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.
Can free speech bolster national security?
Part of a lecture by Timothy Garton Ash in Egypt at the AUC New Cairo.
We need thicker skin and a sense of humour
Part of a lecture by Timothy Garton Ash in Egypt at the AUC New Cairo.
We need not agree on everything
Part of a lecture by Timothy Garton Ash in Egypt at the AUC New Cairo.
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.
World Press Freedom events end with “Carthage Declaration”
The declaration calls on governments, media outlets and Unesco to enhance press freedom around the world.
Kazeboon: Egypt’s anti-military campaign
In 2011, a group of young Egyptians organised public film screenings to expose military violence against civilians, writes Hebatalla Taha.
Wadah Khanfar on how the Arab Spring transformed journalism
The former head of Al Jazeera denies allegations that the network was in any way partisan under his watch, a criticism frequently levelled at the broadcaster, which is funded by the emir of Qatar.
Free speech at the heart of the Arab Spring – part two
In the second part of this panel discussion just off Tahrir Square in Cairo, a panel of bloggers, journalists and human rights experts ask what are - and what should be - the limits to freedom of expression in Egypt today.
Free speech at the heart of the Arab Spring – part one
In this panel discussion just off Tahrir Square in Cairo, a panel of bloggers, journalists and human rights experts ask what are - and what should be - the limits to freedom of expression in Egypt today.
Nokia Siemens on the misuse of technology
The head of media relations at Nokia Siemens Networks talks to FSD about the misuse of technology by autocratic regimes and its new human rights due diligence process.
Can Europe and the Middle East agree on the terms of freedom of expression?
A lecture by Timothy Garton Ash in Egypt at the AUC New Cairo.
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.
(Not) reporting homosexuality in the Middle East
Media in the Middle East do not report gay issues in the same way as they would other news. By Brian Pellot.
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.
A Saudi blogger’s “blasphemous” tweets
As of August 2012, Saudi Arabian writer Hamza Kashgari faced a trial for allegedly insulting the Prophet Muhammad on Twitter, writes Brian Pellot.
Article 19: freedom of expression anchored in international law
Jeff Howard explains what it means for a state to be a party to the ICCPR and how individuals can issue complaints about violations of free speech to the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
