Yesterday, open source advocate and software engineer Bassel Khartabil spent his 32nd birthday in prison. He was arrested by Syrian security forces on 15 March last year, and he has been in jail ever since. Khartabil was awarded an Index on Censorship Digital Freedom Award, sponsored by Google for his important work earlier this year. The Free Bassel campaign has started an initiative to shed light on Bassel’s situation called Free Bassel Sunlight, where they have called on supporters to advocate for Bassel’s release through using their resources to unearth more details about his situation.
We shared some birthday wishes to Bassel yesterday, but many more wishes were posted online yesterday —- here are just some of the heartfelt messages sent to him:
Eight Vietnamese human rights activists are appealing their convictions today.
Paulus Le Son is one of the bloggers appealing their sentences. (Photo: Front Line Defenders)
Index on Censorship has joined a coalition of organisations to pressure the Vietnamese government to end its persecution of the activists. The eight activists, along with six others, were charged under Article 79 of Vietnam’s penal code for “carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration”.
According to Frontline Defenders Ho Duc Hoa was arrested on 30 July 2011 and faces thirteen years in prison followed by five years of house arrest. Thai Van Dung was arrested on 19 August 2011 and faces five years in prison followed by three years house arrest. Paulus Le Son was arrested on 2 August 2011 and faces thirteen years in prison with five years house arrest. Nguyen Xuan Anh is a social activist who faces five years in prison with three years house arrest. Tran Minh Nhat is a journalist with the Vietnam Redemptorist News; he was arrested on 27 August 2011, and was convicted to four years imprisonment with three years house arrest. Ho Van Oanh was arrested on 16 August 2011 and sentenced to three years imprisonment. Nguyen Van Duyet was arrested on 7 August 2011 and was sentenced to six years in prison with four years house arrest. Nguyen Dinh Cuong was sentenced to four years imprisonment.
Index on Censorship Events Caught in the web: how free are we online? June 10, 2013
The internet: free open space, wild wild west, or totalitarian state? However you view the web, in today’s world it is bringing both opportunities and threats for free expression. More >>>
GLOBAL
Stockholm Internet Forum: Balancing rights and security
Does surveillance and monitoring chill free expression? Is population-wide mass surveillance always a bad idea? Amongst many questions and debates at today’s Stockholm Internet Forum, the answers to these two questions are surely obvious – yes to both, writes Index on Censorship CEO Kirsty Hughes from Sweden. (Index on Censorship)
Religion, freedom and social peace
I RECENTLY watched an impassioned 18-minute film on the subject of religion and freedom, made as a kind of personal statement by Jacob Mchangama, a Danish human-rights lawyer. (The Economist)
How to Fix the EU’s ‘Right to Be Forgotten’
It has been more than a year since the European Union Data Protection Regulation (DPR) was unveiled, including a controversial proposal known as the “Right to Be Forgotten” (RTBF). While the proposal is intended to give Internet users more control over their data, many critics, including CDT, have charged that the new right would pose significant unintended risks for free expression online. As the European Parliament considers amendments to the Data Protection Regulation, ensuring that good intentions do not undermine the free expression rights of EU Internet users must be a top priority. (Huffington Post)
BURMA
Myanmar’s media faces fresh challenges
It is a new dawn for media in Myanmar—censorship has been lifted; 10 daily newspapers are now being printed, with another 14 on the way; and, reporters are free to write what they please. But the rush to this liberalized market has brought with it a fresh batch of problems for journalists, editors and media company owners. (Burma News International)
ISRAEL
Al Jazeera reposts ‘anti-Jewish’ article after censorship backlash
Al Jazeera has republished a controversial article on its website after inexplicably removing it amid claims the story was “anti-Jewish”. (Al Arabyia)
JAPAN
Japanese Chat App LINE Kowtows To Chinese Censorship
Japan’s chat app LINE which is reportedly challenging Facebook in terms of the number of users, is now set to bow down to the Chinese government by building a mechanism to censor contends of its users in China. (International Digital Times)
MALAYSIA
Adam to face sedition charge tomorrow
The student activist was arrested on May 18 for remarks he allegedly made during a post-GE13 forum on May 13. (Free Malaysia Today)
NIGERIA
Court awards N750m against The Nation, Ogele over libel
AN Ado-Ekiti High Court has awarded the sum of N750 million damages against The Nation Newspapers and a human rights activist, Mr. Morakinyo Ogele, for libel and defamation of character of the Mr. Segun Ilori, former Chief of Staff to Ekiti State Governor, Segun Oni. (The Guardian Nigeria)
SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa’s secrecy bill signals growing political intolerance
The so-called secrecy bill’s passage through the South African parliament mirrors an increasing political intolerance towards diverse views that in some cases has spilled over in violence, Christi van der Westhuizen reports. (Index on Censorship)
Controversial Youth Website Dodges Censorship
“Outoilet” is an Afrikaans word meaning “old toilet”, but it also refers to a cellphone chat site, aimed mainly at Cape Flats youth. Its URLs are blocked by several service providers, but the site frequently re-emerges with different URLs. (AllAfrica.com)
SYRIA
Today is Bassel’s second birthday in prison
