World Summit on the Information Society

Censorship report censored

Tests conducted between 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. using the Internet service provider 3S Global Net found that the French and Arabic press releases for Human Rights Watch’s latest report on Internet freedom in the Middle East were also BLOCKED in Tunis. Users trying to access these pages received a page disguised to look like a French-language Microsoft Internet Explorer error page that read “Impossible de trouver la page” (“Impossible to find the page”), regardless of the browser used or the language of the operating system used. The results were consistent with the blocking behavior exhibited in previous tests, documented in Human Rights Watch’s report, False Freedom: Online Censorship in the Middle East and North Africa.” The English, German, and Farsi-language versions of the press release, and the full report, in English, were available. Arabic and French are the languages most commonly read in Tunisia. The French and Arabic versions of Amnesty International's report on Tunisia were also apparently blocked in Tunis outside the WSIS compound. Amnesty International was also prevented from distributing its November 14 report on Tunisia at WSIS.

IRAN

In 2004, more than 20 bloggers and journalists were detained on the orders of Tehran’s chief prosecutor. The detainees were held in solitary confinement and were routinely tortured and forced to make false confessions. The authorities hoped to silence and intimidate activists who rely on the Internet to communicate their viewpoints. Human Rights Watch campaigned actively to expose the ill-treatment of the detainees and called for their immediate release. In December 2004, the detainees were released following intense international protests. However the judiciary continues to persecute bloggers. On Feb. 22, 2004, a well-known blogger, Arash Cigarchi, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for his writings. Charges brought against Cigarchi included “insulting the leader.” He has appealed his sentence. Another blogger, Mojtaba Samii Nezhad, is currently in custody with no charges brought against him. Samii Nezhad has spent more than 88 days in solitary confinement.

Make Some Noise

Cactus tongue

Amnesty International has a new Youth initiative for Human Rights awareness

www.amnestry.org/noise

ABOUT NOISE

Noise for a New GenerationMake Some Noise is a global campaign by Amnesty International that mixes music, celebration and action to protect individuals wherever freedom, justice and equality are denied.

Thanks to an extraordinary gift from Yoko Ono – the recording rights to “Imagine” and John Lennon’s entire solo songbook - we are harnessing the power of music to inspire a new generation to celebrate and stand up for human rights. Hum

The launch of Make Some Noise - set for 10 December, International an Rights Day - will see the release of a bundle of exclusive singles from the Black Eyed Peas, The Cure, Snow Patrol and The Postal Service. This first bundle of singles will be followed in early 2006 by the release of an array of new versions of iconic John Lennon tracks from top artists, including Avril Lavigne.

Our aim is to attract one million new supporters worldwide. We’re not here to talk about the past, tug on the heartstrings or show images of suffering. We’re here to make a positive impact on our world and collectively raise our voices to make as much noise as we can for human rights.