MAKING A CYBER
DIFFERENCE
C
NIR BOMS

Progressive Features of Technology
•social networks*
Technology Democracy
• economic development
•increased industrial
production
•education
•foreign Investment
o eg es e Terror??
* Hugo A. Meier; Fukuyama, Francis; Przeworski, Adam ; Addison, T., and A. Heshmati

Technology and Media in the M E
M.E
“This global media miracle, which
originally arose to transcend borders
and overcome distances, has fallen
under the control of the censor in
Arab countries. In Iraq for instance, it
was not possible to access the
Internet u til mid-2000. E
It t until id 2000 Even after ft
that, access remained limited. In one
rich Arab country, the government
closed 400,000 web sites after initially
, y
allowing access to the Internet in
1999. The increase in Arab Internet
users in 2001 saw both restrictions on
access and censorship of the Internet
grow stronger once more (World
Markets Research Centre, 2002).”
Arab Human Development Report, 2003

Internet in the Middle East
Middle East Internet Usage and Population Statistics
Population Usage, in Internet Usage, % Population % of User Growth User Growth
Middle East (2008 Est.) Dec. 2000 Latest Data (Penetration) M.E. (2000-2007) (2000-2008)
Bahrain 40,000 157,300 34.8% 0.5 % 293.3 %
718,306 525.0 %
53.7
Iran 250,000 18,000,000 34.9% 7,100.0 %
65,875,223 9,100.0 %
%
Iraq 12,500 36,000 0.2 % 0.1 % 188.0 %
28,221,181 332.0 %
11.0
Israel 1,270,000 3,700,000 52 % 191.3 % 191.3 %
7,112,359
%
Jordan 127,300
127 300 796,900
796 900 18.2
18 2 % 2.4
24% 526.0
526 0 %
6,198,677 785.1 %
Kuwait 150,000 816,700 34.7% 2.4 % 444.5 %
2,596,799 500.0 %
Lebanon 300,000 950,000 23.9 % 2.8 % 216.7 % 216.7 %
3,971,941
Oman 90,000
, 319,200
, 9.1 % 1.0 % 254.7 %
3,311,640 233.3 %
Palestine (W. Bank) 35,000 266,000 13.6% 0.8 % 660.0 %
2,611,904 915.7 %
Qatar 30,000 289,900 37.8 % 0.9 % 866.3 %
928,635 1,070.0 %
14.0
14 0
Saudi Arabia
S di A bi 200,000 4,700,000 22 % 2,250.0 %
28,161,417 3,000.0 %
%
Syria 30,000 1,500,000 10.8 % 4.5 % 4,900.0 %
19,747,586 7,006.7 %
United Arab
735,000 1,708,500 49.8 % 5.1 % 132.4 %
4,621,399 212.9 %
Emirates
Yemen 15,000 270,000 1.4 % 0.8 % 1,700.0 %
23,013,376 2,033.3 %
TOTAL Middle 100.0
197,090,443 1,176.8 %

Kareem Amer
Let them imprison me if
they wish! They will
ever rob anything f from
me, for my freedom
exists inside me. Th
i t i id They “I announce, from my detention cell,
f d t ti ll
that nothing and no one will ever
ill never deprive me of make me submit. Even when my
it regardless of h
dl f how hands are in chains and my
freedom of movement is denied,
eavy their chains are, or this will only make me stronger and
more stubborn in my confrontation
how narrow th i cells
h their ll with the enemies of mankind
are.\" disguised under the cover of
religion.
religion.”
AREEM AMER (Kareem Abdul Nabil Suliman)
Suliman),
24 year old imprisoned blogger

Kareem Amer
First official Egyptian Cyber-Dissident
Arrested in 2007 by Egyptian authorities for posts
y gyp p
on his blog that were considered to be anti-religious
and insulting to Egyptian President Mubarak.
g gyp
Sentenced for 3 years
Last May, fellow bloggers organized a world wide
May world-wide
protest in 12 cities around the world including:
Jerusalem, Paris London
Jerusalem Paris, London, Washington DC and Tel
DC,
Aviv
Still in jail, despite efforts to release him
ff

Esra a
Esra'a Al Shafei
www.mideastyouth.com
www.mefaith.com
www.inter-iman.com (Arabic version of ME Faith)
www.darfur-awareness.org
df
www.migrant-rights.org
www.sexual-terrorism.org
www.freekareem.org

Amer Vs. Mubarak
Search string from Alexa.com

The work of Wael Abbas

Wael Abbas
Wael Abbas, Misr Digital, a blogger that posted a number of
videos documenting violence by officials, torture and
corruption.
corruption
One video of Egyptian police brutality led to the conviction of
two police officers, who were each sentenced to three years in
officers
prison for their involvement in the incident
In 2007, Abbas became the first blogger to win the Knight
International Journalism Award
In 2006, the administrative court of the State Council ( gyp )
, (Egypt)
ruled that the authorities could block, suspend or close down
any website likely to pose a threat to “national security.”

