Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Hodja Nasreddin (talk | contribs) at 01:04, 21 February 2007 (←Created page with ''''Persecution of political bloggers''' is the political repression of bloggers for their ideas and views expressed in the [[Int...'). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Persecution of political bloggers is the political repression of bloggers for their ideas and views expressed in the Internet. The persecution is usually conducted by state authorities and may include harassment, intimidation, judicial prosecution, or extrajudicial punishment.

Along with development of the Internet, state authorities in many parts of the world are moving forward to install mass surveillance of electronic communications, establish Internet censorship that bans and limits certain types of information, and persecute individuals and groups who express “inconvenient” political views over the Internet. In liberal democracies the right to criticize the government without interference is considered an important element of free speech. However in regions where print and broadcast media are tightly controlled, the anonymous online postings may be the only source of information about the experiences, feelings, and opinions of ordinary citizens.

Many cyber-dissidents have found themselves persecuted for attempts to bypass state controlled news media. Reporters Without Borders has released a Handbook For Bloggers and Cyber-Dissidents and maintains a roster of currently imprisoned cyber-dissidents. The Committee to Protect Bloggers has been created

Iran

Egypt

Russia

When Russian President Vladimir Putin called on his nation's women to have more children, journalist Vladimir Rakhmankov wrote a satiric article calling Putin "the nation's phallic symbol". He was fined by the court. "Prosecutors must not use criminal law to protect public figures from the media's attention," CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said, adding that satire is deemed a necessary and significant element of any democracy.

It has been reported that Russian state security service FSB, main successor of the KGB, has created special teams of people (troll squads) which appear on various blogs to intimidate and offend other bloggers, prevent normal discussions, and disseminate propaganda ordered by the government

References

1. Connor, A. (2005), Not just critics, BBC News, 20th June 2005. Retrieved on 29th November 2006.
2. Egypt arrests another blog critic, BBC News, 20th November 2006. Retrieved on 29th November 2006.
3. Russia: 'Phallic' Case Threatens Internet Freedom
4. U.S. Media Watchdog Criticizes Russia
5. Media freedom watchdog condemns conviction of journalist in Russia
6. FSB brigades in the Internet (Russia)