Index on Censorship | A voice for the persecuted

Censorship, pay offs and deportation: Artistic freedom in Uganda

04 Oct 13 | Africa, News and features, Uganda

A scene from a music video by Ugandan singer Nnabbi Omukazi.

Ugandan artists have for a long time been able to read the public mood in the country and have taken note of it in their plays and songs.

nder the military dictatorship of Idi Amin, a few brave artists expressed themselves through music and drama. Plays that were critical of the Amin regime were written and performed. Several of the authors were killed or forced into exile.

During the early years of President Yoweri Museveni’s National Resistance Movement (NRM) government, musicians, choreographers and playwrights promoted the new government through their works for bringing back stability after the overthrow of Obote and Lutwa regimes. The general public was full of praises for the new regime and artists tapped into that feeling.

However, as the early optimism waned, many artists became more critical. These artists have been censored, paid off or even deported, delivering big blows to artistic freedom of expression in Uganda in the process.

Nnabbi Omukazi composed a song in which she claimed to have had a dream where a dead politician told her that she did not die from cocaine, but that she had been poisoned.
.

It was believed to be about Cerinah Nebanda, a young, vocal and critical member of parliament who died early this year. The government quickly told the public it was from a cocaine overdose, but her family and some members of parliament were not convinced by this explanation. They decided to hire a pathologist to take body samples of the deceased to South Africa to ascertain the cause of death. The pathologist was intercepted by security en-route to the airport and detained, which compounded the family’s suspicion that the MP had been poisoned because of her critical stance on several government positions. For composing that song, Police interrogated Nnabbi, and her song was banned from the airwaves.

Another artist, Matthias Walukagga, composed the song Tuli bakoowu (We are tired) in which he indirectly hints at the president’s overstay in power. In one verse, the artist asks; “When will the old man also declare that he is tired.” This song was banned on airwaves, but people still buy the CD’s and play it.

One of the biggest Ugandan artists, Bobi Wine aka “Ghetto President” wrote a song criticizing the way small traders in Kampala were being mistreated by the city authorities. In his song Tugambire ku Jennifer (Tell Jennifer to stop harassing us) Bobi attacks Jennifer Musisi, the Executive Director of Kampala Capital City Authority, for not caring about the plight of the poor and only protecting the interests of the rich. Responding to Bobi’s song, Musisi first dismissed it as one without consequence. However, when she realised the pressure the song was creating from the poor city dwellers, she invited Bobi to ceasefire talks. He also walked away with a fat contract to promote city activities starting with the Kampala Carnival 2013, taking place on 6 October 2013.

Patronage does not stop with politicians, it extends to almost all spheres of Ugandan society. Several other performing artists have been given fat contracts from State House (the President’s residence) to work for the presidency in different areas. In fact today, one will see a bus full of artists going to State House on invitation from the President to discuss “issues of national importance.”

Richard Kaweesa and Isaac Rucibigango, both smart and intelligent performing artists composed the song “You want another Rap”, which President Museveni used to woo young voters in the 2011 elections. This song went viral on social media and it worked in the president’s favor. The two artists were handsomely paid by the presidency. Again in 2012 when Uganda was marking 50 years of independence, Kaweesa was given another deal from State House to compose the Jubilee song. This earned him a reported 600 million shillings (US Dollars 235,300).

The same trend can be seen with comedians, as several have specialised in imitating big politicians. Segujja Museveni has perfected the art of mimicking President Museveni and has on several occasions been invited to perform for him. At his first performance before the president, he laughed so hard he had to wipe away tears. It was the first time the nation saw the president have such a hearty laugh. Since then, Segujja’s career has been on a meteoric rise.

As for dramatic artists; they are still reluctant to freely express themselves because of the potential consequences. However, they keep on making references to the political, economical and social spheres of Uganda in their plays. One artist that did this was British-born theatre producer David Cecil. He was deported from Uganda in February 2013 after being accused of staging a play promoting homosexuality. This was at a time when the government of Uganda was up in arms against anyone who seemed not to have a problem with homosexuality.

Most artists have decided to play it safe by keeping away from controversial issues, mainly political, that affect society. Sarah Zawedde, a musician says that the biggest threats to artistic freedom in Uganda are from the cultural, religious and political spheres.

National Poetry Day: Natalya Gorbanevskaya

03 Oct 13 | News and features

natalia-gorbanevskaya
Natalya Gorbanevskaya (b 1936) was active in the Russian dissident movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. That movement provided the impetus and inspiration for the founding of Index on Censorship. After facing severe oppression in Russia, including being deemed committed to a psychiatric hosptial (a common punishment for dissidents), Gorbanevskaya fled to Paris, where she now lives.

Index published 14 of her poems, smuggled out of the Soviet Union, in our very first issue in 1972. This is one of them.

Turn the sky over,
lower it into the sea,
the silent into the voiceless.
Help the sea to rise,
lift the sea into the sky,
sea-blue into sky-blue,
height and depth
bring into balance.

Balance yourself and the world,
the world and the ladybird,
the wavelet and the wave
that drags you under to the bottom.
And go down to the bottom, softly
banging the moist doors behind you.

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Who nominated Vladimir Putin for the Nobel Peace Prize?

03 Oct 13 | Europe and Central Asia

Press briefing after the talks between Putin and Merkel - Berlin

There was much raising of eyebrows yesterday when it was announced that Russia’s “International Academy of Spiritual Unity and Cooperation” are putting forward Vladimir Putin as a Nobel Peace Prize nominee. But who are the International Academy of Spiritual Unity and Cooperation.

A source suggests to Index that they are “a typical pseudo cultural organisation” that gets budgets for loyalty to Putin and is ruled by ex-Soviet nomenclature. But judging by this list of presidents, vice presidents, and Heroes of the USSR, they are very, very important people indeed. (Source)

Composition of the Management Board and the Academy
The President
Trepeznikov Shilov

First Vice-President
Gennady Zgersky,

First Vice-President
Alexander Leonidovich Manilow

First Vice-President
Topchiy Sergei Stepanovich

First Vice-President
Paul P. Petrik,

First Vice-President
Taras Shamba Myronovych,

The first vice-president
Sergei K. Kamkov.

