A screenshot of the email's subject line and sender with the body blacked out. Source: Global Voices

هشدار: بر اساس اطلاعات و اسناد بدست آمده، لیست برخی از ایمیل ها و اسامی مختلف فعال در راستای اهداف بیگانگان و حمایت از فتنه گران شناسایی گردیده که ایمیل شما نیز در لیست مدنظر وجود دارد.
لذا در صورت اصرار بر فعالیت غیر قانونی، برابر مواد 498، 499 و 510 قانون مجازات اسلامی، تحت پیگرد قرار خواهید گرفت.

These articles [fa] refer to crimes against the country's security.

According to article 498, anybody who organises a group with more than two people who aims to disturb a country's security will be jailed from two to ten years. Article 499 says any member of this group can face three months to five years in jail. Article 510 says people who hide spies who want to hurt country with the help of an enemy, can face from six months to three years of jail.

The email is intended to provoke fear, but has no signature. One recipient demonstrated to Global Voices that the email was sent from an anonymous Live.com email account (breaking_news@live.com) a Microsoft email service.

Iranians know to be concerned of violations of their online privacy. On September 2011, A growing number of Iranian bloggers expressed their anxieties after learning that their Gmail inboxes may have been an open book for the Iranian state to read and target dissidents for two months.

In 2011, people who once sent SMS mobile phone messages to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Persian service, received a threatening message:

“Dear citizen, based on information we received you have fallen under the influence of the anti-security propaganda of media connected with foreign powers.

“If you establish contact with media based outside the country, you will be guilty of violating the following articles of Islamic law (…) and we will deal with you according to the law.”

Today it is threatening email, yesterday it was an SMS text. But the message is the same: To sow fear and reap inaction.

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This time, his wife and son has become target of the organized attack. Today Wen Yunchao posted a screen capture on his Twitter account. The screen capture showed that an anonymous Twitter user has used the peer to peer @ function to distribute personal information, including identity cards numbers of Wen's family:

The messages, in translation said:

@chenachao I am Wen Yunchao, commissioned by the U.S. FBA to establish an online combat team, each of the member would received US5000 per month. If you don't believe in me, you can held my wife and son in hostage. I will strictly under your monitor. My sell phone is: XXXXXXX identity card number is: XXXXXXXXXXX

@wgwhappy passport number: XXXXXXXXX Hong Kong and Macau Visa: XXXXXXXXX. Wife: XXX. Wife's identity card number: XXXXXXXXXX Son: XXX Son's identity card number: XXXXXXXXXXXX.

All the numbers are valid and only the mainland Chinese police department could get access to such details information. Meanwhile Wen Yunchao is based in Hong Kong with a working visa.

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This isn't the first time a Moroccan internet user faces such charges. In 2008 Fouad Mourtada, a young engineer, was sentenced to three years in prison for impersonating the king’s brother on Facebook. An international outcry and a campaign of support forced the authorities to release Mr Mourtada a month after his arrest.

Walid Bahomane's arrest is the first since a constitutional reform last summer (theoretically) revoked the “sacred” character of the monarch. The king is still, however, the focus of a great deal of devotion in the country.

A copy of the police report filed against Mr Bahomane emerged on the internet, revealing a first: according to the document, items seized by the police are “two Facebook pages (sic) containing phrases and images insulting the sacred values, and an IBM computer.​​”

Copy of the police report filed against Mr. Walid Bahomane as posted on Facebook.

Despite calls for his release the judge decided to send Walid to a juvenile detention facility near the capital pending his trial. A group of netizens have reacted to the arrest of Mr Bahomane by creating a support group on Facebook called “Mohammed VI, my freedom is more sacred than you!“, where members are invited to publish and share cartoons of the king.

Cartoon representing king Mohammed VI posted on Facebook

The group's preamble reads [ar]:

هذه مجموعة تضامنية مع الشاب وليد بحمان، 18 سنة، معتقل بسجن الأحداث بسلا بتهمة إهانة قداسة محمد السادس على الفيسبوك. فلنثبت لمحمد السادس أن حريتنا أقدس منه

Zineb El Ghazoui, a co-creator of the group, writes on her blog [fr]:

[cette arrestation bat] en brèche la propagande de l'Etat marocain autour du changement et des prétendues avancées démocratiques.

