Stories about Middle East & North Africa from October, 2015
Iranian Student Held Without Charge, Pressured to Make False Confession
"Judicial officials...should not arrest youths and pass heavy judgments against them every time they criticize. My son should be sitting in class and studying right now.”
Free Alaa Campaign Takes Social Media by Storm on the First Anniversary of His Imprisonment
Alaa Abd El Fattah has spent a year behind bars for his activism. Netizens are calling for his freedom on the first anniversary of his imprisonment.
Digital Citizen 3.8
Digital Citizen is a biweekly review of news, policy, and research on human rights and technology in the Arab World.
Egyptian Facebook User Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Putting Mickey Mouse Ears on Sisi
Egyptian Facebook user Amr Nohan has been sentenced to three years in prison by a military court for adding Mickey Mouse ears to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi's image.
Rethinking Criticisms Levelled at Iran's Supreme Council of Cyberspace
In a follow up to the ICHRI piece, Small Media reacts to that report, with their own observations on the recent changes to Iran's Internet policy.
Arrest and Prison Time for Journalists and Bloggers over Facebook Posts in Lebanon
Two Lebanese Facebook users found themselves sentenced to prison for posts they wrote on the social networking site.
Netizen Report: Is Egypt Blocking Voice Calls on WhatsApp and Skype?
Lebanon arrests two over Facebook posts, Venezuela blocks Bitcoin sites in crusade against foreign currency, and the EU takes 'Safe Harbor' away from US tech companies.
Turkey Puts a Gun to the Media's Head in Lead-up to Elections
Information campaigns and physical intimidation that once targeted Kurdish and leftist media are now being aimed at major media outlets of all kinds.
Fears for Imprisoned Syrian Bassel Khartabil, Transferred to an Unknown Location
Activists are calling upon the Syrian government to immediately release imprisoned Syrian-Palestinian blogger Bassel Khartabil (Safadi) after he was moved from his prison to an unknown location earlier today.