Vice – President
Viktor Gorbatko – twice Hero of the Soviet Union (astronaut), B

Vice – President
Mikhail Tikhomirov – Advisor to the President of the Russian Olympic Committee

Vice – President
Aliyev Phase Gamzatovna folk poet of Dagestan,

Vice – President
Sergey Makarov

Vice – President
Malik – Ohanjanian Rafael Gegamovich – Branch Manager in Armenia

Vice – President
Todash Guinn, Head of the Representation in Japan

Vice – President
Yankovskaya Ludmila – Head of Representation in Ukraine

Vice – President
Bishop Vissarion – Head of Mission in Abkhazia, head of the Orthodox Church in Abkhazia,

Vice – President
Stoyan Topalov – Head of Representation in Bulgaria

Members of the Presidium

Sergei Shamba Tarasovich – Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia.
Glebov Vladimir Vladimirovich – Academician of the Academy of Architecture.
Dadaev Gadzhievich Felix – People’s Artist of the USSR.
Antoshkin Nicholas T. – Hero of the Soviet Union.
Bepko Yegorov – Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (MFA).
Yuri Dubinin – Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (MFA).
Primakov Yevgeny Primakov – Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (MFA), President of the Chamber of Commerce of the Russian Federation.
Peter A. Makarov – Project Manager CNNS Russia.
Kabzon Iosif Davidovich – People’s Artist of the USSR.
Rogozhkin Nicholas E. – Deputy. Minister for the Interior Ministry, Interior Troops Commander of the Russian Federation.
Ivan Sergeyev – Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (MFA).
Alexander Golubev Titovich – Chairman of the RAF veterans’ organization.
Kuz’kina Galina – a journalist, deputy. chief editor of the magazine “Our Power.”
Valentin A. Prikhodko – gene. Director of the “Pride of Russia”.
Sergei Baburin, rector of the institute.
Novozhylov Valery Yu – Major – General of the Russian Federation Ministry of Internal Affairs of explosives.
Zalikhanov Michael Chukkaevich – Hero of the Soviet Union, deputy of the State. Duma
Samvel Samvel Grigoryan – Academician of the AHP.
Valentina Tereshkova – the pilot – cosmonaut.
Arthur N. Chilingarov – the hero of the Soviet Union, Hero of the Russian Federation, the deputy of the State. Duma.
Mesenzhnik Jacob Z. – Academician of the Academy of science and business.
Mikhail Vinogradov – Head of Federal Agency for Industry.
Aydarov Letcho Ayubovich – gene. manager of the “Larakas” in Moscow.

National Poetry Day: Jack Mapanje

03 Oct 13 | News and features

Born in Malawi in 1944, Jack Mapanje, one of Africa’s most distinguished poets, studied in England before returning to teach at the University of
Malawi.

His first collection of poems, Of Chameleons and Gods, published in the UK in 1981, was banned in Malawi in June 1985 due to its being ‘full of … coded attacks’ on the ruling dictatorship of Hastings Kamuzu Banda. Two years later, in September 1987, he was imprisoned without trial or charge by the Malawian government.

Many writers, linguists and human rights activists campaigned for his release, including Harold Pinter and Wole Soyinka, and in 1990 he was awarded the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. Despite this international pressure, Mapanje served almost four years in Mikuyu prison, where he composed his second collection of poetry, The Chattering Wagtails of Mikuyu Prison, and most of his third collection, Skipping without Ropes. He was finally released in May 1991.

On His Royal Blindness Paramount Chief Kwangala
by Jack Mapanje

I admire the quixotic display of your paramountcy
How you brandish our ancestral shields and spears
Among your warriors dazzled by your loftiness
But I fear the way you spend your golden breath
Those impromptu, long-winded tirades of your might
In the heat, do they suit your brittle constitution?

I know I too must sing to such royal happiness
And I am not arguing. Wasn’t I too tucked away in my
Loin-cloth infested by jiggers and fleas before
Your bright eminence showed up? How could I quibble
Over your having changed all that? How dare I when
We have scribbled our praises all over our graves?

Why should I quarrel when I too have known mask
Dancers making troubled journeys to the gold mines
On bare feet and bringing back fake European gadgets
The broken pipes, torn coats, crumpled bowler hats,
Dangling mirrors and rusty tincans to make their
Mask dancing strange? Didn’t my brothers die there?

No, your grace, I am no alarmist nor banterer
I am only a child surprised how you broadly disparage
Me shocked by the tedium of your continuous palaver. I
Adore your majesty. But paramountcy is like a raindrop
On a vast sea. Why should we wait for the children to
Tell us about our toothless gums or our showing flies?

National Poetry Day: Zarganar

03 Oct 13 | News and features

Zarganar is Burma’s leading comedian and an accomplished poet, writer, and director who throughout his career has used his artistic talents to draw attention to political repression in Burma.

Zarganar was first arrested in 1988 following the pro-democracy demonstrations, in which he played a leading role. As reading and writing were forbidden in his cell in Insein Prison, he mixed dust from the bricks in his cell with water and wrote poetry on the floor, committing the poems to memory and sweeping away the evidence. He was freed after six months.

He was arrested again in 1990 while making jokes at a political rally, and was returned to Insein, where he spent five years in solitary confinement.

Following his release, he was increasingly involved in social activism and worked closely with international NGOs. During the ‘Saffron Revolution’ of 2007, Zarganar was one of the key figures to lead public support. This led to a further three weeks in detention.

Zarganar’s arrest in June 2008 resulted from his criticism of the Cyclone Nargis relief effort. He had personally organised support from the Burmese arts community and oversaw its delivery to the delta. He was angered by the neglect and corruption he encountered and spoke out about this in interviews. In November 2008, he was convicted of ‘public order offences’ and sentenced to 59 years in prison, later reduced to 35 years.

In late 2008, Zargana was moved to Myitkyina Prison in northern Burma, 1,500km from his family home. Zarganar was awarded the inaugural PEN/Pinter Prize for an International Writer of Courage in 2009. He was release from prison in October 2011.

Untitled
by Zargana
Translated by Vicky Bowman

It’s lucky my forehead is flat
Since my arm must often rest there.
Beneath it shines a light I must invite
From a moon I cannot see
In Myitkyina.

Listen to Index’s Free Speech Bites Podcast interview here

Azerbaijan locks up journalists as it prepares for “election”

02 Oct 13 | Azerbaijan News, News and features

An opposition protest in Baku, September 2013 (Image Demotix/Aziz Karimov)

The tone was set the day we arrived in Azerbaijan, 17 September 2013. Journalist Parviz Hashimli, was arrested and detained by officers of the Ministry of National Security after a raid on the office of newspaper Bizim Yol.

Hashimli is an influential journalist as the editor of Moderator.az website and chair of the Center for Protection of Political and Civil Rights. He was accused of drugs smuggling and the illegal possession of weapons. According to the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS) in Baku, “it is unclear exactly what prompted the arrest of Hashimli and raid on BizimYol newspaper. However, some experts believe it was linked to a series of leaks reporting on developments in the state machinery, published shortly before his arrest on www.moderator.az news source.”

Human rights activists that we met believe that Hashimli’s arrest is yet another attempt to intimidate the press in the run-up to the October election. This week, the editor of Tolyshi Sado newspaper, Hilal Mamedov, was sentenced to five years in prison.

At least eight journalists are currently imprisoned in retaliation for their reporting on sensitive issues. This is the backdrop to Azerbaijan’s election next week, an election that is being fought in one of the least free countries on earth.

Journalists are not the only group affected by arrests under fabricated charges. Youth movements have been particularly targeted since March 2013. Index met with relatives of some of the seven NIDA members arrested last March and April for “drug possession” or “suspicion of inciting violence”. NIDA is a youth movement calling for more democracy in Azerbaijan. The seven members arrested were particularly active on social media and known for their criticism of the authorities.

On 19 September, we met former Index on Censorship award winner Rashid Hajili, who is a lawyer and chair of the Media Rights Institute. “Since 2003, the situation has gradually worsened,” says Hajili. While the human rights situation is deteriorating on the eve of the presidential elections, Hajili sees the situation as the result of a decade-long “shift toward authoritarianism”. Not only have the authorities of the country ignored their international commitments – such as decriminalising defamation – but they have adopted legislation imposing new restrictions on fundamental freedoms.

