Stories about Legal Threats from June, 2015
Jailed in Singapore For Criticizing a Former Prime Minister, But Still Blogging
"Everyday my cellmates would eagerly wait for that light to dissipate, knowing that another day has passed, and they’re one day closer to attaining their freedom."
Abel Wabela: “To Fight Bystander Apathy…This is My Mission as a Human”
"Warnings, intimidations, arrest and torture have not stopped me from exercising my free speech rights," says Abel Wabela, one of Ethiopia's Zone9 bloggers who have been jailed since April 2014.
Arrested for Criticizing a Former Prime Minister, Singaporean Teen Blogger Amos Yee is Now Being Evaluated for Autism
Amos Yee was arrested last March after he uploaded a YouTube video criticizing Lee Kuan Yew. After several rounds of court hearings, authorities have decided to evaluate Yee for autism.
Digital Citizen 3.2
Digital Citizen is a biweekly review of news, policy, and research on human rights and technology in the Arab World.
Police Shootings, Helicopter Crashes, and Bystanders with Cameras: Weighing the Rights of “Accidental Journalists”
The rise in eye-witness documentation of police violence in the United States raises many interesting questions about the rights of witnesses and the public interest value of their work.
Long After the African Union’s Golden Jubilee: A Letter to Jailed Blogger Natnael Feleke
"I think of your particular fate and wonder how any of us who are free continue to go about our lives as if there’s nothing to lose."
Singaporean Teenage Video Blogger Sent to ‘Rehabilitation’ For Offensive YouTube Video
According to Amnesty International, the 16-year old Amos Yee is the youngest prisoner of conscience in the world today.
Ugandan Authorities Jail Facebook User for “Offensive” Comments About President Musveni
Robert Shaka, a Ugandan IT specialist, is in jail for allegedly running the controversial TVO-Uganda Facebook page. But multiple sources, including TVO-Uganda, say Shaka has been wrongly accused.
Hong Kong Social Media Activists Under Fire as Key Electoral Policy Vote Approaches
Local legal experts suspect that authorities are exploiting Hong Kong's cybercrime laws in an effort to suppress political speech online.
Digital Citizen 3.1
Digital Citizen is a biweekly review of news, policy, and research on human rights and technology in the Arab World.
Befeqadu Hailu: An Ethiopian Writer Who Refused to Remain Silent
In the words of Wole Soyinka, “books and all forms of writing are terror to those who wish to suppress the truth.” Befequadu is in jail because he writes.
‘Writing Code Is Not a Crime': Jailed Iranian Web Developer Saeed Malekpour Turns 40
"It is not justice to keep a talented software engineer in jail just because the software he developed was used by others for reasons deemed illegal by the Iranian government."