An independent journalist and blogger has been sentenced to 20 months in prison on charges that had not yet been made known. Dania Virgen García was sentenced just one day after her arrest by police on 22 April. Virgen García’s blog El blog de Dania, launched in January, reports on the violence and repression independent reporters face on the island. She is also a well known supporter of the “Damas de blanco” movement (Ladies in White).
The conviction of Liverpool atheist Harry Taylor for placing “offensive” cartoons in an airport prayer room has caused controversy among secularists. Butterflies and Wheels’ Ophelia Benson and Paul Sims of New Humanist magazine go head to head
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The Saudi Arabian government broke the Arabic record for the fastest time to block a new website, clocking in at just 15 hours. On 25 April, they blocked a US- based site created by Egyptian activists The Egyptian Association for Change, eacusa.org, only 15 hours after it launched. Tunisia was the previous record holder, blocking www.yezzi.org in 18 hours after it went live in 2005.
Musician M.I.A‘s video for her new single Born Free has been banned from Youtube just days after it was released. The controversial video, directed by Romain Gavras, shows American police rounding redheads, and subjecting them to brutal violence. Critics have suggested the explicit video is a publicity stunt for M.I.A and the director, whose debut feature film Redheads, is based on the same premise.