Rashid Hajili with his Index on Censorship Award (Image: Index on Censorship)

Rashid Hajili with his Index on Censorship Award (Image: Melody Patry)

In May, Azerbaijan’s parliament adopted regressive legislation extending criminal defamation provisions to online content. Azerbaijanis now face potential fines of up to AZN 1,000 (approximately USD $1,280), or prison sentences of up to three years for items they post online, including on Facebook. The chilling effect is so severe that individuals refrain from even “liking a friend’s controversial status”, says a young Azeri. “We are aware that social media are monitored,” she adds.

As the Aliyev regime tightens the screws, space for free expression is shrinking and prospects for free and fair elections grow slimmer. Three years after receiving Index’s Law and Campaigning Award, Rashid Hajili is still busy fighting repression against the right to freedom of expression in the country. The number of his clients prosecuted for being critical to the government keeps increasing. “There is very limited space for free expression,” says Hajili. “Many independent or critical voices go online, to online newspapers and to social media”. But the online space is not safe. While many in the civil society or international diplomacy have denounced criminal prosecutions for online publications, and intimidation of journalists, Azerbaijan routinely ignores criticism of its human rights record by international bodies.

The sound of silence: Mali’s musicians

02 Oct 13 | News and features, Volume 42.03 Autumn 2013

Photo: Brave Festival

As Mali’s new president returns to the country amid fresh fighting between government forces and Tuareg rebels, Index on Censorship magazine looks at the climate for free speech in a country split by conflict — and wonders about the future of its brave musicians

Published on 1 October as part of “Not heard?”, Index’s special report on minority voices around the world, filmmaker Johanna Schwartz tells the remarkable story of the griots, Mali’s musicians, responsible for “communicating the oral history” of the country. “They are the lifeblood of Malian society,” Schwartz writes. Groups of musicians have been meeting in the desert for centuries, sharing stories through music. “But all that changed on 22 August 2012” — the day that a member of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad announced that music was forbidden in the country. Musicians came under attack and instruments were destroyed.

The issue includes firsthand account by Fadimata “Disco” Walet Oumar, who was forced to flee as the conflict in Mali developed. “Life without music is not possible … I would rather die than never be able to perform, create or listen to music again in my life,” she writes.

Now as refugees begin returning to the country, music is on its way back in too. The state of emergency has been lifted. The organiser of the famous Festival in the Desert event is considering whether it might be safe enough to hold the festival in 2014. For now, though, musicians, free expression advocates and ordinary citizens know that the country’s problems aren’t quite over. Many people believe the Islamists could return. “There is a fear that freedoms may not be so easily restored,” writes Schwartz. And with the 1 October news that fighting had resumed following unsuccessful peace talks, there is good reason to believe this might be true. The fighting comes only two weeks after the country’s new president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, was instated.

Also from the current issue: outgoing Mail & Guardian editor Nic Dawes says Nelson Mandela’s legacy has been “too easily dismissed”. Plus novelist Philip Pullman and Creative Commons’ head Cathy Casserly debate the future of copyright.

To find out more about the magazine and for subscription options, click here.

Johanna Schwartz’s film about the griots is currently in production. See an extract from the film at the launch of Index on Censorship’s autumn issue on 15 October. To register for the event, click here.

Past: Not Heard? Autumn Magazine Launch (15 October)

01 Oct 13 | Events

FEATURING SARAH BROWN IN CONVERSATION WITH HELEN LEWIS (New Statesman)

Join us in the heart of an inner London school community to launch the Autumn magazine with its special report on suppressed, ignored and censored voices – spotlighting silenced groups from around the world.

Join Sarah Brown in conversation with Helen Lewis, see an exclusive preview of They Will Have To Kill Us First the upcoming documentary from award-winning film-maker Johanna Schwartz, and catch Wail Gzoly’s startling Egyptian street photography.

Spirited debate, invigorating art and a free drinks reception at Lilian Baylis, a tiny but brilliant comprehensive school in the shadows of Westminster.

@IndexEvents – #notheard

When: Tuesday 15th October, 6:30 reception, 7:00-8:00pm event.

Where: Lilian Baylis School, SE11 5QY (Map/directions)

Tickets:Free, registration is required as space is limited.

Elsewhere… Frontline Club Awards (24th October)

01 Oct 13 | Events

THE FRONTLINE CLUB Awards recognise emerging talents and established names for outstanding work, in print, broadcast and photojournalism.

Featuring Glenn Greenwald from the Guardian and Harold Evans, the former editor of The Sunday Times, alongside the evenings host Jon Snow from Channel 4.

This year we have a special focus on the increasing physical and ethical threat that journalists face and the impunity of those who endanger their work.

What: The Frontline Club Awards 2013
When: 7.00pm, Thursday 24th October 2013
Where: The Frontline Club, London

Tickets: Click here

ELSEWHERE are events hosted and run by organisations other than Index; instances of thinking, speaking or acting freely that we applaud and support.

Elsewhere… Anna Politkovskaya Award 2013 (4th October)

01 Oct 13 | Events

HOSTED BY RAW IN WAR the Annual Anna Politkovskaya Award celebrates outstanding women human rights defenders working in conflict zones.

On the eve of Anna Politkovskaya’s murder, join RAW in WAR for an evening of music, theatre and discussion with some very special guests to remember Anna on the eve of the anniversary of her murder on 7th October.

Including a special performance from world famous percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie, a rare live performance of ‘Something Inside So Strong’ by Labi Siffre and guest of honour Sir Nicholas Winton – the ‘British Schindler’ who rescued 669 Jewish children from Czechoslovakia in 1939.

What: Anna Politkovskaya Award 2013
When: 7.45pm, Friday 4th October 2013
Where: Southbank Centre, London

Tickets: Click here

ELSEWHERE are events hosted and run by organisations other than Index; instances of thinking, speaking or acting freely that we applaud and support.

Russia: We know what you blocked this summer

01 Oct 13 | Europe and Central Asia, News and features, Russia

gazeta.ru was just one of the sites blocked by a Russian court.

The major news in internet censorship in summer 2013 in Russia is a new law on copyright covering film, television and video productions. Under the legislation, a website hosting allegedly illegal content can be blocked without a court judgment if the owner of the site fails to remove the content after receiving a warning from the state regulator Roskomnadzor.

The measure was strongly criticised by human rights activists, experts and internet companies, but the State Duma approved the “anti-piracy” law on 21 June and it entered into force on 1 August. The first victim was a torrent-tracker site, added to the Register of Pirate Resources on 22 August. Since then dozens of websites have been banned or blocked and distrubution of many movies online has been prohibited by courts.

Site-blocking has also been used against the mainstream media: in June internet users in the Ulyanovsk region discovered that their access to the websites of 14 popular publications, including the online newspaper gazeta.ru and the tabloid daily Komsomolskaya Pravda, was barred. The local prosecutor blocked the websites after a ruling by a district court that articles on bribery they had published “undermined the authority of the government”. Remarkably, the court failed to inform the newspapers of the decision.

Extremism

Chuvash ISP fined for distributing extremist materials

On 3 June the Chuvash Republic prosecutor reported that the Novocheboksarsk city court had found the head of a local ISP guilty of failing to block access to websites posting extremist materials and had sentenced him to a fine of 2,000 rubles. The verdict has not yet entered into force.