On Twitter, some are timidly following suit. Musique Arabe tweets [fr]:

@MusiqueArabe Opération soutien à Walid Bahomane - publions tous sur nos profils la caricature de notre choix.

Despite the recent constitutional reforms in Morocco the regime does not seem prepared to tolerate any violation of its red lines. In July 2011, a few days after the adoption of the new constitution, a French newspaper, Le Courrier International, was censored [fr] in Morocco because it contained an irreverent caricature of the king.

The independent press has often suffered the wrath of the regime when it dared tackle the sensitive subject of the monarchy. So much so that the Internet seems today the last frontier where most Moroccans can still exercise their right to free expression.

Something Moroccan netizens seem to be fully aware of. Inspired by the Arab spring, they seem determined to close ranks and show solidarity with Mr Bahomane.

As a result, exercising censorship will be even more difficult for the regime.

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Skype interrogation

In order to increase the pressure on one foreign-based Iranian journalist for the BBC, a relative in Iran was arbitrarily detained for nearly two weeks, and the journalist was interrogated over the internet on Skype video.

According to Human Rights Watch, the Iranian government has been intimidating and detaining relatives and friends of foreign-based Persian-language journalists to obtain information or silence them.

Iranian blogger Tahriyeh Khamoush writes [fa]:

… reading this story we can see what a monster the Islamic Republic has become. 40 minutes of interrogation via Skype while the journalist’s sister was jailed. The journalist was at her home in London while she was interrogated by revolutionary guards intelligence agents. The journalist only heard the voices in Iran while the interrogators could both see her and listen to her voice.

The journalist’s sister was released after the interrogation. She said she was forced to make false confessions broadcast on TV.

There are three jailed bloggers and journalists, Parastou Dokouhaki, Mazieh Rasouli and Sahmoldin Borghani who are under pressure to confess collaboration with BBC.

Attacking a Facebook group

Message by cyber police on what was formerly the 'Daaf & Paaf' Facebook page promoting a photo contest.

About a week ago a Facebook page called Daaf & Paaf (meaning “hot girl & hot boy”) came under the control of Iran's cyber police who announced [fa] on the group's Facebook “wall” that “the administrators of this group have confessed to promoting banality”.

The group promoted an online photo contest for hot Iranian men and women, and had around 27,000 fans [the content is not available anymore].

Cyber police reportedly arrested four men and women for administrating the Facebook page.

Faryadeazadi collected and republished [fa] several comments that users left on the Daaf & Paaf Facebook page after it came under control by Iranian security forces:

You beat the poor guys and got their passwords, and now you think you performed a masterpiece by controlling this page… Look at our cyber police, instead of running after criminals and thieves, it gets involved with this kind of story… Mark Zuckerbeg was involved too, go arrest him as well.

A long history

The Iranian regime not only represses bloggers and filters websites and blogs, but has many times used the internet creatively as a tool to increase pressure or spread fear.

In 2009, the regime employed crowd sourcing to target suspects when the protest movement erupted. Using widely disseminated online photos from post-election demonstrations, a website of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps called Gerdab (which means ‘vortex'), encouraged people to submit information that could lead to the arrest of protesters.

We can add to this menu of creativity, the recent “Law of Computer Crimes” that make almost all ordinary users computer criminals.

Indeed, the internet is not only a gift for freedom lovers but also for repressive machines.

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Muawiya Alrawahi. Photo by Jillian C York

It has been reported on Twitter that outspoken Omani blogger Muawiya Alrawahi (interviewed by Global Voices here), known for his controversial ideas, has been detained because of a blog post and some tweets in which he criticised Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the ruler of Oman.

Twitter user Ammar Almamari (@omanammar) wrote on the morning of February 6:

This is a reference to a long blog post from February 3 called “Covenant of Salvation” (which has since been deleted, but a cached copy is here [Ar]). In it Muawiya talked openly about a number of things, including suffering sexual abuse as a young teenager, his earlier involvement with Oman's Internal Security Service (ISS), his admiration for and connections to ex-ISS Brigadier-General Khamis Al Ghraibi (now imprisoned under charges of spying for the UAE), his lack of religious belief, his disillusionment with Oman, and his loss of faith in the ruler Sultan Qaboos.

Muawiya ended the post by saying:

Muawiya's tweets [Ar] were equally critical of Sultan Qaboos and the political situation in Oman, and in addition he called for the downfall of all Gulf rulers.

