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by Emma

Arab broadcast charter

March 3, 2008 in main by Emma

Reuters

DUBAI, March 3 (Reuters) – Outspoken Arab broadcasters said they would not cave in to a charter designed to force them to self-censor their programmes or risk going off air.

The satellite broadcasting charter, endorsed at a meeting of Arab information ministers in Cairo last month, will entrench state control over broadcasts and curtail political expression on the airwaves in a region of some 300 million.

Analysts said the obvious targets of the document, led by U.S. allies Egypt and Saudi Arabia, were the Qatar-based Al Jazeera channel and Lebanon’s al-Manar TV owned by the Shi’ite Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrilla group.

Al Jazeera are of course the channel renowned for broadcasting al Qaeda videos.

I found this interesting. Some are praising it, some are not. Human Rights Watch (www.hrw.org) are condemning it as a restriction of free speech. (http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2008/02/26/mena18153.htm)

Personally I think I’d like to see what it says before making a judgement. It could be a good thing, especially where Al Jazeera are concerned. It might be a restriction of freedom of speech, which of course is to be avoided.

I also find this quote from HRW interesting:

The document, intended as guidelines that carry no legal obligations, recommends that the regulatory bodies of Arab League members states confiscate equipment, impose fines, and suspend, refuse to renew or withdraw licenses from satellite channels that authorities deem to have violated those “principles.â€Â

So they’re just guidelines, not obligations, but there are to be sanctions imposed. I wonder how far this will go?

What are your thoughts, anyone?

Back To Childhood Party Photos

February 28, 2008 in events, photos by Rob Hallam

Photos from the Back To Childhood Party.

Back To Childhood Party

February 28, 2008 in events by Rob Hallam

Thanks to everyone who came to our ‘Back To Childhood’ party yesterday which was aimed at raising awareness of child soldiers. It was a fun night. There were many interesting and original costumes on display – the winner of the competition was Buzz Lightyear for effort and originality. Special mention to the two Indiana Joneses. It was great to see the effort people put into their costumes, and it gave the party a very fun atmosphere. We had a correct guess at how many sweeties were in the jar (611), and the raffle gave out six prizes. We hope the winners enjoy them.

Thanks to Rachel and everyone who organised the party, helped out, asked friends to come along, or even minded the door. Your work is appreciated.

We have two other big events coming up in the next week or two: we are having a sleep-out in front of the Wolfson Medical Building (to raise awareness of refugees); and a ceilidh, both of which we are doing in association with S.T.A.R. Watch this space for more information on both of these events.

Pakistan Blocks YouTube

February 25, 2008 in news by Rob Hallam

YouTube access has been blocked in Pakistan for hosting material offensive to Islam.

Its telecommunications authority ordered internet service providers to block the site until further notice. Reports said the content included Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad that have outraged many. However, one report said a trailer for a forthcoming film by Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders, which portrays Islam in a negative light, was behind the ban.

Wahaj-us-Siraj, convener of the Association of Pakistan Internet Service Providers said:

“They asked us to ban it immediately… and the order says the ban will continue until further notice.”

Unfortunately, the method the ISPs used to block access to YouTube was said to affect users outside Pakistan, leading to a near worldwide outage.

Thanks to the BBC for the reports.

Moroccan Jailed For Spoof Facebook Profile

February 25, 2008 in news by Rob Hallam

From the BBC, Fouad Mourtada has been jailed for 3 years and fined $1300 for creating a fake profile in the name of a Prince in the Royal Family.

In his defence, he said he admired the prince, and that the Facebook entry was just intended to be a bit of fun. A website supporting him published a letter addressed to the prince apologising for the incident. The letter, reportedly penned by Mr Mourtada’s family, requested clemency.
According to the website, he told family members who visited him in jail that he had been blindfolded and beaten unconscious at the time of his arrest.

“Fouad Mourtada, like thousands of people who create fake profiles of well-known personalities or celebrities on Facebook, has in no way acted in a willingness to cause nuisance to Your Highness, for whom he has always shown the greatest of respect.”

Earlier this week some Moroccan bloggers went “on strike“, suspending their regular blog entries for 24 hours in protest at Mr Mourtada’s detention.

by Emma

GU Amnesty Committee Meeting 21/2/08 – Minutes

February 24, 2008 in main by Emma

Click here:
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by sinead

UK apology over rendition flights

February 21, 2008 in main by sinead

Somehow don’t think that these are the only 2 that happened on British territory…

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7256587.stm

 However, it’s good to hear an admisison of guilt of some sort from the government.

Man Held In Dubai Faces 4 Years Imprisonment

February 21, 2008 in information, news by Rob Hallam

A Hampstead businessman is being held in Dubai without charge over alleged drug offences. Cat Le-Huy, who is head of technology at Big Brother creator Endemol, was arrested as he arrived in Dubai on January 26. (source)

Having being transferred to prison after being held in the airport jail, authorities in Dubai said they found traces (0.03g) of hashish in a bag belonging to Cat Le-Huy, and are considering charging him with possession of an illegal substance. (more here)

This news comes less than a month after a man was imprisoned for 4 years for possession of 0.003g of hashish after a roll-up cigarette was found stuck to the bottom of his shoe. Cases like these are covered and helped by FairTrials.

by Emma

GU Amnesty Committee Meeting 14/2/08 – Minutes

February 18, 2008 in main by Emma

Click to read minutes:

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Get These MPs To Vote Against Extending Detention

February 15, 2008 in actions, information, We Like by Rob Hallam

We’ve previously discussed the decision on whether or not to extend the current 28-day detention-without-charge limit. Now, Sunny over at Liberal Conspiracy has put together a list (linked below) of Labour MPs who abstained or voted against the previous proposal to extend it to 90 days. MPs are listed by office address and constituency.

I would urge everyone to take the time to write a short email saying why you are against extending detention – and the 10 reasons laid out in a previous discussion are a good place to start. Let’s make sure they’re told!

The list of MPs, and thanks to Sunny