Committee to Protect Bloggers

Tarek Baiassi, whom we’ve written about before, has finally been sentenced, by a Syrian “court” to three years in prison. According to the RSF, the legal-like glass for Tarek’s sentence included “publishing false news” and “weakening national sentiment,” whatever that is. The real reason for the sentence was his having posted an article on the […]

Update: According to The Star (via Blogscapes), Petra has posted bail.
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According to Reuters, Blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, publisher of Malaysia Today, has “opted to go to jail on Tuesday instead of paying bail after he was accused of sedition for implying the country’s deputy premier had a hand in the murder of a Mongolian woman.”
Raja […]

We have an opportunity to travel to Cuba and interview Cuban bloggers for a possible presentation on the Washington Post’s PostGlobal series. Please help us get there and get the information on these bloggers to the wider world. They’ve blossomed over the last year but have recently begun to see blocks and shut-downs. They occupy […]

According to Amir Mizroch, news editor of the Jerusalem Post, on his blog, Forecast Highs, an Israeli soldier was arrested for uploading a photo onto Facebook
A soldier serving in the IDF’s elite 8200 military intelligence unit was sentenced to 19 days in prison on Wednesday for uploading a picture onto the Facebook social networking site.
The […]

Sponsors have introduced a bill into the United States House of Representatives, called H.R. 5699, the “Blogger Protection Act of 2008.” Its purpose is “(t)o amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to protect uncompensated Internet activity by individuals from treatment as a contribution or expenditure under the Act, and for other purposes.”
According to […]

Saudi blogger Fouad Al Farhan has been released from prison and is resting at home with his family, according to a message from the Free Fouad group.
Fouad, called the father of Saudi blogging, was arrested on December 11 in Jeddah and held in solitary confinement with no charges and only one family visit.
Confirmed by Saudi […]

According to the Bangkok Post, Vietnamese authorities have arrested blogger Nguyen Van Hai.
The newspaper Vietnam Law reported that Ho Chi Minh City police Tuesday arrested Nguyen Van Hai, who blogs under the name Dieu Cay, on charges of tax evasion. The paper said police had searched Hai’s house Monday and found evidence that he […]

Here’s a report on our two week Flood the Jail with Mail campaign for Kareem, the imprisoned Egyptian blogger. The report is via mail from Esra’a, from FreeKareem.
I think even if we had 1 letter, it would be a success for us. We had around 60 confirmed letters from around the world, and we spoke […]

Update:
RSF now reports that Esraa Abdel Fattah Ahmed has also been released.
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From RSF:
Mahamed El Sharkawi, a blogger who was arrested on 5 April while distributing leaflets urging Cairo residents to go on strike in support of the 6 April protest against food price hikes, was released yesterday from a prison in the Cairo district of […]

Jamyang Kyi, by RFA
According to Radio Free Europe, Jamyang Kyi, Tibetan writer, performer and blogger, has been arrested by the Chinese.
Plainclothes state security officers escorted Jamyang Kyi, who has travelled widely and performed and lectured in the United States, from her office at state-owned Qinghai TV on April 1, an authoritative source told RFA’s […]