CyberLaw Blog

Archive for the ‘Bloggers’ Category

Burma activists sentenced to 65 years each in draconian crackdown: “An internet blogger and a writer who disguised an attack on Burma’s dictator
in the form of a love poem were among dozens of activists sentenced to
draconian jail terms as the junta ordered a fresh crackdown on dissidents.”

(Via Tech and Web from Times Online.)

Malaysian authorities release detained anti-government blogger

Malaysian authorities today freed a blogger who edits an anti-government news website, after a court ruled his arrest under a law allowing indefinite detention was illegal.

Raja Petra Kamaruddin’s arrest in September for allegedly causing ethnic tensions sparked condemnation from the opposition and rights groups.

Today a high court judge ruled that Malaysia’s home minister acted outside his powers in using the Internal Security Act (ISA) to detain him.

Five hours later, a weary-looking Raja Petra, whose blog Malaysia Today has been a thorn in the side of the government, embraced his tearful wife and daughters outside the court in Shah Alam city, near Kuala Lumpur. He had been brought from a prison camp in the north of the country.

‘I’m really glad it’s over. I’m really tired. The judge’s decision proves there is no justification for my detention,’ Raja Petra, 58, told reporters.

‘This showed that the ISA cannot be used. I hope this is not a political decision.’

He has infuriated authorities by publishing numerous claims of alleged wrongdoing by government leaders on his popular site.

The government has denounced most of his allegations as lies and has accused Raja Petra of threatening public security and causing ethnic tension by publishing writings that ridiculed Islam in the Muslim-majority country.

He is also on trial in a separate case, accused of sedition by implying that deputy prime minister Najib Razak was involved in the murder of a Mongolian model and faces up to three years in jail if convicted.

Najib has strongly denied the blogger’s accusations, terming them ‘total lies’.

Raja Petra’s arrest was condemned by civic groups, lawyers and online commentators.

His lawyer, Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, said the judge who ordered his client’s release said the grounds given for his detention were insufficient.

The ISA allows imprisonment without charge for an initial two-year period, with indefinite extensions possible.

The court order was ‘definitely a wonderful step in terms of civil liberties in Malaysia,’ Malik Imtiaz said.

But the ruling does not prevent the government from rearresting Raja Petra, and it can also appeal against the decision.

Some of Malaysia’s most popular blogs offer strong anti-government commentaries and present themselves as a substitute for mainstream media, which is controlled by political parties or closely linked to them.

Around 61 people are held under the colonial-era ISA. Critics say it is used randomly to silence government critics.

The government, facing its biggest challenge to its grip on power since independence in 1957, has recently come under strong pressure to abolish the ISA.

(Via Latest news, sport, business, comment and reviews from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk.)

Malaysian Blogger Fights a System He Perfected: “Mahathir Mohamad, former prime minister of Malaysia, is one of an increasing number of bloggers challenging government censorship and gaining influence in the political process.”

(Via NYT > Freedom of Speech and Expression.)

Bianet :: Turkish Bloggers Are Furious

After Youtube.com, Wordpress and Googe Groups, now a well-known blog service blogger.com has been banned in Turkey. There has been no change in internet censorship.

Bia news center - Diyarbakır, 27-10-2008
Erol ÖNDEROĞLU - hukuk@bianet.org

The 1st Criminal Court of First Instance of Diyarbakır has banned access to the well-known blog service blogger.com.

The decision came after the Digiturk TV Platform Company filed a compliant about some internet sites broadcasting scenes from soccer games over which the Digituk had the sole right.
Blogger.com was banned upon complaint by Digiturk

Thousands of internet users are being met by the statement ‘Access to this web site has been suspended in accordance with decision no: 2008/2761 of T.R. Diyarbakır 1st Criminal Court of Peace’.

(more…)

Error: Court halts Internet freedom in Turkey: “Error: Court halts Internet freedom in Turkey
The latest in a series of bans on popular Web sites has spurred many to question the future of Internet freedom in Turkey. Turkish Internet users trying to access the popular blog-hosting service blogspot.com get an error message saying that access to the site has been blocked by a court decision, without stating the court ruling or explaining why the service has been banned.”

(more…)

As of today access to the popular blogging website Blogger.com has been blocked in Turkey with a blocking order of the Diyarbakir First Criminal Court of Peace (dated 20.10.2008 and order no. 2008/2761). The reason for issuing the order ban is unknown but a considerable number of Turkish users are affected including myself who contribute to a popular an anti censorship blogging site at http://sansuresansur.blogspot.com/.

I will provide further information as soon as further information is available. As of 01 October, 2008, 1115 websites are blocked in Turkey under the provisions of Law No. 5651. It is however believed that the blocking order issued by the Diyarbakir court is outside the scope of Law No. 5651. The blocking orders issued under Law No. 5651 are executed by the Telecommunications Communication Presidency (TIB) and they provide an “execution notice” when that is the case. However, there is no information whatsoever provided on the http://www.blogger.com pages when accessed from Turkey.

