Results matching “iran blogger gi”

Currently, blogging arrests are at a record high, the BBC reports. 64 bloggers have been detained from mostly China, Egypt and Iran since 2003 according to a University of Washington annual report. In 2006-2007, the number of arrested bloggers tripled to 36.

Blogging has a "political importance", since issues include exposure of corruption, human rights violations, "suppression of protests", criticism of public policies and questioning political entities. Arrests tend to multiply during times of "political uncertainty" such as during elections.

A World Information Access (WIA) report concluded that imprisonment usually follows arrest. The report says that 15 months is the average prison sentence, the longest being eight years.

The Committee to Protect Bloggers claims that 344 people were detained as a result of blogging in Burma, even though WIA cannot confirm.

Around 30 countries worldwide implement restrictions on online activities. According to the report, restrictions on blogging also take place in Canada, France, Britain and the US.

Elections in China, Pakistan, Iran and the US make it more likely that the number of bloggers arrested will increase.

Source: BBC News though I Want Media

Cry havoc and let slip the blogs of war (or, sense and nonsense about citizen journalism).

Saturday Editor of The Times and World Editors Forum President George Brock writes about the burgeoning field of citizen journalism, deeming that the term is a "misnomer". Despite the potential of the phenomenon to change the media landscape, when it comes down to it, all publications will be judged on the level of trust the audience has in them.

At the Eurasian Media Forum last week, I was asked to talk about how with the rise of citizen media, the traditional press is no longer the opinion former it once was. Although from some perspectives this might be true, I didn’t totally agree.

Iranian dissidents who wish to have a public voice to criticise the current regime and make calls for democratic rule have been creating blogs (see previous posting) in a bid to fill the void left by the closure of most independent newspapers. (see previous posting)

Reporters without Borders regretfully reports that 25 year old blogger Mojtaba Saminejad has been sentenced to two years of prison by a Tehran revolutionary court for “insulting the Supreme Guide.”  Saminejad is also due to be tried on a separate charge of insulting the prophets, a charge which could result in the death penalty.  Saminejad’s lawyer said he was not allowed to speak freely and was a victim of intimidation methods by authorities during his trial.  Reporters without Borders and other online initiatives are urging bloggers to mobilize on Saminejad’s behalf. 

Source: Reporters without Borders

Mark Glaser at Online Journalism Review has written an article describing the plight of bloggers in a Bahrain, a country whose government regularly censors the press. The government's Ministry of Information requires that all Websites and blogs register with the government, a decree to which Bahrain's most prominent blogger, Mahmood Al-Yousif, head of a tech company Computer Point, refuses to comply. He doubts that others will give in to government demands either, esteeming that they will simply post anonymously, possibly under multiple names in order to avoid censorship.

Mr. Al-Yousif's example helps promote the blogosphere as a tool for freedom of speech around the world. There is much speculation as to how repressive regimes will react once their populations start blogging, such as in Iran and in China. As blogs spread, it is highly likely that the joys of free expression of repressed populations will spur the proliferation of liberty and just democracy throughout the world.

Source: Online Journalism Review

Mark Glaser at Online Journalism Review has written an article describing the plight of bloggers in a Bahrain, a country whose government regularly censors the press. The government's Ministry of Information requires that all Websites and blogs register with the government, a decree to which Bahrain's most prominent blogger, Mahmood Al-Yousif, head of a tech company Computer Point, refuses to comply. He doubts that others will give in to government demands either, esteeming that they will simply post anonymously, possibly under multiple names in order to avoid censorship.

Mr. Al-Yousif's example helps promote the blogosphere as a tool for freedom of speech around the world. There is much speculation as to how repressive regimes will react once their populations start blogging, such as in Iran and in China. As blogs spread, it is highly likely that the joys of free expression of repressed populations will spur the proliferation of liberty and just democracy throughout the world.

Source: Online Journalism Review

On Reuters: Iran increases its status as the Middle East's most unfriendly country for journalists, recently jailing yet another editor/blogger. Arash Sigarchi, accused of espionage and insulting the country's leaders, was recently sentenced to 14 years in prison.. In the past five years, over 100 liberal publications have been forced to close their doors at the hands of Iran's judiciary and numerous journalists have been arrested. Reporters Without Borders said Sigarchi had been updating a weblog in which he had spoken out about the arrest of more than 20 Internet journalists, technicians and webbloggers late last year.

Source: Reuters:

Remember Salam Pax, the Baghdad blogger? You will appreciate these three English-speaking Iranian sites:

Lady Sun

the online identity of one of the first Iranian women to start a blog.

Hossein Derakhshan

a Toronto-based blogger.

Pedram Moallemian

an Iranian who runs the English-language eyeranian.net from San Diego, USA.

At its present course, Internet usage in Iran is expected to grow sevenfold to 15 million users by 2006, according to studies cited by the Middle East Economic Digest.

Source: Brian Murphy, Associated Press Writer (through Editor & Publisher)