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Fighting For, Not Fighting Against: Media Coverage and the Dakota Access Pipeline · Global Voices
Media Cloud

“Stand With Standing Rock Nov 11-15 2016” by Flickr user Leslie Peterson. Photo taken in November 2016 (CC-BY-NC-2.0).
A Media Cloud & Global Voices NewsFrames Collaboration
Written by Natalie Gyenes, Connie Moon Sehat, Sands Fish, Anushka Shah, Jonas Kaiser, Paola Villarreal, Simin Kargar, Cindy Bishop, Rahul Bhargava, Rob Faris & Ethan Zuckerman
As part of our collaboration with MediaCloud.org, this article can also be found on the MediaCloud website.
The deadline for Standing Rock campsite residents to depart their campsites along the Missouri River occurred last Wednesday. The evacuation deadline passed at 2pm local time, coincidently marking a two-year effort to prevent the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), a conduit spanning 1,172 miles with the purpose of transporting crude oil from North Dakota to Illinois. Representatives from approximately 300 of the 566 recognized Native American tribes in the United States actively participated in the effort at the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota since April of 2016.
On December 5th, 2016, the self-declared water protectors and their allies celebrated the statement released by the US Army Corps of Engineers, blocking approval of an easement needed to continue working on the Dakota Access Pipeline. This celebration was short lived; within four days of his inauguration, President Trump signed two executive orders to advance the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, as well as the Keystone XL pipeline, which former President Barack Obama rejected in November 2015.
The facets of this movement that have been covered by mainstream and local media are broad – as complex and varying from the focus on Shailene Woodley’s or Scarlett Johansson’s role as activists, to the involvement of US veterans as allies, to water rights for indigenous peoples and the connection with climate change more broadly. Media stories focusing on issues like the Dakota Access Pipeline can be presented through a variety of narratives, and the framing used by media outlets helps to determine how we, as readers and information gatherers, understand a topic.
To illustrate how the media framing mattered in coverage of the Dakota Access Pipeline, we examined two different, and sometimes conflicting, ways that the participants were characterized: protectors versus protesters.  Overall, while the media tended to characterize participants as “protesters,” a close analysis of media coverage around the events shows a more complicated story, one that opens up questions about the representation of Native American sovereignty in the 21st century.
“We are protectors, not protesters,” declared Iyuskin American Horse in August 2016 as he sought to explain his efforts to battle the pipeline.  Despite this and similar declarations, a macro-level view of media coverage shows us that this was not how the news tended to portray Standing Rock participants.  Using Media Cloud, an open source and open data media analysis platform developed at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society and the MIT Media Lab, we analyzed total media attention, or the total number of stories mentioning the Dakota Access Pipeline from a digital media collection of 819 sources. It became clear that “protester” was clearly more favored by media sources than “protector” in the late Fall and early Winter timeframes:
Language and frequency of “protesters” vs. “protectors.”
And yet, a focus primarily on protesters provides a narrow view of events – specifically peaks in coverage around protest in October and November – and does not correspond with the overall depth and increase in media coverage about Standing Rock.
From its beginnings in April, representatives of the “spirit camp” at Standing Rock characterized their effort as one to “protect the water.”  Significant news coverage of the effort only began months afterward, as the attempt to halt the Dakota Access Pipeline began to result in increased conflict, arrests, and violence.
Overall coverage of “Standing Rock” in US mainstream, regional, top online, digital, and partisan news sources (04/16-05/16 coverage not shown was also near 0 sentences per day)
Several events in September led to the introduction of additional themes, outside of the ‘water protection’ framing. Despite the ongoing court cases related to the pipeline that expanded areas of protection to include sacred sites within disputed Sioux territory, the Dakota Access company began construction. With the destruction of burial sites, confrontations in early December “turned violent,” with guard dogs and pepper spray unleashed upon participants.
