censorship

By Martin Williams, Lucas Amin and Gabriel Pogrund | ( Opendemocracy.net ) – Oil and gas giant BP spent years spying on peaceful climate campaigners – and even hired a private intelligence firm set up by a former MI6 agent. A new report by openDemocracy, published on Monday, reveals a “shocking” web of surveillance that […]

censorship

Demands for Egypt’s U.S.-backed Egyptian Strongman al-Sisi to Release Activist Alaa Abd El Fattah, detained for 2 Years without Charge

Global Voices

By Ellery Roberts Biddle | – The life of Egyptian blogger and activist Alaa Abd El Fattah is in danger. The 39-year-old was jailed in 2019 on charges of spreading fake news, but, despite the limits of Egyptian law, he has yet to go to trial. At a recent hearing concerning the case, his lawyer […]

censorship

Expo 2020 Dubai: The Tolerance Narrative of the United Arab Emirates is a Sham

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch – (Beirut, October 1, 2021) – United Arab Emirates authorities are using Expo 2020 Dubai to promote a public image of openness that is at odds with the government’s efforts to prevent scrutiny of its rampant systemic human rights violations, Human Rights Watch said today. Expo 2020 is a prominent global cultural […]

Authoritarianism

End of Democracy in Tunisia: Unprecedented Confiscation of Power by the Presidency

Human Rights Watch

( Joint Statement of Human Rights Watch et al.) – The promulgation on September 22, of Presidential Decree No. 117 implicitly abrogating the constitutional order in Tunisia is a first step towards authoritarianism. This turning point threatens the human rights and democratic aspirations of the Tunisian people. While recognizing the limits of the current political […]

censorship

Iranians Fear Turning Into Another ‘North Korea’ If Draconian Internet Censorship Bill Passes

Golnaz Esfandiari

( RFE/RL ) – Iranians are warning of public anger and drawing parallels with the world’s most oppressive regimes as legislation makes its way through the country’s parliament that could intensify online censorship and further restrict Internet access. Iranian authorities already block tens of thousands of websites and regularly throttle or cut Internet connectivity during […]

Authoritarianism

How Florida’s Political “Survey” of Universities threatens Freedom of Speech

Jill Richardson

( Otherwords.org ) – Florida officials say they want to promote “intellectual freedom” — by using political surveys to target university funding. By Jill Richardson | June 30, 2021 The state of Florida just passed a law that — to put it mildly — grossly violates academic freedom. Under the new bill, recently signed by […]

censorship

America wants to be known in Mideast as Champion of Free Speech, so Why is it Censoring Iranian Websites?

Farhang Jahanpour

Oxford (Special to Informed Comment) – The Bureau of Industry and Security, an agency of the United States Department of Justice, in a statement on Tuesday 22 June announced that it had seized 33 websites and news outlets used by the Iranian Islamic Radio and Television Union (IRTVU), and another three run by the “Iran-backed” […]

censorship

Sounds Like Fascism: Florida’s DeSantis to Collect Political Views of Professors to defund “Hotbeds of stale Ideology”

Common Dreams

By Julia Conley, staff writer | – ( Commondreams.org) – Democratic lawmakers and educators nationwide are expressing alarm over legislation signed this week by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis which is ostensibly aimed at ensuring college students and educators in the state feel permitted to express a variety of political views—and which critics say could end […]