Blogger Ferass Alryami has written a post in solidarity with Muawiya:

Others have argued [Ar] that Muawiya crossed too many lines, especially when talking about Islam.

Recently two Omani journalists were jailed for “insulting” the country's Minister of Justice by publishing allegations of corruption within the Ministry of Justice. Oman's recently amended penal code outlines punishment for those who undermine the “prestige of the state”, and an article in the press and publications law prohibits “disseminating all that would compromise state security, internal or external”.

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Blogger and activist Ahmad Mansoor after his release last November

Ahmad Mansoor, UAE's most famous blogger who was detained last year for several months with four other activists for signing an online petition calling for reforms in his country, was denied entry to Kuwait few days ago. The UAE5 including Mansoor were released with a pardon on the 28th of November. Recently, Human Right Watch press conference in Dubai which was planned to release the organization's report on the decline of freedom of expression in the Gulf wealthy state was raided by state security police called off.

Through his twitter account, Mansoor was the one who reported the details of this raid on HRW's press conference. More than a week after, Mansoor went to Kuwait and was denied entry, which makes him the second human rights defender to be denied entry in Kuwait in a very short time period after Kassab Al-Otaibi (@Dr_Kassab ) a Saudi opposition activist based in the UK. Mansoor reported what happened to him in the airport through twitter, as Kuwait was having its vote for parliamentary elections; one of the reasons why there wasn't much attention paid for the incident the UAE blogger had to go through.

Mansoor tweeted:

I'm Kuwait airport now. Prevented from entering. Too bad that this happens in Kuwait; the only democracy in #gcc !!

— Ahmed Mansoor (@Ahmed_Mansoor) February 2, 2012

#gcc: after an interrogation for about an hour, I was told that I can not enter by the State Security officers.#kuwait #uae

— Ahmed Mansoor (@Ahmed_Mansoor) February 2, 2012

#gcc #kuwait #uae further told that if I can not find a ticket back, I would be detained until then.

— Ahmed Mansoor (@Ahmed_Mansoor) February 2, 2012

#gcc #kuwait #uae: off course, preventing me from entering kuwait was based on instruction from UAE authorities.

— Ahmed Mansoor (@Ahmed_Mansoor) February 2, 2012

Not sure though why authorities in UAE first let me leave Sharjah airport to start with and put Kuwait in this situation. #gcc #kuwait #uae

— Ahmed Mansoor (@Ahmed_Mansoor) February 2, 2012

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Two of those in jail, Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson are Swedish journalists who have been labeled by Prime Minster Meles Zenawi as terror accomplices. They are serving 11 year sentences for “helping” and “promoting” the outlawed Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) rebel group and entering the country illegally.

Three other local journalists received 14-16 year sentences and heavy fines recently for “terrorism-related” offenses. Exiled blogger Elias Kifle was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment. One other journalist and blogger, Eskinder Nega, who is indicted with six different terrorism charges is facing the death penalty.

Jailed in Ethiopia: left, Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson. Photo courtesy of freejohanandmartin.org

Nicholas Kristof draws attention to Ethiopia’s worsening situation of journalists with his wounding criticisms of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's government:

In countries like Ethiopia, there are no reliable institutions to look after human rights and create checks and balances. There isn’t a free election system, independent court system, opposite party structure or all the other mechanisms that keep a regime honest. So one of the few ways to provide accountability is through journalists, local and international. And when Meles or another dictator arrests these journalists or drives them into exile, the losers are all the citizens of the country.

Human rights and free press advocacy organizations are incessantly campaigning for the release of imprisoned journalists. The New York based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Sans Frontières, Index on Censorship and the International Federation of Journalists are all protesting the government’s treatment of journalists.

Facebook image calling for the release of all political prisoners. Image courtesy of Ethiopia Mitmita Facebook page.

Endalk summarises the global press outcry and highlights the context in which the Swedish journalists were being tried in Ethiopian court. He adds:

My reporting has included analyses of how the Ethiopian media both private and government media is covering court proceedings; how David Isaac, Eritrean-Swedish, was reported in Ethiopia’s media and the state of freedom of expression in Ethiopia such as continues brandish of arrests and accusations of journalists and opposition leaders. These malaises are most visible in Ethiopian media landscape since the ratification of the contentious anti-terrorism proclamation in 2009 which lead to the closure of independent newspapers, accusations, detentions and kicking out of journalists and bloggers out of their country.

