Blogger Arrests On The Rise

Arrests predicted to increase in

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An increasing number of bloggers are being arrested for criticizing governments and exposing human rights abuse, according to a report from the University of Washington.

Since 2003, 64 citizens have been arrested for expressing their views on a blog. In 2007 three times as many people were arrested for blogging about political issues than in 2006. Over half of the arrests in the last five years were made in China, Egypt and Iran.

The report said the increasing number of arrests was evidence of the "growing" political importance of blogging. It found that arrests typically increase in times of "political uncertainty," like elections or large protests.

Many bloggers faced jail time after being arrested. The average prison sentence for blogging was 15 months. The longest sentence was eight years.

The actual number of bloggers who are arrested is probably higher, since many arrests in China, Zimbabwe, and Iran are not reported. For example the Committee to Protect Bloggers has released details about 344 people arrested in Burma, some who are thought to be bloggers.

The report said that many countries, possibly as many as 30, have implemented technological restrictions on what people can do online. In countries such as China this has made it challenging for people to use a blog as a way to protest.

The report estimated that the number of bloggers arrested in 2008 would surpass the 36 seen in 2007 due to the popularity of blogging, more enforcement of online restrictions, and elections in China, Pakistan, Iran and the U.S.

Blogger Arrests On The Rise
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  • Guest

    If I ever get arrested for blogging my opinion, I will be even louder with the media because its going to be known why I was arrested.  Our government needs to remember that our forefathers were placed in such a predicament with the British rule which is why they revolted.  Did you know that our forefathers couldn’t distribute newspaper information until it was examined by the British rule?  I dare our government to start playing that tune!  What have we turned into?  Nazi camps?!  Aren’t we the government that criticizes dictatorships and plan, and implement those removals?  I believe so. 

  • http://iliketodrinkbeer.blogspot.com Serg Krasovsky

    Absolutely agreed with Mel Smith.I believe another big lie is AIDS virus.Its existence is not proved.But there is a lot of buzz about it.A lot of money is spent to fight  AIDS virus.

    The human natural immunity can be badly weakened,for example,by drug addiction.Then,a common flu can lead to a death.But,such a case can be wrongly construed as AIDS. 

    • Guest

      Um the AIDS virus is proven and is real…

      Why should people control what we write about when we can say exactly the same, verbally, to our friends and family. It’s just targetted at another audience.

  • Guest

    You’re so naive. To think it’s OK to allow every living human being the right to say whatever they want whenever they want is reckless. Let the chips fall and allow the civil courts to rule?  That’s like kicking a dog AFTER it’s relieved itself all over your shag carpeting.

    Freedom of speech comes with responsibility…and policing. There’s a lot that can go wrong giving people this freedom and while I do appreciate and respect the concept, we don’t live in concepts…we live in realities and the reality is that you cannot give people the green light to tee off on whatever or whomever they want…especially online where everything should be taken with a grain of salt…EVERYTHING.

    Like your miracle cancer fighter and thoughts on different forms of treatment…please…you come across like a typical Internet blogger: uneducated, inarticulate and convinced the world is out to get your interests…much like a conspiracy theorist, no?

    I’m happy your bro got better, but please spare us the miracle story of this new natural substance. Dude, I’ll take western medicine and science all day long when I’m tits up on a gurney…give me a sharp doc and some tangible proven healing tactics and I’ll be back in the saddle in no time.

    Bottom line: like typical bozo bloggers, you can’t live your life so recklessly and assume it’s someone else’s fault that your ship isn’t sailing straight. Someone with half a brain could easily find conspiracy in ANY vertical/business, so do you really think you’ve stumbled upon something spectacular?

    McDonalds publishes the nutritional content of it’s entire menu…so the evil in their food is right in front of your own set of eyes and yet they continue to grow and increase sales. Gun manufacturers, toy makers, politicians, HOSPITALS, websites…you name it, there’s shady stuff going on EVERYWHERE all in an attempt to make more money.

    But that doesn’t mean one product or company is superior to another and certainly doesn’t mean we all have the human right to say whatever’s on our mind, victims be damned.

    Think before you speak and take pleasure in knowing that thankfully not everyone in power is as reckless with their concepts as you are. Your "natural substance" that you claim "cures cancer" is nothing more than the latest junk in our mental trunk that we have to sift through to find the truth for ourselves, which you are obviously oblivious to based upon the sheer structure of your comment, not to mention your inability to use proper English grammar in making your point…"prevale"?

    When gents like me see blogs like yours, it makes me wonder if there ever will be a time when we as human beings will ever be responsible enough to earn the right to say whatever we want, whenever we want. 

    But until clowns like you get it through your thick skull that you can’t just fire at will, we have to police the words that come out of our fellow human being’s mouths.

    Be careful what you recommend, Mel…unless you have wicked insurance.

    Feast on that one for a while.

    Cheers everyone and enjoy my rant at dinner tonight…


    • Guest

      Dear ranter–

      I think you have a valid point; much of the blogging we see is mere Spam.  However, both you and Mel Smith appear to me to represent opposite poles.  There should be some kind of middle ground, since we shouldn’t have to tolerate Spam nor its opposite, censorship.

      Wouldn’t the precursor of blogging be the underground newspaper?  Nobody is obliged to buy it, read it, nor give it any attention whatsoever.  But it’s there, representing a real person’s opinion, and deserves to exist.  We know, for example, that there’s a lot of corruption in every government, and those whose ears are burning would surely love to shut down the bloggers.  If and when that does occur, tyranny will prevail.

      I agree that free speech is a responsibility, but even "irresponsible" freedom of speech is vastly preferible to censorship: with the former, we may choose to ignore the message; with the latter, no choice exists.