The Cyber dissident

MIT2412www.bloggingatuwo.webs.comHanan Kamal Eldahry

Cyber-dissident• a professional journalist or citizen

journalist who posts news, information, or commentary on the internet that implies criticism of a government or regime.

Source: wikipedia

Orgnizations Offering a Community for Cyber-

dissidents

• Global Voices: globalvoicesonline.org• A leading participatory media news

room for voices from the developing world.• Goals:• Call Attention• Facilitate & enable new voices• Advocate for freedom of expression

Source: www.globalvoicesonline.org

Organizations Defending Journalists Worldwide

• Reporters Without Borders• http://www.rsf.org• Mission:• Defends• Fights• Gives Financial Aid• Works

Organizations Defending Journalists

Worldwide• Committee to Protect

Journalists• http://cpj.org• publicly reveals abuses

against the press • warns journalists and

news organizations

Why is press freedom

important?

Answer:

• Without a free press, few other human rights are attainable.

• It is a CORE right/freedom

2008 prison census: Online and in jail

• 45 percent of all media workers jailed worldwide are bloggers, Web-based reporters, or online editors.

2008 prison census: Online and in jail

• 125 journalists in all behind bars on December 1, 2008

2008 prison census: Online and in jail

• CHINA-world’s #1 jailer of journalists

2008 prison census: Online and in jail

• Cuba, Burma, Eritrea, and Uzbekistan round out the top five jailers

2008 prison census: Online and in jail

• Forty-five of the journalists on CPJ's census are freelancers

SOURCE: http://cpj.org/reports/2008/12/cpjs-2008-prison-census-online-and-in-jail.php

Freedom Loving Countries

Source: Reporters without Borders

What do the Top 20 Freedom Loving Countries have in

common?

Answer:

• A parliamentary democratic system, and not being involved in any war.

China

• 24 of 28 jailed journalists worked online.• The leading human activist in China, Hu Jia

arrested

Cuba• the world's second

worst jailer• 21 writers and editors

in prison• Héctor Maseda

Gutiérrez- 65 is the oldest of those jailed in Cuba.

Burma• Third worst jailer• Holding 14

journalists.• Maung Thura

Middle East• Syria leads in cyber-

repression: #159• Egypt: #146• Abdel Karim

Suleiman, a 23 y.o. Egyptian blogger

• Isreal: #46th domestically and 149th outside its own territory

Iran• 166th on the list of Freedom

Loving Countries• Applies death penalty to Web

Crimes• Hossein Derakhshan• Kick started the countries

blogging revolution.• 34 year old Iranian Canadian• award-winning weblog, "Editor:

Myself" (http://hoder.com/weblog), which was started in September, 2001

Where does Canada Stand?

• #13 on the List of Freedom Loving Countries

• Aside from New Zealand and Canada, the first 20 positions are held by European countries.

United States• Holding photographer Ibrahim

Jassam without charge in Iraq

• Made CPJ's list of countries jailing journalists for the fifth consecutive year

• 36th domestically and 119th outside its own territory) and Israel (46th domestically and 149th outside its own territory

• As of Dec. 2008:The U.S. military still refusing to release him.

A decade of imprisonment

Trends• 2008 tally reflects

the second consecutive decline in the total number of jailed journalists

Trends

• Imprisonments rose significantly in 2001, after governments imposed sweeping national security laws in the wake of the 9/11

Trends

• Print and Internet journalists make up the bulk of the census

Trends• Most Common Charges:• charges unrelated to journalism• Violations of censorship rules• Criminal Defamation• charges of ethnic or religious insult.

Trends

• For the fifth consecutive Year the U.S. makes the list of countries jailing journalists