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Revision as of 17:16, 21 February 2007 by Hodja Nasreddin (talk | contribs) (text corrected per discussion)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)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 or security services 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 the electronic communications, establish Internet censorship to limit the flow of information, and persecute individuals and groups who express “inconvenient” political views in 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
Mohamad Reza Nasab Abdolahi was imprisoned for published an open letter to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. His pregnant wife and other bloggers who commented on the arrest were imprisoned too.
Egypt
Several bloggers in Egypt are arrested for allegedly defaming the president Hosni Mubarak or expressing critical views about Islam
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". Rakhmankov was found guilty and fined by the court. "Prosecutors must not use criminal law to protect public figures from the media's attention," Committee to Protect Journalists Executive Director Joel Simon said, adding that satire is deemed a necessary and significant element of any democracy.
Russian state security service FSB, main successor of the KGB, has allegedly created special teams of people who appear on various blogs to harass and intimidate political bloggers and thus effectively prevent free discussion of undesirable subjects Such tactics are known as "active measures" in Russia.
References
- Connor, A. (2005), Not just critics, BBC News, 20th June 2005. Retrieved on 29th November 2006.
- Egypt arrests another blog critic, BBC News, 20th November 2006. Retrieved on 29th November 2006.
- Russia: 'Phallic' Case Threatens Internet Freedom
- U.S. Media Watchdog Criticizes Russia
- Media freedom watchdog condemns conviction of journalist in Russia
- FSB brigades in the Internet (Russian)