Belarusian authorities got in list of “Internet enemies”

• 13.03.2008, 8:34

Belarusian authorities got into the list of “Internet enemies” made by Reporters Without Borders.

Reporters Without Borders named 13 countries, where Internet is censored: Belarus, Vietnam, Egypt, Iran, China, North Korea, Cuba, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.

Opposition sites in Belarus and Uzbekistan are closed or disappear from the Internet (blocked) during election and other important political events, Reporters Without Borders notes. Freedom of cyber communication in China and Vietnam often leads to real prison terms up to 12 years. Not only authors and signatories of online addresses can lose their freedom, but also bloggers, who criticise the authorities on the Internet. 52 people in China are thrown in prison for anti-state calls on the Internet. One of them, Guo Feixiong, died in prison in January 2008. 6 people in Vietnam got prison terms for criticising the ruling party on the Internet in May 2007. There are also cyber-dissidents in Iran and Saudi Arabia.

11 counties – among them Thailand, Malaysia, Jordan, and Libya - don’t imprison bloggers and don’t censor totally the Internet. But, according to the RSF, authorities of these countries use anti-terroristic laws to control the oppositional sites.

The First Online Free Expression Day was marked on 12 March. It was held by the Reporters Without Borders under the patronage of UNESCO.