Conventional wisdom suggests that the web’s power to drive social revolution is over-rated, but the Tunisian government still isn’t taking any chances. Its agents are hacking its opponents’ networks and sabotaging them, even as foreign hackers retaliate by doing the same to the state’s own sites. Rohan Jayasekera reports
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The introduction of a de facto broadcast watershed may signal progress a more mature attitude, says Leo Mirani
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Two weeks ago I wrote of Tehran Bus Workers’ Union treasurer Reza Shahabi, eight days into a dry hunger strike (nil by mouth) at Evin Prison. Shahabi’s demand for basic rights for he and his fellow workers in the first instance and for justice with regards to his arrest and imprisonment for this very fight in the second, lasted 16 days. He ended his hunger strike on 19 December following calls from workers unions worldwide who sent statements in his support including one from the TUC “On behalf of the British trade union movement, and its 6.2m members”.
Reza Shahabi now sends a New Year message of thanks from his prison ward:
To workers and workers’ organisations throughout the world!
On the occasion of the coming New Year 2011, I would like to extend my congratulations to my beloved co-workers and fellow-workers throughout the world.
While my fellow workers and I have been incarcerated for our advocacy of workers’ rights in Iran, and our demands for the creation of independent workers’ organisations in Iran, many workers’ organisations throughout the world have rallied in our support, and have condemned the treatment we have received in jail.
While I was on hunger strike, I received a multitude of support from workers and their organisations throughout the world. I would like to acknowledge and thank each of you for your messages of solidarity.
I hope that through our solidarity we shall be able to overcome all obstacles in achieving our goals of justice, freedom and equality, and through our daily efforts transcend capitalism and achieve what rightly belongs to us.
I wish for a day when all of us will be able to live a decent and humane life, without any wars or violence.
Finally I wish you all a happy New Year, full of success, health and unity.
I warmly shake all your hands
Reza Shahabi
Incarcerated Worker
Ward 209, Evin Prison, Tehran
26, December 26 2010 (5 Dey, 1389)
Index on Censorship calls on Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, head of the judiciary in Iran, to overturn the sentences handed down this week to the film directors Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof. Jafar Panahi was sentenced this week to six years in prison for “colluding in the gathering and making of propaganda against the regime”. He is also banned from making films, writing scripts, travelling abroad and talking to the media for 20 years. Mohammad Rasoulof also received a prison sentence of six years.
In a letter to Ayatollah Larijani, Index on Censorship’s chief executive John Kampfner says:
We would like to remind you that Iran’s own constitution guarantees the right to freedom of expression, the essential condition for any artist to engage in their work and enjoy the freedom to create. We therefore ask you to guarantee this most fundamental of human rights to Mr Panahi, Mr Rasoulof and all artists, academics and journalists currently facing similar sentences.
Index on Censorship urges the Iranian government to recognise Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof as ambassadors for Iran’s creative culture, instead of treating them as criminals. “The Islamic Republic’s continuing crackdown on artists, journalists and writers can only harm the future of its people,” writes John Kampfner in his letter.
Jafar Panahi is amongst Iran’s leading film directors. His first film The White Balloon won the Camera d’Or at the Cannes film festival in 1995 and he was awarded the Golden Lion in 2000 for his film The Circle.
Speaking in support of Jafar Panahi, documentary filmmaker Kim Longinotto says:
Jafar Panahi has been an inspiration for me and my friends for many years. His poetic, sensitive and gripping films tell complex stories with well-rounded characters that he treats with great affection and respect. His films never tell us what to think, or give easy answers — they allow us to discover things for ourselves. He gives me hope for a future where men and women can truly identify with one another’s experiences.