ISP fined in Moscow

On 4 June it was reported that the arbitration court of the Moscow region had sentenced the ISP Tefo to a fine of 30,000 rubles for failing to block access to websites featuring extremist materials. The company appealed the decision, but the appeal court confirmed the verdict.

Chechnya prosecutor seeks to block Belyi Bukvar

On 4 June the Chechnya Republic prosecutor announced that a writ had been served against the ISPs Vainakh Telecom, Elektrosviaz Federal State Unitary Enterprise in the Chechen Republic, Chechenskaya Sotovaya Svyaz, Mig, the Caucasus branch of Megafon and the local branches of VimpelCom and MTS. The prosecutor demanded that the ISPs block access to a website hosting the far-right tract The White Primer (Belyi Bukvar), which is on the Federal List of Extremist Materials.

Krasnodar prosecutor moves against Islamist website

On 5 June 2013, the Krasnodar regional prosecutor said that the Islamist website www. islamdin.biz, which is on the Federal List of Extremist Materials, was publicly accessible. The Starominskiy district prosecutor served a writ demanding that the ISP Beeline block access to the site.

Moscow prosecutor requests blockion on anti-Islam video

On 5 June it was reported that the Presnenskaya prosecutor in Moscow had served a writ in the Basmanny district court against the ISP Taskom. The prosecutor demanded a block on access to a website featuring the anti-Islamic video The Innocence of Muslims, which is on the Federal List of Extremist Materials.

Komi Republic ISP yields to bailiffs

On 6 June it was reported that the Syktyvkar city court had approved the demand of the city prosecutor for a block on access to the websites www. islamdin.biz, www.3a русb.livejornal.com and www.pat-livejornal.com. The court ordered the ISP Parma-Inform to block them, but the company did not immediately comply. The bailiff service notified it that enforcement proceedings were being initiated, and warned of possible criminal liability for non-compliance with the court’s decision. Subsequently, the ISP blocked the websites.

Courts order ISPs to block Falun Gong and Scientology

On 13 June the Krasnodar regional prosecutor said that the Leninsky district court and the Oktyabrsky district court had approved the city prosecutor’s demands that eight ISPs – Astarta, Kubintersvyaz, Prestizh-internet, Kuban State University, VimpelCom, Megafon, MTS, and Kubtelecom – block access to sites publishing materials by the Chinese sect Falun Gong and Scientology tracts. The offending texts were Zhuan Falun by Li Hongzhi, Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China by David Matas and David Kilgour and PTS/SP Course Lectures by L Ron Hubbard, all of which had been previously legally recognised as extremist.

Novokyibishevsk prosecutor moves on websites

On 13 June the Samara regional prosecutor announced that the Novokyibishevsk city prosecutor had served 20 writs against the ISPs Progress-IT, TesKomVolga, MIRS and NeksTellSamara demanding blocks on access to websites hosting material included in the Federal List of Extremist Materials. The Novokuibyshev city court has approved eight of the writs.

Mussolini books lands ISP in trouble

On 17 June the Ivanovo regional prosecutor said that the Rodnikovsky district prosecutor had demanded that the ISP Irtek block access to two websites hosting the texts of Benito Mussolini’s Memoirs 1942-1943 and The Doctrine of Fascism.

ISPs warned over access to extremist materials

On 18 June the Jewish Autonomous regional prosecutor announced that it had demanded that the Khabarovsk branch of MTS and the Birobidzhan branch of VimpelCom block access to websites hosting extremist materials.

Kemerovo blocks websites

On 18 June it was reported that a court had approved the demand of the Zavodskoy district prosecutor that an ISP block access to websites hosting texts included in the Federal List of Extremist Materials.

Blagoveshchensk denies access to extremism

On 20 June the Blagoveshchensk city court approved the demand of the district prosecutor that the Amur branch of Rostelecom block a site hosting the article “The Mujahideen statement upon arrival of new bandit groups – FSB and MVD – to Dagestan”, which is on the Federal List of Extremist Materials.

Samara prosecutors demand block

On 21 June the Samara regional prosecutor announced that the Zheleznodorozhny district prosecutor had served 26 court writs against the ISPs Intertelekom.ru, Avantel, and Samara Lan, demanding that they block access to websites hosting fascist propaganda and materials aimed at inciting religious and racial hatred.

Saratov ISP ordered to block websites

On 24 June the Saratov regional prosecutor said that a court had approved the demand of the Leninsky district prosecutor that the regional branch of the ISP Rostelecom block access to websites with extremist content.

Surgut prosecutors move against NBP website

On 24 June the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous District prosecutor said that the Surgut city prosecutor had served a writ against the local branches of the ISPs VimpelCom and Megafon demanding blocks on access to the sites of extremist organisations including the Slavic Union and the National Bolshevik Party.

Mari El prosecutor gets sites barred

On 1 July the Mari-El Republican prosecutor said that the Volzhsk city court had approved a demand from the Volzhsky inter-district prosecutor that the ISP Intercom block access to sites hosting the text of the booklet Rasovaia Gigiena i Demograficheskaia Politika v Natsional-sotsialisticheskoi Germanii (Racial Hygiene and Population Policy in National-Socialist Germany) and the Islamist tracts The Concept of Hizb-ut-Tahrir and Kniga Edinobozhiia (The Book of Monotheism). The prosecutor also sought to block websites promoting drug use.

Moscow ISP pre-empts court ban

On 26 June the Lytkarino city prosecutor in Moscow announced that it had served a writ against the ISP Velcom-L, demanding a block on access to a website hosting extremist materials. The ISP complied without waiting for a court decision. The case was closed.

Penza websites reined in

On 26 June the Penza regional prosecutor said that the Oktyabrsky district court in Penza had approved the district prosecutor’s demand that local ISPs block access to websites hosting extremist materials including Krysoliudi by Orei Volot and Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler; both of which are on the Federal List of Extremist Materials.

Smolensk prosecutors issue warning

On 27 June the Smolensk regional prosecutor said that the district prosecutors of the Zadneprovsky and Promyshlennyi districts and the inter-district prosecutors of Gagarinskaya and Safonovskaya had issued 12 warnings to ISPs of violations of the law on combating extremism. The ISPs that received the warnings were the local branches of MTS and Rostelecom, SmolenskSvyazStroy, MAN-Set, and the Russian Post (Pochta Rossii).

Jewish Autonomous Region blocks access

On 2 July the prosecutor of the Jewish Autonomous Region said that the regional offices of MTS and Beeline had blocked access to extremist materials after the ISPs were sent warnings.

Novgorod court orders block

On 11 July the Novgorod regional prosecutor said that the Novgorod district court had approved a prosecutor’s demand that the ISPs Maxim +, Novline, Rostelecom and Alfakom block access to a Jehovah’s Witnesses website and to a site hosting the anti-Islamic video Innocence of Muslims, which is on the Federal List of Extremist Materials. The ISPs have complied with the court decision.

Chukotka prosecutor blocks access

On 12 July the prosecutor of Chukotka Autonomous District said that the district attorney had demanded that the management of the ISP Arctic Region Communications block access to extremist materials. The ISP complied.

