A roundup of cyber news from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This week’s post includes updates on Syria, use of Internet technology in Tunisia to advance freedom, blogger arrests, and social media news.
Tag Archives: Blogger Arrests
Middle East and North Africa CyberWatch: July 6 – July 13, 2012
July 13, 2012 – 4:00 pm
Middle East and North Africa CyberWatch: June 29 – July 5, 2012
July 6, 2012 – 4:00 pm
A roundup of cyber news from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This week’s post includes, WikiLeak’s release of information on Syria, cyber-defence in Iran, blogger arrests in Morocco, as well as cyber surveillance across the region.
Middle East and North Africa CyberWatch: June 15 – 22, 2012
June 22, 2012 – 4:00 pm
A roundup of cyber news from the Middle East and North Africa region. This week’s post covers the Flame malware, censorship in social media and Google’s Transparency Report.
Why do so many bloggers get arrested after Internet freedom conferences?
June 8, 2012 – 7:38 am
Source: James Losey, Slate
On Wednesday, while returning from the Human Rights and Technology Conference in Rio De Janeiro, Kobeissi had to change planes in the United States. At the airport, he was detained and had his passport confiscated for an hour
Thailand charges US citizen with insulting royals
June 1, 2011 – 12:02 pm
“A US citizen has been charged in Thailand with insulting the monarchy after he posted material deemed offensive on his blog and put a link to a banned book, authorities said Friday.
Thai-born Lerpong Wichaikhammat, 54, was arrested on Tuesday in Nakhon Ratchasima province in northeast Thailand and is currently being held at Bangkok Remand Prison.
“He translated articles which are deemed insulting to the monarchy and posted them on his blog. Also he provided a link to a book” perceived as critical of the royal family, said police Lieutenant Colonel Kovit Tardmee.”
For full original article, see here
Trying to Stir Up a Popular Protest in China, From a Bedroom in Manhattan
April 29, 2011 – 2:30 pm
“From a pair of computer screens in a lime green bedroom in Upper Manhattan, a 27-year-old man from China is working to bring about a popular uprising.
Two months after calls shot across the Web for a Tunisian- and Egyptian-style “Jasmine Revolution” in China, he is among the few online dissidents still trying to promote a popular protest movement inside the country. The effort has failed to provoke any major street demonstrations, but it has led to a fierce crackdown by the authorities.”
From The New York Times
Netizen Bakhtiyar Hajiev refused bail
April 29, 2011 – 2:07 pm
“A second hearing in netizen Bahthiyar Hajiev’s trial before a Nizami district court in the city of Ganja was held yesterday. Facing a charge of desertion (under article 321.1 of the penal code) brought against him in January, he was arrested on 4 March after calling on Facebook for demonstrations against the government. He faces two years behind bars if convicted.
A graduate of Harvard and a former opposition candidate, Hajiev has complained of being a victim of a politically-motivated trial linked to his online activities.”
Use of most secure BlackBerry system restricted, bloggers arrested
April 28, 2011 – 10:00 am
“Reporters Without Borders condemns a government decision to limit use of the BlackBerry smartphone’s most secure system, BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES), in the United Arab Emirates to a few companies with more than 20 BlackBerry users.
If the restriction takes effect, ordinary BlackBerry clients will have to use BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS), which transmits data via the standard Internet and is easier for the authorities to monitor. BES transmits data via servers based abroad and cannot be monitored.
Osman Sultan, the CEO of the telecommunications firm Du, announced on 25 April that the government-imposed restriction will go into effect on 1 May.”
UAE quiet on streets but Web reformers face heat
April 27, 2011 – 2:21 pm
“DUBAI— No protesters have taken to the streets calling for reforms. There’s been barely a public whisper about whether the Arab uprisings could intrude on the cozy world of the United Arab Emirates’ rulers.
The main challenge to authority so far has been a modest online petition urging for open elections and the creation of a parliament. But even that crossed a line. Security agents have arrested at least five Internet activists over the past month.
The five activists detained – including Ahmed Mansour, who led a popular online political forum that was blocked last year, and Nasser bin Ghaith, a prominent blogger and frequent lecturer at the Abu Dhabi branch of Paris’ Sorbonne university– are under investigation for “perpetrating acts that pose a threat to state security” and insulting the rulers of Abu Dhabi. If convicted of the charges, the men could be imprisoned for decades.”
From Huffington Post
Azerbaijan’s Facebook dissident
April 27, 2011 – 1:43 pm
“Sitting in a coffee shop at the Council of Europe, Elnur Majidli proudly shows off on his netbook the Facebook groups that started the rare public protests in Azerbaijan on 11 March — “the Great People’s Day” — and are now being used to organize further protests. Tens of thousands of Azerbaijani citizens are members of the groups that Elnur administers, which has led the Ministry of Security to set-up a special Facebook team to monitor web activists.
Elnur himself has now received notification he is to be prosecuted for “inciting national, ethnic or religious hatred” under article 283.1 of the criminal code for his Facebook activity. As he lives in Strasbourg, the Serious Crimes Investigation Department notified his father of the investigation. Elnur is now in exile — if he returns to Azerbaijan he could face up to 12 years in prison.”
From Index on Censorship
