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Stories about West Asia & North Africa from August, 2014
Iranian Minister Says Government ‘Never Promised’ to End Web Censorship
ICT Minister Vaezi's words contradict President Hassan Rouhani's pledge to lift bans on popular social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Advocates Petition UN for Action on Jailed Egyptian Blogger Alaa Abd El Fattah
The Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Media Legal Defence Initiative asked the UN to intervene immediately in the case of Abd El Fattah, who began a hunger strike this week.
Prominent Egyptian Activist Alaa Abdel Fattah Goes on Hunger Strike
Egyptian activist and blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah has entered an open-ended hunger strike until he is released from prison, his family said in a statement posted on Facebook today.
ISIS Beheads Kidnapped Photojournalist James Foley in Horrific Video Message
A video allegedly showing the beheading of American photojournalist James Wright Foley, missing in Syria for 636 days, by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), was released today.
Iran Vows to Block All “Unlicensed” Websites
On the day to recognize journalists, Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance announced that all news websites must henceforth obtain a state license -- or face automatic censorship.
Iran's Internet Users Outsmart Government in Cat-and-Mouse Censorship Game
The Iranian government periodically releases new filtering rules intended to block Tor traffic, to which the Tor community typically responds with a same-day antidote for the block.
Leaked Data Suggests Bahrain's Government Hacked Its Own Fact-Finding Commission
The government's crackdown against a popular uprising spurred the creation of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Investigation -- new data suggests that the government is spying on the Commission.
Sonia Ordóñez, Translating Threats to Free Expression Online for Global Voices Advocacy
Global Voices depends on its hard-working team of volunteer translators like Sonia Ordóñez, who has devoted most of her time to translating Advocacy stories.