Bratsk prosecutors acts against extremism

On July 15 the Irkutsk regional prosecutor said that the Padunsky district prosecutor in Bratsk had demanded that an ISP block access to websites included on the Federal List of Extremist Materials.

Samara blocks book site

On 15 July the Kirov district court approved the demand of the Samara regional prosecutor that access be blocked to a website hosting the book Allu Butami Ochishchenie Serdtsa i Tela ot Griazi Mnogobozhiia i Neveriia (Purification of the Heart and the Body from the Dirt of Polytheism and Atheism) by Ahmad ibn Hajar. The book is on the Federal List of Extremist Materials.

Chukotka prosecutor targets post office

On 17 July the prosecutor of Chukotka Autonomous District demanded that the Lavrenty post office cease allowing access to sites included in the Federal List of Extremist Materials, among them sites inciting ethnic and religious hatred. Access to these sites was blocked and the Lavrenty postmaster was reprimanded.

Pyatigorsk says Islamist site is extremist

On 16 July Pyatigorsk city court approved a demand by the city prosecutor to classify the Islamist website firdauz.ucoz.net, which had published the banned video lecture Chuzhie (Aliens) by Sheikh Khalid Yasin, as extremist.

Primorye blocks extremist material

On 18 July the Primorye regional prosecutor said that the director of Fokino-Telecom had been told to eliminate violations of the law on combating extremism. The ISP blocked access to several websites and the ISP’s managers face disciplinary charges.

Leningrad moves against messages

On 19 July the Leningrad regional prosecutor said that the Sosnovy Bor town prosecutor had demanded that the ISP Infosentr block extremist materials. The prosecutor said that the local network sbor.claim, housed on the Infosentr’s server news.sbor.net, contained user messages aimed at inciting national and racial hatred and violence. The management of Infosentr removed the offending materials from the server.

Krasnodar ISPs receive warnings

On 8 August it was reported that the central administrative district prosecutor in Krasnodar had issued warnings to the ISPs Virtual, Komlink, Postavshchik Kommercheskoi Informatsii and Real Comm, which had all allowed access to a video message by the Chechen Islamist Doku Umarov. The message was indicted for public incitement to terrorist activities including disruption of the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi.

ISP told to limit access in Moscow

On 26 August it was announced that the Pavlovsky Posad town court had approved the town prosecutor’s demand that the ISP Elektranet block access to extremist websites and remove the offending sites from its servers. The court ruling has not yet entered into force.

Extremist websites blocked in Chechnya

On 29 August the Chechnya Republican prosecutor said that the Leninsky district court of Grozny had endorsed five demands that ISPs block access to websites hosting extremist materials.

Saratov prosecutor demands access block

On 30 August the Saratov regional prosecutor announced that the Kirovsky district prosecutor had served a writ in order to include the website, which contains a book included in the Federal List of Extremist Materials, on the Register of Banned Domain Names.

ISP loses appeal in Sverdlovsk

On 30 August it was announced that an ISP from Kamensk-Uralsky had lost its appeal against a court decision demanding that it block access to websites containing extremist materials. The company had argued that ISPs should not be responsible for content monitoring, but was instructed to block access to the offending sites.

Ulyanovsk prosecutor seeks bans

On 20 August it was reported that the Inzensky district prosecutor had served a writ demanding that the Ulyanovsk regional branch of Rostelecom block access to websites hosting extremist materials, including kcblog.info, koransunnah.wordpress.com and masteroff.org.

Students ‘must be protected’ in Voronezh

On 14 August it was reported that the Kamensky district bailiffs’ office in Voronezh had demanded that the administration of a district school comply with a court order blocking student access to extremist sites within five days. The school complied and enforcement proceedings were closed.

Altai Republic bans 10 sites

On 14 August the Gorno-Altaysk city court reviewed two demands by the Altai Republic prosecutor that two ISPs block access to 10 websites with extremist content. During the review it was established that the ISP E-Telecom had voluntarily complied with the demand and blocked the websites. The ISP ONGNET agreed to comply with the request at the time of the court proceedings.

Tambov prosecutors demand blocks

On 6 August the Tambov regional prosecutor said that the Michurinsk town prosecutor had demanded that the ISP Yugo-Vostok TransTeleKom block access to extremist materials.

Networking service hit because of 2011 post

On 7-8 August, internet users in several regions were unable to access the popular social networking site LiveJournal.com. Beeline, a major mobile operator and ISP, temporarily blocked the site in Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod and Yekaterinburg because of a post about miendorss, published in 2011. The intention was to block only a page, but an error led to blocking the entire site.

Extremist book publishers targeted in Ulyanovsk

On 8 August it was reported that the Ulyanovsk district prosecutor had served a writ demanding that the regional branch of Rostelecom block access to extremist materials on the websites bookz.ru, svoboda.ru, tvoyhram.ru, e-reading-lib.com and blagievesti.ru. The sites were found to contain the books Krasnaia Kabbala (The Red Kabbalah), Rasovaia Gigiena i Demograficheskaia Politika v Natsional-sotsialisticheskoi Germanii (Racial Hygiene and Population Policy in National-Socialist Germany), Udar Russkikh Bogov (The Strike of Russian Gods), Glavnaia Spetsial’naia Operatsiia Vperedi (The Main Special Operation Is Ahead), and Spravochnik Russkogo Cheloveka (The Russian’s Handbook).

Drugs

Langepas prosecutor demands drug restrictions

On 10 June the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous district prosecutor said that the Langepas city prosecutor had served a writ demanding that the ISP Rostelecom block websites posting information about the use and manufacture of illegal drugs.

Togliatti prosecutors block drug sites

On 20 June the Samara regional prosecutor said that the Avtozavodsky district prosecutor in Togliatti had served 54 writs against the ISPs AIST, Infolada, Infopak, Letkom-2, Togliatti Telecom and Aido Telecom, demanding that they block websites promoting the use and production of illegal drugs. Thirteen of these writs have been acted upon.

Bashkortostan move on ‘smoking blends’

On 22 July it was announced that the Ishimbay district prosecutor had served a writ against the ISP Bashinformsvyaz, demanding that access to 40 sites that promote the use of ‘smoking mixtures’ be blocked.

Moscow ISP told to clean up

On 28 August it was announced that the city prosecutor of Pavlovsky Posad in the Moscow region had demanded that the ISP Elektranet block sites hosting information about drug manufacture. The city court approved the prosecutor’s demand in full.

Roscomnadzor bans singer’s website

On 8 August it was reported that the state regulator Roscomnadzor had added the webpage of Buryat singer Dasha Baskakova to the Register of Banned Websites on the request of drug enforcement agencies. The singer has been unable to obtain any explanation for adding her site to the register.

Bribery and corruption

Ulyanovsk prosecutors seek bans

On 14 June it was reported that the Zasviyazhskiy district prosecutor of Ulyanovsk had served a writ demanding that the ISPs DARS-IP and Telekom.ru. block the websites 7ba.ru, babyplan.ru, daslife, bbcont, Volgograd, which contain information on how to give bribes.