“Operation General Meit”
Operation Meit
3 Egyptian bloggers and an Egyptian human rights
advocate make up the \"cyber terrorist\" squad trying to
\"cyber-terrorist\"
free blogger Mohammed Adel from an Egyptian jail

http://www.shayfeen.com/
“Egypt's new video guerrillas
add a twist to social activism”

More from Egypt…
Philip Rizk, German-Egyptian blogger and filmmaker, was
arrested earlier this month while taking part i a Solidarity
d li hi h hil ki in S lid i
march for the Palestinian people in Gaza
He
H was held in solitary confinement, bli df ld d and
h ld i lit fi t blindfolded d
handcuffed. During interrogation, he was alternately accused
of being an Israeli spy and a gun-runner for Hamas and was
gun runner
subjected to psychological abuse
Diaa Eddin Gad, a fellow Egyptian blogger, was arrested the
, gyp gg ,
same day. His blog, Sawt Ghadib, contains pro-Gaza slogans
as well as strident denunciations of Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak; he is still in custody

From an Iranian Blog…..
On Friday, June 13, 2008, massive demonstrations took
place both in Mashad and Tehran, in front of Mellat Park,
against the regime’s economic and financial corruption
regime s corruption...
One demonstrator in Tehran sent an email in Persian published
on this blog. It says: “ They attacked and beat everyone, old,
g y y y, ,
young, women, men - they even attacked those in cars who in
solidarity with the people honked their horns… Meanwhile,
more than 3,000 students protested and smashed windows at
University of Zanjan (north-western Iran) on Saturday, June
14, 2008
14 2008. The protest began following a university professor
and deputy dean – Dr. Hassan Madadi’s – attempt to pressure
and rape a female student after summoning her to appear at
p g pp
a disciplinary committee hearing.”

And more sexy stories on
Iranian Morality…
Hassan Madadi, vice-president of Zanjan University,
was caught on film by students as he was taking off
his shirt and allegedly about to take sexual
advantage of a female student
The students held a sit-in protest at the university to
demand the resignation of the entire university
board

Iranian Brutality Caught on Tape

Rajaa al Sanea
al-Sanea
“These days, Saudi relationships start
on Facebook or through Bluetooth.
F bk h h Bl h
We ‘date’ over the phone or by
instant messaging, and we enjoy
i i d j
exchanging gifts - through our
chauffeurs or housemaids…Ten
years ago, though, before the
Internet and cell phones, we had
less room to maneuver”

Rajaa al-Sanea
al Sanea
Rajaa al-Sanea (Arabic: ‫ )رﺟﺎء اﻟﺼﺎﻧﻊ‬is a Saudi writer
‫ﺎ اﻟ ﺎ‬
who became famous through her novel Girls of Riyadh. The
book was first published in Lebanon in 2005 and in English in
2007.
Al-Sanea grew up in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the daughter of a
Riyadh Arabia
family of doctors. She currently lives in Chicago.
Al Sanea
Al-Sanea has received death threats by e-mail and many have
e mail
tried to suppress her book. At one point, black market copies
of this Arabic version of Sex and the City changed hands for
£300.

Wajeha al-Huwaider
al Huwaider

Arrested Bloggers in the world
In its 2008 annual census of imprisoned
p
journalists, the Committee to Protect
Journalists (CPJ) found that 45% of all
media workers jailed worldwide are
bloggers, web-based reporters, or online
editors. Online journalists represent the
largest professional category for the first
time in CPJ’s prison census. CPJ’s survey
found 125 journalists in all behind bars on
urce: Committee to Protect Journalists, cpj.org

The Role of the West
“You’ll think I’m paranoid but both Google [which
owns YouTube] and Yahoo don’t have a very solid
history when it comes to press freedoms so I
wouldn’t be surprised if there was a relation
between their actions and the [Egyptian]
government.” (Wael Abbas)
“the trial is more related to Egypt-US relations than
to the person of Ibrahim, whatever crime he has
committed.” (Mohamed Sid-Ahmet)

Questions
What is the role of these voices?
Can they turn into a movement?
What is our moral responsibility in responding or
assisting their efforts?
How can we support them?

Conclusions
Cyber Discourse: A cutting edge of dissent. These are the
new guardians of freedom in systems when freedom is
absent.
b
One blog is not enough; a stronger network is needed.
No one is free where others are oppressed.
The media has a role to play.
The “West” has a role to play. Attention, sanctions and
diplomatic channels can make a difference.
p

“Blogs cannot replace newspapers, but in the
Arab world, where the state controls much of
the press, their place as a forum for free debate
is unequalled”
unequalled
Wadih Tueni, head of new technologies for the Lebanese daily An-Nahar.

THE END
(OR THE BEGINNING….)
NIR BOMS

logger Arrests on the Rise…
Source: wiareport.org

rested Blogging, 2003‐2008
2008 – 1st Q
Blogging Activities Total 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
sing blog to organize or cover social Burma (2), China,
15 China (4) Egypt, Iran Egypt
rotest Egypt (4), Iran
China,
China Egypt (2)
(2),
iolating cultural norms 14 Singapore (3) Egypt, Greece,
Egypt Greece USA Egypt,
Egypt UK
Hong Kong, India,
Philippines
Fiji, Malaysia,
osting comments about public policy 12 France Iran (2), Tunisia Egypt, Iran Syria
Pakistan, Saudi
Arabia, Syria,
Thailand
xposing corruption or human rights 9 Iran China (3), Tunisia Burma
iolations
China, Egypt, Fiji,
ther reason, or no reason given 8 Canada, China, Syria
Malaysia, Thailand,
USA (2)
Egypt, Iran, Kuwait,
osting comments about political figures 6 Iran Egypt
Russia
otal Number of Cases 64 5 2 7 10 35 5
Source: World Information Access Project, wiareport.org, 2008

Sahar Al Khatib speaks out on Hezbollah's violent closing of The
Future TV Network

Zahra Amir Ebrahimi
Zahra Amir Ebrahimi (Persian: ‫( )زهﺮا اﻣﻴﺮاﺑﺮاهﻴﻤﯽ‬born 1981) is an Iranian
actress. She is one of the most popular actresses in Iran.