The report noted Libya’s “frenzy of self expression online” since the end of the Libyan Civil War, and gave the country a “partly free” rating. [...] Syria, also unassessed in 2011, was the second “least free” country in the Middle East and North Africa (Iran being the most repressive) due to the regime’s vigorous persecution of bloggers and online activists, extensive filtering, and surveillance of citizens through a variety of fairly sophisticated means in the context of Syria’s continuing civil conflict. [...] With the government’s plans to launch the first phase of the national information network, this decision is also taken as a sign of plans to pull out of the global internet. [...] JORDAN: Demonstrations against new censorship laws erupt in Jordan In a demonstration against amendments to Jordan’s Press and Publications Law in Amman, participants have announced the creation of a “Civil Coalition against the New Press and Publications Law.” The group has pledged to fight against the amendments through “legal and civil means.” As previously reported, activists have interpreted. [...] They cited recent “blasphemies against the Prophet Muhammad”, likely referring to the “Innocence of Muslims” YouTube video, as the main reason for the cyber attacks.
Authors
- Pages
- 4
- Published in
- Canada