Gazeta.ru blocked in Ulyanovsk and Nizhny Novgorod

In the second half of June 2013, internet users in the Ulyanovsk region discovered that their access to the websites of 14 popular publications, including gazeta.ru and Komsomolskaya Pravda, had been blocked. The local prosecutor had blocked the websites in accordance with a decision of the Leninsky district court, which ruled that material on bribery previously featured in these publications “undermined the authority of the government”. The court failed to inform the newspapers about the decision. On 26 June the ISP restored access to the materials on the website. The prosecutor explained that the block on access related to specific materials published at gazeta.ru, and not to the entire site. The Dzerzhinsk city prosecutor in the Nizhny Novgorod region also requested that the ISP block gazeta.ru materials.

ISPs pre-empt prosecutor in Ivanovo

On 12 July it was announced that the Teykovskaya inter-district prosecutor had served six writs demanding that Ivanovo ISPs block websites on techniques of bribing officials. The ISPs complied with the writs without waiting for the court’s decision.

Prosecutor withdraws in Nizhny Novgorod

On 24 July it was reported that the Kulebaki town prosecutor in Nizhny Novgorod had gone to court demanding that the regional branch of Rostelecom block access to a page of the social network livejournal.com which discussed ways of soliciting bribes. The prosecutor subsequently withdrew because the defendant lacked the technical capacity for blocking access to the page without blocking the entire site.

Ufa nixes bribery sites

On 23 July it was announced that the Ishimbay district prosecutor in Ufa had served writs against the ISPs Bashinformsvyaz and Ufanet, demanding that they block access to websites hosting information on ways to give a bribe. The court approved the prosecutor’s demands.

Tyumen court bans corruption tips

On 26 August the Tyumen regional prosecutor said that the Tsentralnyi district court in Tyumen had endorsed a prosecutor’s demand to block access to five websites hosting information on techniques of bribery.

Reader’s letter from 2009 prompts ban

On 29 August it became clear why the Frunze district prosecutor in St Petersburg had agreed to block access to the gazety.ru website – a letter by a woman reader entitled “I can teach you how to give a bribe”. Several other sites had reprinted the text, so the prosecutor demanded a block on access to these site as well: the advice section of www.daslife.ru, a social network for mature individuals; maxpark.com, a women’s community website; www.girls-only.org; the smart-phone portal www.7ba.ru; the business website bc1.ru; and a pregnancy-planning portal, babyplan.ru. The Frunze district prosecutor said that that the managers of these websites should face criminal responsibility “for their effects on the mind and will of the actor (cultivating an intention to commit a crime) in the form of advice, guidance, or providing information”.

Samara court moves against bribery advice

On 9 August it was reported that the Samarsky district court had approved six writs from the district prosecutor demanding blocks on access to websites providing information on how to commit crimes of corruption. The names of the websites in question were not reported.

Pyramid schemes shut down in Volgograd

On 12 August the Volgograd regional prosecutor said that the Tsentralny district prosecutor had served 44 writs in local courts against ISPs demanding blocks on access to websites advertising a pyramid scheme, the Group of Social Solidarity: the Knights (Gruppa sotsial’noi solidarnosti: Vitiazi).

Krasnodar prosecutor aims at anti-draft info

On 14 August the Krasnodar regional prosecutor said that the prosecutor of its central administrative district had served eight writs against ISPs to block access to websites hosting information on the ways to evade military service.

Samara prosecutor bars corruption sites

On 8 August the Samara regional prosecutor said that a district court in Samara had approved six writs from the district prosecutor blocking access to websites hosting information on how to commit corruption offences.

Gambling

Nyagan court orders ban

On 14 June it was reported that a court had approved a writ from the Nyagan town prosecutor demanding that the ISP Rostelecom block access to gambling websites.

Bryansk gambling sites blocked

On 19 June the Bryansk regional prosecutor said that the Soviet district court had approved a writ from the Fokinsky district prosecutor demanding that the ISP Mobilnye TeleSystemy block access to seven gambling websites.

Stavropol court demands block

On 21 June it was reported that the Leninsky district court had approved a writ from the Stavropol district prosecutor, demanding that ISPs block access to 80 sites involved in illegal gambling activities.

Pyramid-scheme sites targeted in Ulyanovsk

On 26 June it was reported that a court had approved a writ from the Leninsky district prosecutor demanding that the ISP ER-Telekom Holdingblock block access to six websites run by the MMM pyramid scheme.

Online casinos barred in Stavropol

On 27 June it was reported that the Leninsky district court had approved a writ from the Stavropol city prosecutor demanding that the ISP VimpelCom block access to 80 gambling websites.

Ivanovo prosecutor demands pyramid scheme ban

On 28 June the Ivanovo regional prosecutor said that the Teikovsky Inter-district prosecutor had served 20 court orders blocking the MMM and MMM-2012 pyramid scheme websites.

Samara gambling sites blocked

On 15 July the Samara regional prosecutor announced that the Kirovsky district court of Samara had approved five writs from the Samara district prosecutor demanding blocks on gambling websites.

Magadan bailiffs act against ISP

On 18 July it was announced that the Susumansky district bailiffs department had initiated enforcement proceedings against the ISP Hitek, which had been ordered to block subscribers’ access to the website www.win-win-casino.com within five days of a court decision coming into force. The ISP blocked access to the site.

Samara blocks 210 online casinos

On 19 August the Samara regional prosecutor said that the Oktyabrsky district court of Samara had approved 210 writs from the district prosecutor blocking access to gambling websites. Six additional writs are pending.

Casino ban bill introduced in State Duma

On 19 July a bill allowing blocks on access to online casinos was introduced in the State Duma. The initiative came from Moscow Duma deputies. The bill suggests “the decision with respect to information that allows to take part in gambling activities via telecommunication networks, such as the internet” as a basis for inclusion on the Register of Banned Websites.

Omsk bailiffs ordered in on ISP

On 21 August it was reported that the Leninsky district court in Omsk had asked bailiffs to enforce a court decision ordering an ISP to block access to online casinos. The ISP complied with the request within five days. The name of the ISP was not specified.

Moscow ISPs ordered to block casinos

On August 7 the Moscow city prosecutor reported that the Kuntsevskiy district court had approved a writ from the district prosecutor demanding that the ISPs Velnet, SITS and SmarTel block access to gambling websites.

Perm court institutes ban

On 1 August it was reported that the Leninsky district court of Perm had approved a writ from the Kosinski district prosecutor demanding that the regional branch of Rostelecom block access to the MMM- 2011 pyramid scheme website. The court’s decision has not yet entered into force.

Ulyanovsk court blocks online casino

On 8 July it was reported that the Ulyanovsk regional prosecutor had served a writ against the regional branch of Rostelecom demanding it block access to the gambling website slotico.com. The court approved the writ.

Arkhangelsk ISP accedes to demands

On 26 July it was reported that the ISP ATK had on the request of the city prosecutor blocked access to online casinos and the MMM- 2013 pyramid scheme website. The ISP acted before court approval of the prosecutor’s demand.

Explosives manufacturing

Chechnya prosecutor demands explosives ban

On 4 June the Chechnya Republic prosecutor was reported to have served writs against the ISPs Vainakh Telecom, Elektrosviaz, Chechenskaya Sotovaya Svyaz and Mig, the Caucasus branch of Megafon, and the local branches of VimpelCom and MTS, demanding that they block access to two websites featuring information on manufacturing explosives at home.

