2 Jun 2011 | Index Index, minipost
A string of highly sophisticated cyber attacks have been launched on the Gmail accounts of a number of Chinese activists as well as US and South Korean government officials. Suspicions have been raised about the Chinese government’s involvement because of the nature of the targets and the lack of any apparent financial motive. The government has denied the allegations. The White House is currently investigating the situation alongside representatives from Google.
2 Jun 2011 | Index Index, minipost
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reports Gwinnett County schools in Georgia employ a filter, Blue Coat, that blocks access to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender site and classifies them as sexually explicit or pornographic. The ACLU drafted a demand letter on 23 May, asking the county to remove the filters from the schools and respond to its inquiry by 30 May, but has not yet received a response. Nowmee Shehab, a recent graduate and former president of the LGBT club at one of the schools told ACLU she was unable to access LGBT sites to plan activities. She stated, “Students need to be able to find information about their rights and about suicide and bullying prevention, and now they’re not able to get to information that’s really important for them.”s
2 Jun 2011 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
Jordanian journalist, Alaa Fazza, was released from prison Wednesday, on the orders of King Abdullah II yesterday (1 June), the country’s independence day. Fazza was been detained 14 days by a military court on charges that he had accused the government of corruption without submitting evidence to the Attorney General. In a letter to Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit, King Abdullah cautioned about the “danger of the behavior of some who take the denunciation of corruption as an excuse for the character assassination of individuals and institutions.”
2 Jun 2011 | Index Index, minipost
Police in Uganda raided the offices of Prime General Supply Limited, the publishers of a bi-weekly newspaper which is critical of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government. During the raid on 25 May two senior editors and two other members of staff at Ggwanga newspaper were arrested on allegations of criminal libel. A computer and several documents concerning the activities of “Activists for Change” were also removed. Three employees have been released on police bail awaiting further questioning.