[Blog entry by Dr. Yaman Akdeniz]

A detailed assessment of the Turkish approaches to Internet content regulation will be provided in an 80 page long report entitled Restricted Access: A Critical Assessment of Internet Content Regulation and Censorship in Turkey written by Dr. Yaman Akdeniz and Dr. Kerem Altiparmak. This bi-lingual (English/Turkish) report will be published during November 2008 and will be made available as a PDF file through cyberlaw.org.uk and cyber-rights.org.tr pages.

An Egyptian blogger is out of jail provided that he stop blogging: “

After being in jail for more than 2 months, the Egyptian blogger Mohamed Refaat was set free.

Mohamed told Add-Dostour daily newspaper that the state security officers insisted that he will not go out of his detention custody till he sign a paper saying he will never update his blog neither heis Facebook account , nevertheless dealing with humanitarian NGOs or journalists.

Refaat has being in jail since July, though the editor of the blog Matabbat was ordered to be realesed. The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information and Hisham Mubarak Law Center reported in a statement:

The state security apparatus had raided Mohamed Refaat’s home early in the morning on 21st of July 2008 in his absence, and seized his PC, and many of his books, and when Mohamed Refaat approached the officer ‘ Hisham Tawfik’ in the morning in the state security offices, he shocked by the fabricated charges of ‘inciting to strike on the occasion of 23rd July’, he was then referred to the state security prosecution office in the case no. 1143 for the year 2008.

Mohamed Refaat’s blog did not include any thing about this alleged strike. The Egyptian detained blogger used to write hid dairy , and write postings about love, life in Cairo and some personal stuff. Refaat was accused of ‘offending the state institutions, destabilizing the public security, and inciting for demonstrations and strikes via internet’ and these charges need no evidence.

“

(Via Global Voices Advocacy.)

Arrested Malaysian Blogger Freed Following Public Outcry: “It’s hard to figure out what the government of Malaysia is thinking in its ongoing trouble in dealing with critical bloggers (some of whom were so powerful that they got elected). Last week, we noted that one of the more popular bloggers, whose blog had been ordered blocked by ISPs was arrested, just as the block on his blog was removed. Not surprisingly, the arrest led to a public outcry, and the government has now relented and freed the blogger, who quickly posted an anti-government rant on his blog, promising not to back down. The whole thing makes you wonder how tone deaf the leading party politicians in Malaysia are that they didn’t expect this to happen. Arresting an opposition blogger was bound to create further outcry, and this move only helped legitimize the points he’s been making. You would think that at least someone in the ruling party would have been savvy enough to recognize that this was inevitable.

(Via Techdirt.)

A Moroccan blogger who wrote an article criticising the King was sentenced to two years in jail after a startling short trial, report the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), International PEN’s Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

On 8 September, the court of Agadir in southern Morocco condemned Mohammed Erraji to two years’ imprisonment and a fine of 5,000 Moroccan dirhams (US$620) for “failure to uphold the respect due to the King”. His trial reportedly lasted 10 minutes. According to WiPC, Erraji is in poor health.

Erraji was arrested on 4 September following the publication on the online news site Hespress.com of an article accusing Morocco’s monarchy of encouraging a culture of dependency. He argued that the King’s custom of granting favours, such as taxi licences to a lucky few, encouraged people to rely on handouts. Read an English translation of the article on the Global Voices Online website: http://tinyurl.com/5lo2ol

“Erraji was given a summary trial for which he had no time to find a lawyer and was unable to defend himself,” says RSF. “The Moroccan blogosphere is known for being dynamic, so this is big step backwards for the kingdom.”

Erraji is the first Moroccan blogger to be prosecuted and convicted for an article posted online. He is Hespress.com’s Agadir correspondent and writes regularly for the site. He also has his own blog published under his real name, “The World of Mohammed Erraji”, that was started in March 2007 and
deals mainly with political and social issues.

A website and petition have been setup in solidarity with the blogger at:
http://www.helperraji.com as well as a Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=30771925854

In a separate case, newspaper editor Ahmed Reda Benchemsi, who is also facing charges of disrespect for the King, had his one-year case adjourned indefinitely last week.

Benchemsi told RSF, “The court was clearly trying to close the case without having to reach a verdict … I am supposed to see this decision as a conciliatory gesture. But the judge can call me back to court whenever he wants.”

Visit these links:
- ANHRI: http://www.anhri.net/en/reports/2008/pr0908.shtml
- RSF: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=28449
- RSF on Benchemsi: http://tinyurl.com/6cwvfy
- WiPC (email): Cathy.McCann (@) internationalpen.org.uk
- Help Erraji website: http://www.helperraji.com
- Erraji’s blog: http://almassae.maktoobblog.com

Supporters back arrested Malaysian blogger: “The arrest of a blogger who dared to criticise the Malaysian regime backfires as other bloggers express their solidarity”