Samara court blocks explosives site

On 4 June the Kirov district court of Samara approved the district prosecutor’s writ blocking access to a website hosting information on manufacturing improvised explosive devices.

Pyatigorsk bans weapons information

On 22 June it was announced that the Pyatigorsk city court had approved a writ from the city prosecutor demanding that the ISP KMVtelekom block access to websites hosting information on manufacturing weapons.

Chechnya prosecutor moves against ISPs

On 24 June it was reported that the Chechnya prosecutor had served a writ in the Leninsky district court in Grozny against the ISPs Vainakh Telecom, Elektrosviaz, Chechenskaya Sotovaya Svyaz and Mig, the Caucasus branch of Megafon, and the local branches of VimpelCom and MTS, demanding a block on access to a website hosting information on manufacturing explosives.

Pyatigorsk court blocks arms websites

On 26 June it was announced that the Pyatigorsk city court had ordered the ISP KMVtelekom to block access to websites advertising the sale of weapons and providing information on manufacturing of explosives and weapons.

Chechnya prosecutor demands action on explosives info

On 25 June the Chechen Republic prosecutor said that the Gudermessky district prosecutor had served two writs against the ISP Gumsnet demanding that it block access to a website hosting information on manufacturing explosives.

Trans-Baikal prosecutor gives ISP ultimatum

On 28 June the Trans-Baikal regional prosecutor issued a writ against the ISP ChitaTechEnergo, demanding it block access to several websites hosting information on manufacturing explosives.

Explosives sites identified in Omsk

On 19 July it was reported that the Omsk central district prosecutor had served writs against the ISPs T-Service, Media Group and Kompleksnye Komputernye Sistemy demanding that they block three websites hosting information on ways to give a bribe and home manufacturing of explosives.

TransBaikal court blocks access to bomb website

On 7 August the Transbaikal regional prosecutor said that on August 7 the Chita central district court had approved a writ from the regional prosecutor demanding that the regional branch of the ISP Rostelecom block access to a website hosting information on manufacturing of explosives. The ISP had refused to comply voluntarily with the prosecutor’s demand.

Mordovia prosecutor seeks ban

On 30 July the Mordovia Republic prosecutor said that the Ruzaevsky inter-district prosecutor had served a writ against the ISP Rostelecom demanding it block access to two websites hosting information on manufacturing explosives.

Grozny court orders explosives block

On 9 July the Leninsky district court of Grozny approved six writs from the Chechnya Republic prosecutor demanding blocks on access to websites hosting information on improvised explosive devices.

Piracy

VKontakte deletes audio files

On 14 June it was reported that the administration of the social network VKontakte had started deleting its music content in anticipation of the anti-piracy bill being considered by the State Duma. Users who download audio files personally, rather than copying them from another person, received messages from the network administration demanding that they remove any material that infringed on copyright.

New copyright and piracy law comes into force

On 21 June the State Duma passed a new law on protection of copyright in film, television and video productions. Any website hosting allegedly illegal content can now be blocked without waiting for a court judgment if the owner of the site fails to remove the identified material after a warning from the regulator Roskomnadzor.

On 1 August the “anti-piracy” law entered into force. On the first day, the Moscow city court rejected three writs. Seichas, a media distribution company, demanded a block on access to five films found on the Turbofilm.tv and Rutor.org websites, and additional blocks on access to movies posted by users of the social network VKontakte.
The writs were rejected on the grounds that the applicants had failed to indicate the persons against whom they sought action and had not supplied other documentation.
Roscomnadzor opened a website for complaints about piracy, NAP.RKN.GOV.RU, on 1 August.

First entry appears on piracy register

On 22 August it was announced that Roscomnadzor had added the address of the torrent tracker Opensharing.org to its Register of Pirate Resources, stating that the owners of the site had “failed to remove within the stipulated statutory period the technical ability to download the following 10 films, the rights to which were claimed by the company Direktsiia Kino: Vysotsky; Spasibo; Chto Zhivoi; Diversant; Konets Voiny; Dve Sud’by; Novaia Zhizn; Desantura; Nikto Krome Nas; Admiral; Ischeznuvshie; Leto Volkov; Kanikuly Strogogo Rezhima; Liubov Pod Prikrytiem; and Podsadnoi.

Prosecutors demand block on gazety.ru in St Petersburg

On 23 August Fontanka.ru said that the St Petersburg city prosecutor had demanded a block on the online newspaper gazety.ru for publishing an article allegedly promoting corruption in 2009.

Another site added to piracy list

On 27 August it was announced that the state regulator Roscomnadzor had added rutor.org to the Register of Banned Websites. The website opensharing.org had previously been included on the register, then taken off the list after removing its illegal content, and then added again after it was established that its distribution of pirated materials had been resumed.

Moscow court bans sharing of online movies

On 13 August the Moscow city court upheld the claim of the company Direktsiia Kino demanding the termination of access to the following movies: Vysotsky; Spasibo; Chto Zhivoi; Diversant; Konets Voiny; Dve Sud’by; Novaia Zhizn; Desantura; Nikto Krome Nas; Admiral; Kanikuly Strogogo Rezhima; Liubov Pod Prikrytiem; Trudno Byt’ Macho; Podsadnoi; Belaia Noch; and Nezhnaia Noch. The defendant website was not identified.

On 31 August the Moscow city court handed down three decisions on appeals from Central Partnership Sales House. The court ordered termination of distribution online of pirated copies the films Legenda No 17 (the name of the film was misspelled in the text of the verdict), Legenda o Kruge, Marafon, Pyat’ Nevest, O Chem Molchat Devushki and Likvidatsiia on the sites rutor.org and nnm-club.ru.

Moscow court upholds copyright on TV series

On 8 August it was announced that the Moscow city court had upheld a request from the media distribution company Seichas for a block on access to the TV series Interny, Sasha, Tania, HB and Univer Novaia Obshaga. The court ordered the website rutor.org to block access to the series and the website Turbofilm.tv to block access to Komputershchiki TV series.

TV company demands block

On 15 August the Moscow city court upheld the claim of Pimanov and Partners against a website that had made three seasons of the series Aleksandrovsky Sad and Zhukov available online. The plaintiff demanded a block on access to the offending website. The unnamed site was given 15 days to confirm its right to distribute the material.

Moscow court bars pirate series

On 16 August it was announced that the Moscow city court had upheld a demand from the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company that the website rutor.org block access to the TV series Institut Blagorodnykh Devits.

Move against piracy approved

On 16 August the Moscow city court upheld four claims by media companies NTV-Profit and Novyi Disk-trei seeking to block internet access to the TV series Vor, Dve Luny Tri Solntsa, Umirat Legko, Mama, Russkii Bunt, Poklonnnik, Kliuchi ot Smerti, Den’ Rozhdeniya Burzhuia and Krutye Povoroty.

Court backs anti-piracy action

On 8 August it was reported that the Moscow city court had approved the media distribution company Seichas’s demand for a ban on the websites rutor.org and turbofilm.tv making available online the TV series Interny, Sasha, Tania, Univer Novaia Obshaga and The IT Crowd.

Education and public spaces

Saratov schools penalised over filters
On 10 June it was reported that the Turkovsky district prosecutor in Saratov had demanded that 10 schools improve their internet filtering to prevent students accessing extremist materials. Eighteen officials face disciplinary actions.

