DigiActive.org

Tool: Can Activists Trust YouTube?

In late November, Egyptian activist Wael Abbas‘ YouTube account was suspended due to videos of torture which he had posted. Though his account was re-activated a few days later, all his videos had been removed. YouTube’s side of the story is that Abbas had violated their terms of use by posting videos of “graphic or gratuitous violence” (many of Abbas’ video depict police torture, including sodomy. ) However, other videos, of police brutality, demonstrations, strikes, sit-ins and election irregularities were also deleted when his account was restored.

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Tactic: Freedom of Online Speech Wins in Egypt

From Global Voice Advocacy:

Judge Abdel Fattah Mourad, who requested the ban of 51 blogs and websites deemed insulting the state’s dignity and threatening Egypt’s interests, has lost his case. On December 29, 2007, the Administrative Judicial Court rejected the lawsuit and ruled in favor of freedom of speech on the Internet.

“Minor victories give us hope and the ability to continue, and this sentence restored to us confidence that our efforts in support of freedoms in Egypt are not lost in vain,” said Ahmed Seif Al-Islam Hamad, former director of Hisham Mubarak Law Center. “The right of citizens to a free Internet and a free flow of information is now guaranteed by the judiciary in Egypt,” said Gamal Eid, the Executive Director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information.

Action Alert: Day of Blog Silence for Fouad

What? Day of Blog Silence to Protest the Imprisonment of Blogger Fouad Alfarhan
When? Sunday, January 6, 2008
Where? blogs around the world
How? On that day, bloggers will not write on their blogs, but instead will post a Free Fouad banner, like the one above. (Both banners are posted full-size at the bottom of this post.)
Why? To free a blogger imprisoned for criticiznig his government and to send a message that we will not tolerate the persecution of free speech in the blogosphere.
Who is organizing the action? Mideast Youth Read more »

Tactic: We Blog Freedom Slogan

translation: “We Blog Freedom”

I really liked this image from Abdel Monem’s blog, Ana Ikhwan (based in Egypt) so I’ve posted it here. It’s a nice inspirational message for digital activists (and we can all use a little inspiration). It illustrates a longer post (in Arabic) about imprisoned bloggers.  It demonstrates the importance of having an effective slogan for your online campaign.

Campaign: Free Fouad

Fouad Alfaran, only of Saudi Arabia’s most important bloggers, was arrested on December 10 for blogging about Saudi Arabia’s political prisoners. Ironically, he is now a political prisoner himself.

The campaign to free him is taking advantage of several digital activism techniques, including a Free Fouad blog (in English and Arabic), a Free Fouad Facebook group, and an e-petition.

Please consider taking action by signing the petition, joining the Facebook group, and learning more about the case on the blog. I’ll be posting more about this campaign as it develops.