Ultimate responsibility for the events differ according to accounts, but this escalation of tension also resulted in the expansion of the story into the issue of Native American sovereignty and onto the international agenda. During his address to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Chairman Dave Archambault II of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council appealed to his audience for help in stopping the Pipeline, stating that “the oil companies and the government of the United States have failed to respect our sovereign rights.”  The result: a call to halt the construction of the pipeline and for the right of indigenous consultation by Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Issues Victoria Tauli-Corpuz on September 22.
In November, continued violence and continued international attention meant continued news coverage even as winter weather approached.  A second statement from the United Nations by Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association Maina Kiai on November 15 continued to call for the halt of the pipeline construction. It focused on the “inhuman and degrading conditions in detention” of some 400 people as well as the “militarized response” to protests.  Immediate events, at least, did not indicate that those on the ground were listening: on November 22, law enforcement officials justified the use of water cannons upon protectors in subfreezing temperature in addition to tear gas and rubber bullets in order to “control crowds” and fires in the area.
Coverage reached its peak in early December, with the halt to pipeline construction made possible through the denial of a permit by the Army Corps of Engineers on December 4.
Although the issues around Standing Rock eventually gained international attention, this attention came relatively late during the DAPL standoff.  News coverage began in April, but was infrequent and dominated by local papers or bloggers.  This trend continued throughout the year. By investigating how media sources link to one another online, we were able to investigate the contributors to the DAPL conversation in the digital media ecosystem.
The link network map below displays sources cited most frequently within this conversation, as well as list of most shared articles on social media. The map illustrates that the key sources driving the conversation around the Dakota Access Pipeline events were not mainstream news outlets. They were in fact local newspapers such as the Bismarck Tribune that provided live coverage of events around the pipeline. Fact-based outlets dedicated to the cause publicizing Dakota Access LLC's perspective such as daplpipelinefacts.com, and activist media like Counter Currents News continued to carry coverage of movement. These link network maps, as they are visualizations of web hyperlinks, generally reflect sources people perceive to be authoritative – the prominence of local news outlets in this map suggests that national media’s attention to the story has been episodic, rather than sustained throughout the year.
Link network map, visualizing the inlinking behavior between sources that covered DAPL.
Another interesting finding is the absence of Wikipedia as a frequently linked-to source. In a number of our other research projects using Media Cloud, Wikipedia shows up in virtually every network map, as the Wikipedia article is often seen as an authoritative source. Here, as mentioned above, the central information authorities are local news sources and fact-based outlets.
The late and episodic nature of Standing Rock coverage was exemplified also by the most popular story of the period on social media:  journalist and investigative reporter Amy Goodman facing jail time for her reporting on DAPL protests:
Buzzsumo, a social media analysis platform, shows the most shared stories on the topic of DAPL across Facebook (the query terms for this remain the same as for the Media Cloud search: DAPL or (dakota AND pipeline).
Of all stories published about DAPL in 2016, about 4% spoke about Amy Goodman. Yet the attention to Goodman’s reporting in the Fall contributed to increased attention to Standing Rock overall, since her celebrity and visibility likely enabled some readers to encounter DAPL issues for the first time.  Looking at the content most frequently shared on social media, and comparing differences with the stories most frequently linked to in this information network, coverage of Amy Goodman may also have contributed particularly to the visibility of the anti-DAPL actions.
The absence of Wikipedia as a frequent linked-to source seems to indicate the difficulty in finding strong, single narratives in the coverage of Standing Rock, something we also found through clustering common language usage among different media sources. This can at times help identify the dominant narratives around DAPL in the digital media ecosystem, and which sources cover such narratives more frequently. To illustrate these clusters, we focus on three communities.
A community of DAPL coverage focused on the status, outcome and legality of the issue.
The multiplicity of perspectives and concerns can be seen above by looking at the community of media sources who are focused on the status, outcome, and legality of the issue. A mix of environmental, civil liberties, activist sites, local media, native media, and national primarily left-leaning media were active, giving a sense of complexity at work in this media landscape.
