Stories about Threatened Voices from November, 2012
Life Sentence for Qatari Poet for Insulting Amir
The poem is said to praise the Arab Spring, drawing comparisons to other countries living in repression and under dictatorship. According to Qatari journalist Abdulla Al Athbah, Al-Deeb's poem was seen as insulting to the Qatari Amir, and called for overthrowing his rule.
China: Beijing Twitterer Detained for Writing Micro-fiction
A Beijing Twitterer @Stariver has been detained since November 7th, 2012, at the eve of the 18th National Chinese Communist Party Congress. According to his friends who visited his family...
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!
Azerbaijan: “A Country that Portrays Social-Networkers as Mentally Ill”
While all eyes were on the presidential election in the United States, a major international conference started on Tuesday in Baku, the capital of the former Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan. The 7th United Nations Internet Governance Forum (IGF) claims to bring “all stakeholders” as equal partners to discuss major issues relating not only to the future of the Internet but also to matters of policing, management, and of course, freedom of expression online.
Azerbaijan: Open Letter to President Aliyev Ahead of International Governance Forum in Baku
The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is a UN-sponsored conference which aims to “bring[ ] together all stakeholders in the internet governance debate.” This year it is held in Baku, the...
China: Cyber Cafe Owner Sentenced to 8 Years for Organizing a Chat Group
According to New York Times’ report on November 1, 2012, a 27-year-old Internet Cafe Owner, Cao Haibo, was sentenced to 8-year imprisonment under the charge of “state subversion” on 31...
Spain: Journalists Fined After Revealing Corruption in Catalonia
Marta Sibina and Albano Dante, editors of the citizen media magazine Cafè amb Llet, have been fined 10,000 euro for libel. They uploaded to YouTube a video strongly criticizing the lack of transparency in public healthcare financing in Catalonia, implicating Josep Maria Via, president of Barcelona MAR Health Park Consortium and healthcare advisor to Catalan President Artur Mas.
