Stories about Feature from November, 2008
MEPs urge European internet and telecommunication companies to sign Human Rights code
According to a press release we've received from MEP Jules Maaten of the Dutch conservative VVD party, eight Members of the European Parliament called today European internet and telecommunication companies to join The Global Network Initiative and sign the Human Rights code, designed to safeguard human rights and freedom of speech online. The Human Rights code was recently signed by Google, Microsoft and Yahoo!
Blog for a Cause guide is now available in Chinese!
Nine months too late, but thanks to the same gracious individual who translated GVA's Anonymous Blogging guide, we are now able to present you with the Chinese version of Blog...
Iran: Cyber Writers Jailed and Threatened and Millions of Sites Filtered
Iranian cyber writers are facing a very difficult time. We can summarize Iran's current situation in three words: Jail, Filtering and Threats. Iranian authorities recently jailed two cyber writers. Read more in this post about the threats and harassment cyber activists are facing in Iran.
Yemeni blogger appeals to prevent possible assassination
In a rather emotional entry posted on his blog, Nashwan Abdu Ali Ghanim, a Yemeni blogger with blogs on maktoobblogs.com and kitab.com called upon international advocacy groups and the Arab Bloggers Union to come for his rescue upon escaping 'three failed assassination attempts'. Ghanim believes that his latest blog entry noting the involvement of senior Yemeni officials in the plotting of the attack carried out against the U.S. embassy in Sana'a on September 17, 2008 triggered a new wave of harassments and life-threatening acts.
Egypt: one blogger disappeared and another still in custody despite court order
Blogger Mohammad Adel who runs the blog Maeit (already dead!) disappeared since Friday, November 21, 2008. As reported by Wael Abbas on Twitter, Adel was supposedly going to meet with an American journalist for an interview, but the he did not show up. Blogger Mohamed Khairi is still in custody despite he received a release warrant few days ago. The Egyptian blogger who writes on “Jarr Shakal” blog (teasing) has been arrested at the dawn of the 17th of this November from his house in Fayoum governate in Nile Delta.
Brazil: Attempts to censor a documentary about censorship
Gagged in Brazil, a documentary about the relationship between politics, media and censorship in Brazil was taken off the Current TV networks after a political party's complaint. After a full investigation into the sources, the film is back online - but media censorship in Minas Gerais is an old and ongoing issue.
Update on Hoder
In recent days some sites and blogs wrote that Hossein Derakhshan, Hoder, was arrested. All refer to two things to prove such a claim: Iranian Jahan News site's report and...
Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan “arrested” In Tehran
According to Jahan News website, Iranian blogger, Hossein Derakhshan (aka Hoder), a prolific blogger often described as the godfather of the Iranian blogosphere, has been arrested In Tehran. Hossein returned to Iran about three weeks ago and is being investigated on suspicion of espionage for the state of Israel.
Brazil: Flash mob protest against Digital Crimes Bill
Brazilian bloggers and netizens took to the streets of São Paulo to protest against the Digital Crimes Bill, which typifies the cyber-crimes punishable by law and stipulates penalties accordingly. They...
An Egyptian internet writer and blogger still detained and his family is threatened to be killed
The mother and two sisters of the Egyptian blogger and Internet writer Reda Abdul Rahman were threaten to be killed, when they tried to ask state security agents about the whereabouts of Abdul Rahman, who was kidnapped last month by State Security Investigation.
Burmese blogger Nay Phone Latt sentenced to twenty years and six months
Judge Daw Soe recently sentenced Nay Phone Latt to a total of twenty years and six months for possession of a banned video and having a blog to express his concerns about the increasingly difficulty of Burmese people to voice their opinions since the protests last year.
The Info-Activism Camp: Tools and Tactics for Digital Advocacy
Struggling to make an impact on your target audience? Are issues unresolved despite your best efforts? Are you excited about the advocacy potential of the Internet, mobile phones or information...
Corporations Agree to Standards for Internet Freedom
The Global Network Initiative has been launched. The Initiative is a code of conduct for corporations on privacy and free speech created by a coalition of human rights, media development and research organizations, and Internet and communications companies such as Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft. Its goal: to ensure that ICT companies acknowledge their “responsibility to respect and protect the freedom of expression and privacy rights of their users.”
