Daily Archives: September 12, 2012

11-09-2012 01:06 A few days ago not many Indians knew who Aseem Trivedi was or had even seen his cartoons. Now he's a hero of free speech after a completely ham handed arrest and charges against him of sedition. Today Aseem Trivedi refused to apply for bail as a court sent him to jail for 14 days. This as the police did a flip flop and said they don't want his custody.

Originally posted here:
Cartoon row: 'National pride' vs freedom of speech? - Video

NRB Drafts Free Speech Charter for New Media Giants

Contact: Kenneth Chan, National Religious Broadcasters, 703-331-4520, press@nrb.org

MANASSAS, Va., Sept. 11, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ --The National Religious Broadcasters (NRB), America's preeminent association of Christian broadcasters and communicators, will be unveiling a solution to the current and potential clash between free speech on the Internet and the free market power of new media giants like Apple, Google and Facebook to block viewpoints with which they don't agree.

At 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 12, NRB will present its first-of-its-kind Free Speech Charter for the Internet, detailing what new media companies can do to respect free speech and how and why they should do it in accord with historic free speech principles.

The charter is a follow-up to last year's release of True Liberty in a New Media Age, a groundbreaking report that documented examples of some censorious policies and practices of new media giants, including Apple's infamous removal of the Manhattan Declaration and Exodus International apps from its iTunes App Store. Both faith-based apps were labeled by protesters as "anti-gay" and potentially "harmful" or "hateful," though their creators and supporters have insisted otherwise.

"The free speech liberty of citizens who use the Internet is nearing a crisis point," says Craig Parshall, Senior Vice President & General Counsel at NRB and Director of the John Milton Project for Religious Free Speech.

"If the standards we propose here are voluntarily adopted at this critical time, we believe that a truly free marketplace of ideas will flourish on the Internet, and in turn, generations to come will be the beneficiaries of expressive liberty in our digital age. If not, however, then we foresee a tyranny over ideas developing over web-based platforms, and a whole class of citizens of faith and others being shut out of this new electronic town square," he adds.

Following the unveiling of the Free Speech Charter for the Internet, a panel of experts will examine the document and further discuss the issue. Mr. Parshall will be moderating the panel discussion, which will feature the following participants:

Also offering remarks will be Dr. Frank Wright, NRB's President & CEO, who describes the conflict between the free speech rights of citizen Internet users and the free market rights of new media companies as "one of the most important communications issues of our time."

"This Free Speech Charter is a first-of-its kind manifesto, proposing a unique solution to the current clash,' he adds.

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NRB Drafts Free Speech Charter for New Media Giants

A string of recent court rulings in the Omani capital Muscat are crushing free speech in the Gulf state, Amnesty International said today after another six men were convicted on defamation charges.

On 9 August, the six received prison sentences of between one year and 18 months and were fined 1,000 Omani rials each (around US$2,600) for offences including insulting the Sultan, undermining the status of the state, and using the internet to publish defamatory materials.

If these prison sentences are carried out, Amnesty International will consider these six men to be prisoners of conscience and call for their immediate and unconditional release, said Philip Luther, Middle East and North Africa Programme Director at Amnesty International.

The Omani authorities must drop all charges and quash all convictions made against individuals solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression.

The six men sentenced over the weekend Ishaq al-Aghbari, Ismail al-Muqbali, Ali al-Hajji, Mahmoud al-Jamoudi, Hassan al-Ruqaishi and Nabhan al-Hanashi are all in their thirties and currently released on bail, pending appeals.

They had posted material on the internet commenting on recent developments in Oman, including criticism of actions taken by the authorities resulting in the repression of freedom of expression.

At least another three men Khaled al-Noufali, Sultan al-Saadi, and Hatim al-Maliki are expected to be sentenced on 16 September.

These are just the latest in a series of court cases going back several months in which the Omani authorities have ratcheted up their intolerance of freedom of expression.

On 8 August, a Muscat court convicted a dozen activists on charges related to their participation in a peaceful protest and for insulting the Sultan.

Trials began after a string of arrests of writers, activists and bloggers in late May and early June 2012. Those sentenced are among around 35 Omani activists sentenced or standing trial in relation to the peaceful exercise of their rights to freedom of expression and assembly.

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Oman: Convictions continue to crush free speech