Mark on Media

Tuesday, November 30, 2004

ANOTHER BLOGGER ARRESTED

Reporters Without Borders reports a fifth Iranian blogger has been arrested and the crackdown on websites continues.

Hamed Motaghi, editor of Naqshineh.com, a webzine in Qom, was sentenced on appeal on 18 November to a three-month suspended prison term for "publishing false information with the aim of disrupting public order". His site has been inaccessible in Iran since March 2004.

Amazingly, all this comes as an Irani delegate is working on a UN committee on internet governance. According to RWB:

At the same time, an Iranian delegate is sitting on a UN-created working group on Internet governance. The international community should condemn this masquerade.

The situation in Iraq:

Five cyberjournalists — Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh, Fershteh Ghazi, Javad Gholam Tamayomi, Omid Memarian et Shahram Rafihzadeh — are still imprisoned for contributing to reformist websites
Three webloggers identified only by their first names were arrested on 29 October 2004. They were : Dariush (http://www.dariushkabir.com), Omid (http://www.shurideh.com) and Payvand (http://gayaneh.net).
Mojtaba Saminejad was arrested at the beginning of November for speaking out against the arrest of his three colleagues in his blog (http://man-namanam.blogspot.com).
Farid Modaressi, a member of the student organisation the Office to Consolidate Unity, was arrested on 28 November on the order of the prosecutor's office in the city of Qom. He had posted a number of articles on his weblog (http://farid.blogset.com) exposing persistent harassment in the city by members of the conservative movement. Two of his brothers were reportedly arrested two days earlier and are apparently still being held.

And all the while, a representative of the same government is helping the UN decide how to bring "governance" to the freedom that the internet provides. Sheesh.

At the Reporters Without Borders web site, there are a number of petitions aimed at Iran, and other countries where freedom of information is being suppressed. Go make your voice be heard.
10:46:28 PM LINK TO THIS POST

PROTEST BLOGGING

The Ottawa Citizen has dipped its toes into blogging. Kirsten Endemann is out on the streets of Ottawa among those protesting the visit by U.S. President George Bush and is blogging what she finds.
8:48:59 AM LINK TO THIS POST