim Sharif for 15 days. Is the government playing chess with political dissidents?
Serbian Authorities Take Control of A Man's Facebook Account Following Alleged Threats Against PM Vucic
Police in Serbia seem to have overstepped boundaries in search and seizure proceedings, taking over a personal Facebook account without a court order.
Ethiopians React to Bloggers’ Release With Compassion, Criticism
Supporters of the Zone9 blogging collective are expressing both joy and bitterness at the release of some -- but not all -- of the bloggers from prison last week.
Digital Citizen 3.3
Digital Citizen is a biweekly review of news, policy, and research on human rights and technology in the Arab World.
Bangladesh Activists Have Little Faith in Blogger Murder Investigations
"They are [attacking] bloggers because the Internet penetration is still low in the country and they want to silence freedom of speech that exposes their narratives and political message."
ISIS Hacks Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Website and Threatens its Director
The ISIS cyber army allegedly threatened Observatory director Rami Abdelrahman for his role in documenting human rights abuses committed by all parties in the ongoing war in Syria.
Netizen Report: Ethiopians Demand Release of All Jailed Journalists Approaching Obama Visit
As five of the Ethiopia's Zone9 bloggers walk free, with four still in prison, Venezuela blames Internet outages on protesters and Arab activists respond to the Hacking Team hack.
Five Ethiopian Journalists Freed From Prison, But Others Remain Behind Bars
Alongside an outpouring of joy and disbelief over the bloggers' release, supporters urged each other to keep "tantrummin" until there are no more journalists jailed in Ethiopia.
For Arab Human Rights Defenders, Hacking Team Files Confirm Suspicions of State Surveillance
"Rights groups knew Egypt using Hacking Team spyware since 2012; Sunday's hack just proved it," says Egyptian activist Ramy Raoof.
Edom Kassaye: An Ethiopian Journalist Jailed for Her Integrity
"I believe it was Edom’s willingness to bring about change in Ethiopia’s polarized political environment that suggested an affinity between her and the Zone9 blogging collective. We shared common principles."