This blog Thinking Upstream, about ideas and human rights, is based on online news of some of the bloggers and journalists who remain unjustly imprisoned in several countries. As one blogger among many, I hope to draw attention to the people mentioned, urging that we each seek peaceful ways to secure their freedom. They have been hurt by authoritarianism and its cruel repression, and by those who execute that repression or gain from it. I have no experience of the countries mentioned, but am convinced of the accuracy of the news, by the variety of reputable publications, to which I refer in the hyper-links of my posts. I blog about human rights because: all freedoms and rights are fragile, and at risk of being lost, if we are even a little careless. Thinking Upstream is now a PDF file on Scribd.com for easy offline reading, even in places where Friendster is blocked. I used Google Translate to machine-translate it into various languages, also in PDF format on Scribd.com.Thinking Upstream is at: http://cmcallister.blog.friendster.com/. Your comments are welcome.
Active blogger Yoani Sánchez (photo) expresses her joy about the expanding blogosphere in Havana, Cuba. In her blogpost “Arco iris en la blogósfera” (Rainbow in the blogosphere), she reports on the rapid growth of blogging since she started her blog Generation Y in April 2007. In addition to being an inspiration to new bloggers, she enjoys meeting them, and giving technical advice, such as: How to use Wordpress, and how to maintain a regular online presence, where Internet connections are hard to obtain.
In her blog post “Young Pro-Democracy Advocate Edgar Lopez Trapped in Cuba”, Yoani petitions for Edgar Lopez to be permitted to travel to join his family in the USA. Foreign travel is one of the many activities that are restricted in Cuba. The country is also tightening the net on bloggers: “Cuban bloggers, an endangered species? ”. Only official government websites are permitted to register on the “.cu” Cuban domain. Hotels are among the few places where it is possible to get Internet access in Cuba, but access cards are only provided to foreign tourists. Yoani is also under attack from an official state journalist who seems to be severely out of touch with how the Internet works.
The “Petition to help Edgar Lopez” explains that Edgar López has been denied a travel visa because he is a member of a political group that does not support Cuba’s communist party.
Yoani Sánchez is listed as Hero and Pioneer in the Time 2008 Top 100.
Imprisoned Egyptian Blogger Kareem Amer
“It could be you. But it’s not. It’s Egypt’s Kareem. Don’t forget him. It’s what Egypt’s leadership would like you to do.” is a quote from The Committee To Protect Bloggers, in the article “Kareem Amer’s Second Anniversary in Prison“. There is increasing worldwide concern on the restrictions on free speech, and on the cruel and unjustified treatment of many bloggers and journalists. Imprisoned bloggers are subject to a range of ill treatment, torture and sometimes death, as was recently reported for a young blogger, Omid Reza Misayafi, in Tehran. This tragic news is reported in many online articles, such as “Egypt : Detained Bloggers complain Torture and Ill treatment“. These cases from many countries around the world are confirmed by the UN Human Rights Council, and by interviews with the prisoners or their lawyers, friends and family. The organisation ARTICLE 19 reports “ARTICLE 19 Applauds UN Experts’ Decision on Arbitrary Detention of Egyptian Blogger Kareem Amer.” The linked PDF file explains their support. The blog post “Letter from an Egyptian prison” presents Kareem Amer’s own view, that he fears for his safety in Egypt because he is an atheist, and also reports the concerns of his close friends. Imprisoned Kareem Amer was a student at Egypt’s Al-Azhar University. He has been in prison since his arrest in November 2006. Blogging is not the only technology on which there is a crack down. 27 year old Ahmed Maher was arrested and tortured for starting a support group on Facebook: “Facebooker falls foul of Egypt” as reported by the Guardian Weekly. Another Facebook activist, Rami al-Swisi, has been kidnapped in Egypt: “Human rights group attacks kidnapping of Facebook activist.” The magazine Wired.com goes into more detail, in a 5-page article “Cairo Activists Use Facebook to Rattle Regime.”
Reporters Without Borders said on 18 March 2009 that it was deeply shocked at the death in a Tehran prison of blogger Omidreza Mirsayafi and called for the immediate opening of an investigation into the circumstances of the tragedy. Mirsayafi was arrested in 2008 for posts on his blog, which has been shut down by Iranian authorities. He told Reporters Without Borders, “I am a cultural and not a political blogger. Of all the articles I have posted online, only two or three were satirical. I did not mean to insult anyone.” The Guardian has a detailed article “Call to prosecute officials after Iranian blogger dies in prison.” Mirsayafi’s photo is from the report “Second Prisoner of Conscience to Die in the Past Two Weeks” at www.iranhumanrights.org.
Imprisoned Blogger Nay Pone Latt
The Union of Myanmar (Burma) has plans to become a high-tech nation, yet it has imprisoned and frightened the very people who try to use Internet and video technology to improve their country. 28 year old blogger Nay Pone Latt is serving 12 years in prison. His sentence was reduced to 12 years, from the original sentence of over 20 years, in coincidence with a short visit to Burma by a UN Human Rights representative. This is reported in the news article “Popular Burmese Blogger’s Jail Term Reduced“, 20 February 2009, at http://www.irrawaddy.org. Nay Pone Latt was a popular blogger and also managed two Internet Cafes. The country has announced its schedule for installing WiFi and other ICT infrastructure, but users risk sentences of up to 60 years if they breach the draconian Electronic Transactions Laws; as reported at New Mandala, http://rspas.anu.edu.au/. The RSF (Reporters Without Borders) provides an online form to petition in support of Mr. Nay Phone Latt. A 2008 article “Defend blogger Nay Phone Latt” gives a good description of, and background to his dire situation. The above Photo is from http://burmanewscasts.blogspot.com/.
