“ [Governments attack bloggers] Yoani Sánchez, an author and blogger who has forged a reputation as a critical voice against the Castro government, said over the weekend that she and other bloggers had been attacked in Havana in what she called a “gangland style kidnapping”. The incident caused outrage online, but according to advocacy campaign Threatened Voices - which launched last week to highlight cases of internet suppression worldwide - such a move was “only a matter of time” as regimes around the world lash out at web-based critics.
[…]
According to Threatened Voices, the five governments that rank as the worst offenders against freedom of speech online are China, Egypt, Iran, Tunisia and Syria, while bloggers in the US, Canada and Europe have also faced arrest and potential imprisonment for breaking the law. Last month eight Vietnamese bloggers were given sentences ranging from two to six years for posting criticisms of the government online, while three internet users in Thailand were arrested last week for writing that the king was in poor health, which they suggested would have an impact on the country’s stock market.
[…]
According to Threatened Voices, the five governments that rank as the worst offenders against freedom of speech online are China, Egypt, Iran, Tunisia and Syria, while bloggers in the US, Canada and Europe have also faced arrest and potential imprisonment for breaking the law. Last month eight Vietnamese bloggers were given sentences ranging from two to six years for posting criticisms of the government online, while three internet users in Thailand were arrested last week for writing that the king was in poor health, which they suggested would have an impact on the country’s stock market.
