Free speech and the gun in Libya
Libyan media are crippled by their Gaddafi legacy. Without new regulations and, above all, bravery to stand up to violent intimidation, freedom of speech remains a distant dream, writes Jerry Timmins.
Why Rwanda and Libya need free speech – and media regulation.
Jerry Timmins describes a new report on media in two post-conflict societies, and argues that countries like Britain should do more to support them.
Two years on, is it still spring in Tunisia?
On 17 December 2010, Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set fire to himself – and began the Arab spring. Despite Islamist pressures on free speech and women’s rights, Rory McCarthy sees continued cause for hope.
Caving to violent intimidation?
In response to our sixth draft principle and whether violent intimidation has caused him to self-censor criticism of the government, Mansoor says: "The only limits that I put to myself are the ethical limits...I believe free speech is the prerequisite for any development to happen in any place and any country, and I'm driven totally by my passion and my love to this country".
“We were denied justice”
While in prison and since his release, Mansoor has been the target of online death threats, defamation campaigns and physical attacks. He says the government has done little to address these assaults.
Still under surveillance
Mansoor says his laptop was attacked by "a very sophisticated version of malware apparently that the authorities in the region have been using against individuals, which allows authorities to gain illegal access to someone's emails and computer".
Government smear and presidential pardon
Mansoor was sentenced to three years in prison but released after just seven months when the president pardoned him and the other four activists. He says media reports on their imprisonment "enlightened people about the reality of the case, because inside the UAE the campaign was really [a] smear [campaign]".
Ahmed Mansoor on blogging his way into a UAE prison
One of the United Arab Emirate's most prominent human rights activists, Ahmed Mansoor was imprisoned in 2011 for criticising the country's leadership. Here he discusses the death threats, defamation campaigns and physical attacks he continues to face for speaking his mind.
Defending Islam and free speech
FSD's Katie Engelhart sat in on this Frontline Club debate to discuss controversy surrounding the YouTube video Innocence of Muslims.
Has Innocence of Muslims ended the innocence of YouTube?
Join us to debate the role internet platforms like YouTube should play in setting free speech agendas in your country, your language and across the world. Online editor Brian Pellot kicks off the discussion.
Why the Arab world needs community radio
Social media and satellite television played a crucial role in the Arab uprisings, but Daoud Kuttab argues community radio must be embraced to effect positive change in the region.
Egypt’s one-way traffic in books
Historian Khaled Fahmy describes how historic Egyptian books are more easily found in Western than in Egyptian libraries - and how a scholarly history of the Middle East was recently banned from entering Egypt.
Al-Azhar’s “Bill of Rights”
Following the Arab Spring, a venerable Islamic institution’s new Statement on Basic Freedoms suggests where sharia law may (and may not) be compatible with international conventions to guarantee free expression.
How impartial was the the BBC’s coverage of the Arab Spring?
A new report from former UN director of communications Edward Mortimer says the BBC's coverage of the Arab Spring uprisings was "reasonably impartial".
Al-Jazeera and the rise of citizen journalism
Since the beginning of the Arab uprising, more than 70,000 videos have been uploaded to Al-Jazeera's portal Sharek.
Jillian York on hacktivism
The director of international freedom of expression at the Electronic Frontier Foundation talks about the ethics and motivations of hacktivism.
On Free Speech: The power of the web
This latest episode looks at the ethics of hacktivism, crowdsourcing in war zones and the right of Christians in the UK to wear the cross at work.
Khaled Fahmy on free speech in Egypt (Arabic)
The professor of history at the American University in Cairo talks to FSD about the Egyptian military.
Khaled Fahmy on free speech in Egypt (English)
The right to information is essential to democracy, says Khaled Fahmy, professor and chair of the history department at the American University in Cairo.
