Bahrain’s high court has upheld the 5-year jail sentence against activist Nabeel Rajab over critical statements against the Yemen war which he posted on Twitter. The UN human rights office called for his release: “We urge the Government of Bahrain to stop criminalizing dissenting voices… We call on the Government of Bahrain to immediately and unconditionally release prominent human rights defender…
Creative Commons, with support of the Jimmy Wales Foundation, launches a Memorial Fund Grants and Fellowship in Memory of Bassel Khartabil: Creative Commons is accepting applications for two new opportunities to continue the legacy and impact of Syrian Palestinian Open internet activist Bassel Khartabil. The Bassel Khartabil Memorial Fund, launched in August 2017 at the behest of his family, will provide grants…
Troubling news coming out of Syria about the death of Bassel Khartabil, the Wikipedian and Head of Creative Common in Syria, who has been imprisoned in Syria since March 15, 2012. Bassel was reportedly executed shortly after his disappearance in 2015, but no formal information was ever given to his family and loved ones. Bassel is a Palestinian Syrian national whom his…
Mike Masnick, the founder of the tech blog Techdirt, is facing a libel suit on the excessive amount of 15 Million USD in compensatory damages by Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai. The lawsuit is based on a series of 14 blog posts published on Techdirt between 2014 and 2016, challenging Ayyadurai’s claim to be the inventor of email. In the lawsuit filed in Massachusetts, USA, the blog posts…
Zunar, the Malaysian award winning political cartoonist and activist, was arrested today, 26 November, under the Sedition Act for cartoons that allegedly insulted Prime Minister Najib Razak. The arrest took place a day after being attacked by dozens of pro-government thugs. Due to the attack, Zunar was forced to call off his exhibition in Penang, northern to Kuala Lumpur. Zunar was verbally abused, physically attacked…
Zunar, award winning political cartoonist and activist, was held by the immigration police on October 17, 2016, at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. He had been told that he was barred from travelling, effective from June 24. The order was confirmed by an immigration officer to be instructed directly from the Inspector General Of Police (IGP), Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar. The IGP has no legal right to…
Nabeel Rajab, a 51-year-old prominent Bahraini opposition leader and the president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, is facing trial over criticising Saudi involvement in Yemen on Twitter. Rajab was charged with “insulting a statutory body” and “spreading rumours during wartime”. If convicted, he is facing up to 15 years in prison under Bahrain’s penal code. Rajab was first arrested over the tweets in April 2015 and released a few months later…
