Showing posts with label writers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writers. Show all posts

Monday 8 December 2008

Online Journalists Now The Most Jailed



Something more serious today, we are under threat.

From WebProNews

“As of December 1 there are 125 journalists behind bars, a decrease of two from 2007. China tops the list as the worst offender, a position it has held for the last 10 years. Cuba, Burma, Eritrea, and Uzbekistan round out the top five from among the 29 nations that imprison journalists.

There are at least 56 online journalists jailed globally. The number of online journalists jailed has steadily risen since the CPJ recorded the first imprisoned Internet writer in 1997”
.
"Online journalism has changed the media landscape and the way we communicate with each other," said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. "But the power and influence of this new generation of online journalists has captured the attention of repressive governments around the world, and they have accelerated their counterattack."

“Most of the online journalists that are jailed are freelancers with no legal resources or political connection that could help them get out of prison.
"The image of the solitary blogger working at home in pajamas may be appealing, but when the knock comes on the door they are alone and vulnerable," said CPJ's Simon.”

This is happening abroad at the moment, but if the EU gets their way who knows?

Oddly enough I have just had a blog posted on NHS Behind the headlines (which I think of as my “Other blog”) entitled the censored-state. Concerning the erosion of our rights to free speech and human rights.

It seems to be creeping up on us, and we don’t know it, how long will it be before WE get the “knock on the door”?

It has already begun with the opposition MP, arrested under terrorism laws.

Not a blogger, but someone who thought he was safe in the UK going about his business.

I suppose that the fact that this is happening shows us the power of bloggers, if we can manage to frighten so many Governments, that they imprison “writers”, shades of the Third Reich maybe, or the USSR, both totalitarian states that imprisoned people who didn’t agree with their “idea” of government.

Angus