Netizens' opposition to Meles Zenawi's government gained new momentum after Kristof asked his Twitter followers to report Meles sightings in Davos, Switzerland. Kristof wanted to ask Meles why he has driven more journalists into exile over the last decade than any other leader in the world. He wrote:

I’m in Davos, Switzerland, for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, and so is Meles I’ve been pursuing him for the last few days, trying to confront him and ask him about his worsening pattern of brutality. He has refused to see me, so I enlisted (https://twitter.com/nickkristof )my Twitter followers to report Meles sightings. I want to ask him why he has driven more journalists into exile over the last decade than any other leader in the world, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists in New York City.

Ethiopian blogger and journalist, Eskinder Nega, is facing the death penalty. Photo courtesy of FreeEskinderNega.com

One anonymous reader responded to Kistof’s opinion piece:

Meles has hoodwinked or scared many Western journalists from writing the plight of the Ethiopian people. Kristof is the exception to lay it out there. Meles is the most sophisticated dictator who cornered the market in PR or deception by buying senators, congressional representatives, columnists and professors with money and lies, thus piling up himself as a leader. At the same time, he is running Ethiopia as his fiefdom by confiscating land and industries, by denying access to technology and property rights, while applying the severest punishment to journalists and civil society members who oppose his policies. To stave off any Arab Springs type revolt, he has crafted an anti-terrorism law, where he stands as the most dangerous terrorist of all as far as the Ethiopian people are concerned.

Addis Neger’s Facebook page shared a link of a petition demanding the release of Swedish journalists in Ethiopia. Over 1300 people have signed Kelsey Crows petition and the number of petitioners are growing quickly about a pace of 100 signatures/hour. However, netizens wonder why the petition does not take into account the Ethiopian journalists who are suffering with Swedish journalists.

Ethiopia Mitmita comments on Addis Neger's page:

Where is the petition for our journalist????

Another Facebook user asks:

Why is the petition only for the Swedish journalists? It is really very depressive.

Habtom Gabreegziabher says:

Ethiopia has done nothing that any other country cannot do if it faces with the same situation.
every body has to know the reason behind the arrest was not because the Swedish were Journalist, they were arrested because they crossed sovereign border of a country called Ethiopia.
let me ask you a question,
How many peoples are arrested in the united states because of crossing the border from south America regardless their occupation??
The Americans has the right to protect their border.
the difference in our case is, the criminals who cross our border are Swedish and Europeans and we are Ethiopians and Africans.
JUST BECAUSE SOME BODY IS RICH HE DOES NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO COME INTO MY BACK YARD AS HE WISH. HE HAS TO ASK ME POLITELY TO DO THAT.

A highly politicized trial of a blogger Eskinder Nega will continue in March in the midst of a global outcry for his release.

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Park's profile picture in Twitter.

Amnesty International called for Park's release yesterday, February 2, 2012. “This is not a national security case, it's a sad case of the South Korean authorities' complete failure to understand sarcasm,” Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific director said in its statement.

Park's arrest is very controversial as he and his political party (Socialist Party) has been very critical of North Korea. But such ludicrous charge is not an isolated case. Two months ago in December 2011, another netizen, Kim Seung-kyu was prosecuted for reposting articles, songs and other available information about North Korea on his blog and calling the NSL a government attempt to suffocate the people. The materials that he posted are widely accessible in western media.

The South Korea NSL was passed 60-years ago in 1948 to protect the country from its wartime enemy, North Korea. It prosecutes those who “praise, disseminate or cooperate with anti-state groups” if such acts endanger democracy and national security.

In the past, the NSL has been used to investigate left-wing activists. Between 2005-2009, there were an average of 58 cases a year. However, “since Lee Myung-bak came to power in 2008, the Korean government re-activated the law to investigate not just left-wing activists but also ordinary people who are talking about North Korea online”, said Yoon Ji-Hye, the Korean Alliance of Progressive Movements to NPR in December 2011. Investigation has surged to 91 in 2010 and by 2011 August, there were already 150 cases.

Deletion of webpages has been increased from an annual figure of 1,500 in 2008 to 14,430 in 2009 and 80,449 in 2010. (The graph below is from North Korea Tech)

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