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The
Internet under Surveillance - Obstacles to the free flow of information
online
Reporters
Without Borders - Reporters sans frontières
June
19, 2003
The number of
Internet users in China doubles nearly every six months and the
number of Chinese websites every year. But this dizzying expansion
of cyberspace is matched by government efforts to control, censor
and repress it with harsh laws, jailing cyber-dissidents, blocking
access to websites, spying on discussion forums and shutting down
cybercafés.
In Vietnam, the Internet is not very widespread but is nevertheless
firmly under the control of the ruling Communist Party, which seems
to be faithfully copying neighbouring China by arresting cyber-dissidents,
barring access to sites deemed politically or culturally "incorrect"
and monitoring private e-mail.
Going online in Cuba is very restricted and closely watched by the
government. Official permission is required and the necessary equipment,
including the most modern, is rationed and can only be bought in
special state-run shops, again only with special permission. The
government passed laws as soon as the Internet came to Cuba. Decree
209 ("Access to the World Computer Network from Cuba") of June 1996
says it cannot be used "in violation of the moral principles of
Cuban society and its laws" and that e-mail messages must not "endanger
national security."
In Tunisia, the government says it favours rapid and democratic
growth of the Internet. But in practice, state security police keep
it under very tight control. Sites are censored, e-mail intercepted,
cybercafés monitored and users arrested and arbitrarily imprisoned.
One cyber-dissident, Zouhair Yahyaoui, was arrested in 2002 and
sent to jail for two years.
In mid-June this year, more than 50 Internet users were in prison
around the world, three quarters of them in China.
The Internet is the bane of all dictatorial regimes, but even in
democracies such as the United States, Britain and France, new anti-terrorism
laws have tightened government control of it and undermined the
principle of protecting journalistic sources.
This report is about attitudes to the Internet by the powerful in
60 countries, between spring 2001 and spring 2003. The preface is
by Vinton G. Cerf, who is often called the "father" of the Internet.
The entire report will be available in English and French on the
Reporters Without Borders website, www.rsf.org, from 20 June,
downloadable in pdf format. Go to "media download" to have the cover
on 300 high resolution. A printed version can be ordered from Reporters
Without Borders, 5 rue Geoffroy-Marie, 75009 Paris, France (10 euros
+ postage).
42 cyber-dissents imprisoned in China, including:
- Liu Di,
held in secret
A 22-year-old psychology student arrested at Beijing University
on 7 November 2002 after she urged people online (under the pseudonym
"Stainless Steel Mouse") to "ignore the propaganda" of the ruling
Chinese Communist Party and "live in true freedom."
- Huang
Qi, jailed for five years
Founder of the website www.tianwang.com, arrested at
his home on 3 June 2000. He then waited nearly three years before
learning last month that he had been sentenced to five years in
prison for "subversion" and incitement to overthrow the government.
During his sham trial held in secret in August 2001, he appeared
exhausted by interrogation sessions and prison conditions and
showed physical signs of having been beaten.
3 cyber-dissidents
imprisoned in the Maldives, including:
- Ahmad
Didi, jailed for life
A prosperous 50-year-old businessman who once ran for parliament.
He and three other people launched a newsletter, Sandhaanu,
which was distributed by e-mail on request. Maldives President
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom ordered their arrest in January 2002 and
in July, three of them were sentenced to life imprisonment for
insulting the president and allegedly trying to overthrow the
government by starting up the newsletter. They have been refused
the right to appeal and still do not have lawyers to defend them.
5 cyber-dissidents imprisoned in Vietnam, including:
- Le Chi
Quang, jailed for four years
A 32-year-old chemistry and law graduate arrested on 21 February
2002 in a Hanoi cybercafé by a plainclothes policeman pretending
to be an Internet user. He was sentenced on 8 November to four
years in prison for posting material online criticising the communist
government. He has kidney problems but a court recently refused
to free him for medical reasons.
1 cyber-dissident
imprisoned in Tunisia:
- Zouhair
Yahyaoui, jailed for two years
A young unemployed graduate and Internet enthusiast who set up
a news website in Tunisia in July 2001. He was arrested on 4 June
2002 by a dozen plainclothes police in a cybercafé in a
Tunis suburb. He was interrogated and tortured by state security
agents and forced to reveal the access code to his website. After
a hasty trial, he was sentenced on 28 June to two years in prison
for "putting out false news." He has staged three hunger strikes
in jail so far this year.
For more
information, contact:
Reporters
sans frontières
Africa
desk
Email: africa@rsf.org
Website: www.rsf.org
Tel: 33 1 44 83 84 84
Fax: 33 1 45 23 11 51
5, rue Geoffroy-Marie
75009 Paris
FRANCE
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
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