Two iranians win best free expression blog prize

Reporters Without Borders has awarded two Iranians a joint prize for the best blog defending freedom of expression, as part of an international blog competition organised by Deutsche Welle (www.thebobs.com). Awarding the prize to “Kosoof” and Hamed Mottaghi, the worldwide press freedom organisation said the two fought for free expression in a country which flagrantly censors the Internet and imprisons Internet-users who criticise the government too openly. The organisation also publishes a list of eight other blogs nominated in this category, since they all represent windows of freedom in their countries. “The Iranian government tightly controls the traditional media and blocks access to websites which displease it. The work of these two bloggers, who get independent information into circulation in the country, is therefore particularly important”, the organisation said. “We want to pay tribute to all Iranian Internet-users who fight against censorship. Because they know that in their country, as in other countries which are “Enemies of the Internet”, expressing oneself too freely on a blog can lead to prison. “It should not be forgotten that one blogger, Arash Sigarchi, is now behind bars for his online articles and for a few interviews which he gave to foreign radio stations,” it said. The winners: - Kosoof (www.kosoof.com) is a photoblog. It covers demonstrations held in the capital Tehran and posts portraits of many Iranian intellectuals and political dissidents. The blog demonstrates that some photos do more for freedom of expression than thousands of words. - Hamed Mottaghi (http://hamedmottaghi.blogfa.com), former head of news website Naghshineh, which was closed on the order of the authorities, uses his blog to expose human rights abuses. He takes up courageous positions in support of imprisoned dissidents and has been particularly active in the campaign for the release of journalist Akbar Ganji. Other nominations in the “freedom of expression” category of the ‘Bobs' - Russia: A blog run by Vera Vasilieva (http://sivilia.livejournal.com) follows the “Youkos” case, the billionaire opponent of Vladimir Putin, imprisoned for corruption. It is a major source of information on this sensitive case, which is rarely raised by traditional Russian media. Her work has a particular meaning and significance in his country where free expression declines every year. - Tunisia: “Fikra” (http://kitab.nl) follows Tunisian politics and human rights abuses in the country. The blog, run by a Tunisian living in exile in the Netherlands, is censored in Tunisia. - China: Zheng Jinyan is the wife of Hu Jia, a renowned activist imprisoned several times and currently under house arrest. In her blog (http://zengjinyan.spaces.live.com), she gives a daily account of her life during her husband's periods of detention as well as the steps being taken to secure his release. - United States: “The revolution will be televised” (www.joshwolf.net/blog) is a blog run by Josh Wolf, a young activist who is in prison for refusing to provide the courts with footage from one of his video reports. His imprisonment comes at a time of a general deterioration in freedom of expression in the United States. - Egypt: “Torture in Egypt” (http://tortureinegypt.net) reports on cases of torture carried out by the Egyptian authorities. - Singapore: “Yawning Bread” (www.yawningbread.org) defends the rights of homosexuals in this country with a free-thinking and original take on a particularly delicate subject in south-east Asia. - Brazil: “Alcinea Cavalcante” (http://alcineacavalcante.blogspot.com) has become the standard-bearer for free expression on the Internet in Brazil, since a candidate to the Senate, José Sarney, sued it for posting a caricature of him on the blog. - Netherlands “Wij blijven Hier” (www.wijblijvenhier.nl) is a blog run by young Dutch Muslims who talk about their daily lives, to break through the prejudice against the Muslim community in their country.