25 Jan 2013 | Azerbaijan News, Europe and Central Asia
This week the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) did not pass a resolution pressurising Azerbaijan to release or retry its political prisoners. Rebecca Vincent looks at how the body’s lack of pressure further endangers free expression in the country
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24 Jan 2013 | Uncategorized
Governments and courts in 31 countries requested data from 33,634 Google users or accounts in the second half of 2012 according to the company’s latest Transparency Report.
While the number of data requests rose by two per cent — from 20,938 to 21,389 — the proportion of requests Google fully or partially complied with dropped by one point — to 66 per cent.
The US led the pack in number of requests, accounts specified and percentage honoured. American law enforcement agencies issued 8,438 requests for data from 14,791 accounts, 88 per cent of which Google fully or partially complied with. Other countries issuing more than 1,000 requests in late 2012 were India, France, Germany, the UK and Brazil.
The 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) compels Google to comply with government requests. This was the company’s first Transparency Report to breakdown the proportion of requests by legal process used.
68 per cent of requests came via subpoenas — without a warrant — under the ECPA. Warrants are not required for access to data more than 180 days old. 22 per cent of requests came with a warrant, and the remaining 10 per cent were uncategorised.
“We believe the US laws should be updated,” William Echikson, Head of Free Expression Policy and PR for EMEA at Google, told Index. “Our users deserve to have their online correspondence and documents afforded the same legal protections from government access as they get for their physical documents.”
According to the report, Google reviews each request to ensure its compliance with “both the spirit and the letter of the law” and sometimes tries to narrow the data requested.
“Debates about government surveillance should start with data,” Echikson added. “Our disclosures are only a tiny sliver of what’s happening on the Internet at large.”
Echikson said he hopes more companies and governments will join Google to increase transparency and keep citizens informed by releasing similar data. Competitors and collaborators alike are doing just that, but to varying degrees and with varying success.
In 2012, Dropbox, LinkedIn and Twitter shared similar statistics. The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s (EFF) 2012 report “Who Has Your Back” rates 18 companies on transparency regarding government requests for user data. These ratings take into account whether companies tell their users about government data demands and whether they fight for user privacy in courts and congress. Only Sonic.net, an ISP based in California, earned full stars in each category of EFF’s privacy and transparency report.
Google’s latest Transparency Report does not include content removal requests. Company officials said those numbers will be released separately in several months time.
Brian Pellot is the digital policy adviser at Index.
23 Jan 2013 | Azerbaijan News, Europe and Central Asia, Index Index
The future for political prisoners in Azerbaijan looks bleak after politicians at the Council of Europe (CoE) failed adopt an important resolution today calling for more than 80 cases to be resolved.
Azerbaijani authorities repeatedly deny the presence of any political prisoners in the country, which commands huge business interests around the world, including among several MPs from the United Kingdom, several of whom voted against the resolution.
Disappointment among those who campaign for free expression in Azerbaijan was palpable, with several NGO representatives referring to the vote — 79 in favour and 125 against — as a disgrace.
Among those being held on spurious charges are journalists Avaz Zeynalli, Hilal Mammadov and Vugar Gonagov.
The resolution was based on a report by Rapporteur Christoph Strasser, who was repeatedly denied entry into Azerbaijan to carry out his mandate. Several delegates refused to recognise the resolution on grounds that Strasser prepared his report from outside the oil-rich country.
However, free expression advocates welcomed the adoption of a resolution calling for continued monitoring of the country’s record on free speech and human rights, with 196 members voting in favour and only 13 against. The resolution was based on a report by the CoE’s rapporteurs to Azerbaijan, who expressed “growing concern with regard to rule of law and respect for human rights” in the country and encouraged the Azerbaijani government to strengthen its commitment to honour human rights obligations.
Index on Censorship and Crow Hill Films invite you to a screening of Amazing Azerbaijan! followed by a discussion on Azerbaijan and human rights on 30 January.
23 Jan 2013 | Uncategorized
A magazine editor in Thailand has been sentenced to 11 years in jail today (23 January) for insulting the monarchy. Somyot Prueksakasemsuk was found guilty of violating Thailand’s lese majeste laws, after he printed two articles in his magazine Voice of Taksin featuring comments deemed insulting to the royal family by prosecutors. Prueksakasemsuk’s arrest on 30 April 2011 came five days after he launched a petition campaigning to reform article 112 of Thailand’s penal code, making it an offence to defame the monarchy — a sentence which imposes prison sentences between three to 15 years. The author of both articles, Jakrapob Penkair, former spokesperson for Thaksin, is living in exile in Cambodia and has not been charged.
Basil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers – Censored by the BBC for using racially sensitive terms
Nine human rights lawyers have been jailed in Turkey. On 22 January, Istanbul court ordered the pre-trial detention of nine of 12 lawyers arrested on terrorism charges on 18 and 20 January. Güçlü Sevimli, Barkın Timtik, Şükriye Erden, Naciye Demir, Nazan Betül Vangölü Kozağaçlı, Taylan Tanay, Ebru Timtik, Günay Dağ, Selçuk Kozağaçlı have been jailed whilst a further three were freed. Prosecutors could decide to try the group as part of a wider investigation against people suspected of being involved with the armed and outlawed Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front. The group has carried out attacks on the military, politicians and the police in the past. The jailed lawyers had been particularly active in defending against police brutality in the past, as well as defending human rights activists in court. A secrecy order on the investigation means specific charges are unclear.
The Nigerian government has banned state officials from talking to the press. On 21 January, Lagos authorities issued a notice barring civil servants and political offices from granting interviews or speaking on the government’s behalf. The notice sent from Governor Babatunde Fashola was intended to curb the flow of information to the public, saying that policies that had not yet been formally approved were being discussed with the media. The notice ordered all government workers to request permission from the Ministry of Information and Strategy before giving interviews, so the information could be edited by the ministry prior to its release to the public. It also warned that in the event of officials offering public speeches, they must stick solely to their planned speech which would have to be approved by the ministry prior to the event.
Pakistan has imposed a ban on the sale of the video games Call of Duty and Medal of Honour. Saleem Memon, president of the All Pakistan CD, DVD, Audio Cassette Traders and Manufacturers Association, released a statement calling for the boycott of the games after they received dozens of complaints, saying that they violate the country’s unity and sanctity. Memon said “Call of Duty: Black Ops II” and “Medal of Honor: Warfighter” depict Pakistan’s intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISS), as pro-Al Qaeda and Pakistan as a broken state and a safe haven for terrorists. Shopkeepers have been warned of the “consequences” of being caught attempting to buy or sell either of the games.
Famed scenes of Fawlty Towers have been cut by the BBC, to protect racial sensitivities. The Germans, an episode of the popular 1970s TV series was repeated on 20 January on BBC2, with a scene from the bigoted Major Gowen edited. Racist language was removed from the clip, a move taken to keep in tune with a shift in public attitudes according to the BBC, but listener complaints were filed following the broadcast, with some remarking that it was an “airbrushing of history”. The episode satirises xenophobia in its different forms and features John Cleese’s famous “Hitler walk” — a scene considered to be one of the greatest moments on British television.