Software engineer and open-source advocate Bassel Khartabil will spend his second birthday in prison today. Palestinian-born Bassel was arrested on 15 March last year by Syrian security forces, and has been in prison ever since. On his birthday and the 799th day of Syria’s conflict, Index calls on the Syrian government to release Khartabil. (Index on Censorship)
UNITED STATES
Obama’s War on Free Expression
It’s the most fundamental right. Without it all others are endangered. Obama’s waging war to destroy it. He’s done so throughout his tenure. (The People’s Voice.org)
Convicted drug trafficker sues local newspaper for libel
A newspaper, which published a story about a man who pled guilty to a federal drug case, is being sued in federal court. (KGBT)
Notice of appeal filed in Campfield libel lawsuit
A former Democratic candidate for the state House has filed notice that he will appeal the dismissal of his libel lawsuit against state Sen. Stacey Campfield. (SeattlePI)
Why Facebook ‘likes’ won’t be a ‘vital’ part of free speech any time soon
Facebook recently argued in court that the “Like” feature is an integral part of free speech. A lawyer for the company argued that “Likes” are “vital” to the 500m people who use Facebook every day and that they should be protected by the US Constitution. (memeburn)
Ordinance Targeting Free Speech in Residential Zones Results in Arrests of Peaceful Christians
A Florida ordinance that was passed with the intention of hindering pro-life Christians from picketing the homes of abortionists has resulted in the arrests of three Christians. (Christian News)
ZIMBABWE
Playwright Seeks Legal Intervention Over Banning of Peace Play
An award winning playwright in Zimbabwe is seeking legal intervention after his play, whose central theme is peace, was banned last year. (AllAfrica.com)
Does surveillance and monitoring chill free expression? Is population-wide mass surveillance always a bad idea? Amongst many questions and debates at today’s Stockholm Internet Forum, the answers to these two questions are surely obvious – yes to both, writes Index on Censorship CEO Kirsty Hughes from Sweden.
But not for Carl Bildt, Sweden’s foreign minister, who made it clear at the conference that he thinks while surveillance invades privacy and needs proper judicial control, it is not a free speech issue.
And European Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom couldn’t quite bring herself to agree that monitoring an entire population is always wrong, suggesting if it were ever necessary then it, too, would need appropriate judicial permission and control.
We have to hope most European politicians have a stronger understanding of human rights online. Certainly, in lively debates at plenary sessions and on the conference twitter feed (#sif13), it was clear their views had little support with intense exchanges over how to protect free speech and other rights online.
Bildt’s view that democratic governments can be trusted with surveillance and censorship online was challenged by many attendees. The idea that the world can be divided into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ countries was a recurring issue with perhaps the predominant view being that neither governments (democratic or not) nor companies should be trusted with our digital freedom but should be challenged, monitored and held to account for the myriad of ways they control the internet space.
Index on Censorship Events Caught in the web: how free are we online? June 10, 2013
The internet: free open space, wild wild west, or totalitarian state? However you view the web, in today’s world it is bringing both opportunities and threats for free expression. More >>>
Big web companies were also challenged in Stockholm. The BBC’s Stephen Sackur asked Google’s head of free expression Ross Lajeunesse if he thought all Google users knew that US laws applied to the search engine even when it operates outside the States (along with local laws). When Lajeunesse said he wasn’t sure, Sackur suggested Google make this clear on its home page. We will see if this happens since Lajeunesse made no commitment. A civil society activist asked from the floor how he could discuss with and lobby Google in the way that in open societies we can lobby governments. Lajeunesse said Google values dialogue. But the question of how we hold companies with large and increasing control of the net to account is a big one. There are no clear answers.
Facebook was challenged on this, too. Asked why the social media giant doesn’t produce a transparency report as Google and Twitter now do, no satisfactory answer was forthcoming. Facebook did announce it is joining the Global Network Initiative which brings web companies and human rights groups together. Index on Censorship is a member of the GNI.
University of Toronto Professor Ron Deibert argued persuasively that cybersecurity will remain dominated by defence, military and foreign affairs departments — with freedom rolled back — unless civil society engages more with security issues. Others disputed this suggesting many government security measures and arguments actually create insecurity. Deibert insisted though that basic democratic checks and balances are being eroded in the name of cybersecurity and civil society must ensure rights online.
Along with the calls to hold governments and companies more strongly to account, there were heated discussions of how to stop the wide misuse and export of surveillance technology, challenges to telecom companies to start to take their human rights responsibilities seriously, calls for more transparency on how takedown decisions are made and a host of other debates. This year’s net forum so far is an equal mixture of disturbing and inspiring – disturbing in the extent and range of threats to digital freedom, inspiring in the energy and ideas of so many of the participants committed to standing up to those threats.
