Blogger Arrest Report from the WIA
By Curt on Jun 8, 2008 in Threatened bloggers, Imprisoned bloggers
Chart by Apurba Sen based on WIA stats
The World Information Access Project at the University of Washington just released a report on arrested bloggers, using some data from the CPB. They identified 64 bloggers who were unaffiliated with other media who had been arrested for the contents of the blogs between 2003 and 2008. They have a sizable “exceptions” list, including journalists with blogs and the Burma arrested bloggers list that was provided to the CPB by a Burmese activist but which was not verifiable for obvious reasons. The gravest offenders were China and Iran, no surprise there.
View Text Table Summarizing Global Blogger Arrests, 2003-2008
View Color Graphic Summarizing Global Blogger Arrests, 2003-2008
WIA’s conclusion was grim.
After surveying our data, we predict that the number of blogger arrests will rise in 2008. The popularity of online blogs continues to grow and inspire more media coverage of arrest incidents. Countries are enforcing greater Internet regulation, which will only increase with the elections in China, Pakistan, Iran and the United States this year. Assuming a pattern similar to Egypt’s occurs, the number of political blogger arrests has nowhere to go but up. With already four incidents in January and February, we expect the number of arrests in 2008 will exceed that of 2007.
Omid Habibinia | Jun 23, 2008 | Reply
This report seems really poor and incomplete. The total number of the arrested Iranian blogers are only 7. Arash is repeated twice!
Last year 33 feminists were arrested in a demo and at least 20 of them are blogers.
Many of about 1.5 million Iranian blogers were arrested during last five years and there is no name of them in this report. I really suggest to ignore this uncertain report on Iran.