Novgorod prosecutor acts on explosives

On 21 June the Novgorod regional prosecutor said that the Batetsky district prosecutor had demanded that the chairman of the district’s education committee block access to websites hosting information on manufacturing explosives from the computers in Gorodnia village secondary school. Access to the offending websites has been blocked.

ISP blocks sites before court decision

After an inspection in March 2013 revealed that computers at Dubnenskaya and Voskresenskaya schools in the Dubnensky district in Tula provided access to online pornography and to the text of Hitler’s Mein Kampf, the Dubnensky district prosecutor demanded that access to these sites be blocked. On 25 June, the case was dismissed due to the fact that the ISP Rostelecom had blocked the websites prior to the start of the proceedings.

Chapaevsk school told to block websites

On 26 June it was announced that the Chapaevsk city court in Samara had approved the city prosecutor’s demand that the principal of School No 8 in Chapaevsk install content filters on its computers after the prosecutor found that students had access to extremist and pornographic websites and to the VKontakte and Odnoklassniki social networks.

Sverdlovsk schools warned on filtering

On 27 June the Sverdlovsk regional prosecutor said that the Chkalovsky district prosecutor had found that the computers of Yekaterinburg Gymnasium No 39 allowed access to extremist materials, despite being equipped with content filters. The school principal was issued a warning.

Yaroslavl prosecutor demands shield for children

On 28 June it was reported that the Kirov district prosecutor in Yaroslavl had demanded that schools No 42 and No 43 cease allowing access from their computers to websites hosting extremist and pornographic materials.

Stavropol students ‘must be protected’

On 18 July the Stavropol regional prosecutor said that the Budennovskaya inter-district prosecutor had issued eight demands that schools block access to websites hosting extremist materials, pornography and promotion of drug abuse. The schools have complied and the responsible parties face disciplinary charges.

Schools told to shield children from drugs

On 25 July it was reported that the Monastyrshchinsky district prosecutor in Nizhny Novgorod had served 12 court writs demanding that secondary schools block access to websites hosting recipes for making illegal drugs. All 12 writs were approved.

Chapaevsk limits access to gambling sites

On 25 July the Samara regional prosecutor said that the Leninsky district court in Samara had approved 16 writs from the Chapaevsk prosecutor demanding a block on access to websites that facilitate online gambling.

Novgorod blocks school computers

On 31 July the Novgorod regional prosecutor said that the Batetsky district prosecutor had demanded that the chairman of the district board of education block access to websites giving advice on bribery from school computers in the villages of Gorodnia and Batetsky. The sites were blocked.

Saratov prosecutor acts on ‘smoking blends’

On 2 August the Saratov regional prosecutor said that Aleksandrovo-Gaisky district prosecutor had demanded that the principal of Secondary School No 3 in the village of Aleksandrov-Gai block access websites with information on illegal drugs.

Gaming hall ‘allowed access to extremist material’

On 17 July the Volgograd regional prosecutor said that the Kamyshinsk city prosecutor had served a writ against the proprietor of the local gaming hall Ramdos, Tsereus, demanding a block on access to websites hosting extremist materials. The gaming hall has been shut down for breaches of fire regulations.

Belgorod ISPs face clampdown

On 29 August it was reported that the Belgorod regional office of the state regulator Roscomnadzor had reported the ISPs Rosinterkom, Svyazinform, Radius and Optiktelekom for failing to block access to materials on the Register of Banned Websites. The case will now go to the Belgorod arbitration court for consideration.

Kazan ISP warned of violations

On 22 August it was announced that Roscomnadzor office in the Tatarstan Republic had compiled a record of alleged failures by the ISP SKS-AiTiTelekom to block access to websites and pages included in the Register of Banned Websites.

Pornography

Porn site blocked in Mordovia

On 16 July the Mordovia Republic prosecutor said that the Ruzaevskaya inter-district prosecutor had served a writ against the Mordovian branch of Rostelecom, seeking to block access to a porn website. The Leninsky district court in Saransk endorsed the writ.

This article was originally posted at indexoncensorship.org on 1 Oct 2013

Sudan’s government silences press through ownership

30 Sep 13 | News and features, Politics and Society, Sudan

The two most influential independent newspapers in Sudan, Al-Sahafa and Al-Kartoum, have recently been bought by the National Intelligence
Security Service (NISS).

The NISS now owns 90% of all the independent newspapers in the country, according to Alnoor Ahmed Alnoor, the ex-editor in chief of Al-Sahafa.

The NISS purchased 65% of Al-Sahafa’s stock from a company called Bayader and a further 25% from Sideeq Wadaa, a businessman and member of the ruling NCP Party (with the remainder retained by the paper’s founder, Taha Ali Albashir). This follows the purchase of 80% of the stock of Al-Khartoum from its owner, Albagir Abdellah, five months ago.

Ownership represents the final stage in the Sudanese government’s campaign to silence independent voices in the media. Newspapers that refused to tow the NCP line or implement its agendas faced harassment, and fifteen newspapers were forcibly closed following the independence of South Sudan in 2011. Punitive taxes were also imposed, as was the case with the Al-Sudani between 2006 to 2011, which eventually forced the paper’s owner to sell it to a member of the NCP.

Khalid Abdelaziz, a one-time editorial manager of Al-Sudani says: “They used to demand about US$400,000 a year in their campaign against us while leaving their own newspapers paying little tax. They also used regulations to prevent us from the advertising. They gave us a choice, to implement their agendas or to sell our newspaper. We took the second choice”.

The new ownership has been followed by the resignation of key journalist. Interference led to Mozdalfa Osman to step down as editorial manager at Al-Khartoum: “I resigned because of the negative influence on my job and the implementing of NISS’s agenda, which contradicted my professionalism”.

Those that remain face increasing harassment, such as Al-Khartoum’s Mohamed Salih, winner of this year’s Peter Mackler prize, who faces pressure from his new editor-in-chief: “He calls me four times weekly asking to change some of the ideas in my column. I have never worked under such conditions before”.

Independent reporting in Sudanese has had a checkered history. The free press thrived for 57 years from 1903 to 1960 when first dictatorship came to the power. After the revolution of October 1964 independent newspapers once more operated until the second dictatorship in 1969, which nationalized all newspapers considered to have had a socialist orientation. With the second period of democracy, following the revolution of March 1985, another tranche of independent newspapers came into existence. However this once more came to an end when the current regime came to power in a military coup in June 1989.

Before the peace agreement with Sudan people liberation movement (SPLM) in 2005, NCP created shell companies to buy stakes in the newspapers, such as Alrai Alaam one of the oldest newspapers in Sudan. It has been published since 1948. The shell companies began buying stakes in 2002. The same process has been used with Alsahafa and Alkhartoum.

Hayder Almukashfi, who is responsible for the opinion pages on Al-Sahafa, said the newspaper has been greatly influenced by the new owners: “All the pages have been affected by the new polices and the opinion pages have been affected the most. The new owners sacked the previous editor in chief, who had been in the job for years, and have brought another one is a member of ruling NCP. This is an awful situation for freedom of speech in Sudan. The government can now claim there’s no censorship of the press because now the government is the press”.

This article was originally posted on 30 Sept 2013 at indexoncensorship.org

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