A community of DAPL coverage focused on the ‘environment’ narrative.
With these information networks, we were also able to identify a community of coverage around discussions of the environment.  The above language map identifies a content focus by some media sources that included “global”, “climate”, “renewable”, “pollution”, and “environmental.” The word “protectors” is featured here as well, pointing to a choice by these media sources to feature the label chosen by the movement.
A military, government, and DAPL fact-based community based on shared language use.
Finally, another cluster of word usage emerged around a group of military-focused sources, including the official website of the US Army as well as justice.gov (shown below).  These sources all use similar language when they cover the Dakota Access Pipeline. This is unsurprising, though notable. More noteworthy is the way that the protector movement site sacredstonecamp.org also used some of the same language as the military and governmental sites, as seen below. It was also linked to most frequently by daplpipelinefacts.com, one of the prominent fact-based key information authorities in the digital media network, but also sites sympathetic to the protectors such as sacredstonecamp.org. In the end, this mix of sources represents a ‘monitorial’ frame, in sources are monitoring the language of official pronouncements and responding to them using those same words.
Reinforcing the multiplicity of communities and shared languages were the multiple topics of narratives themselves.  Using topic model visualizations of text-mining algorithms to highlight key thematic structures embedded within media stories in the Media Cloud database, we found several narratives emphasized at different time points over the course of 2016.
Topic model visualization, showcasing the prominence of different narratives overtime.
By examining the above visualization, we were able to identify that the narrative focusing on energy, gas, and the oil companies themselves, represented by the red line, was much more prevalent in early 2016. This tapered off by April of 2016, and was replaced with numerous narratives of protesters at Standing Rock (blue line). It is interesting that, at this time, the narrative bridging gaps between related pipeline proposals and overall climate change was significantly smaller (purple line), as was the narrative focusing on water rights (blue-green line).
And the protector narrative?  As shown by this network view of dominant terms around Standing Rock in November 2016, the notion of protectors did finally rise to become a significant feature of news coverage.  In addition to the diversification of tribal identities (alongside the use over native american or indigenous) by the late fall, we can also see how media struggled over other ways to define members of the Standing Rock camps:
This visualization shows how the media organizations generating the most coverage about events were in fact using the term protectors slightly more than protesters (with the protector term more closely associated with a cluster of outlets sympathetic to camp members such as Democracy Now compared to others like the Wall Street Journal).  But, perhaps in an attempt to step outside of the debate, many organizations opted to employ the term activist as well.
November 2016 network map analysis of most prolific media producers and the contest over terms: activists, protectors, protestors [sic].
On first blush, a high-level view of media coverage surrounding Standing Rock in the latter half of 2016 shows the tendency to characterize the participants as protesters. But looking deeper, we find other factors at work. Analyzing news coverage further, the overall coverage of Standing Rock events reveals inconsistencies and struggles over narrative: late and episodic focus on the standoff, more local than national attention, and the existence of multiple shared language-use communities without resulting in a set of authoritative narratives.
Although the characterization of protester certainly did allow for increased media coverage in the latter part of the year, especially as events became more violent, it privileged a view of events around defiance.  Attempts to characterize the activity around Standing Rock as undertaken by “anti-energy protesters,” for example, allowed an interpretation of events that narrowly focused on environmental concerns in comparison to broader resistance. On the other hand, the language of protectors goes beyond a semantic argument to emphasize what these individuals and communities were fighting for, not fighting against.
In the end, perhaps the news coverage – which includes the earlier inattention and struggles over narrative – reflects the state of our national inexperience with discussions over Native American sovereignty.  The issue of sovereignty includes the right to choose the terms and ultimate meanings of the pipeline dispute. Over the course of 2016, it emerged that choosing the word ‘protector’ privileged the Sioux’s, and any native american tribe’s, right to define the very meaning of their activity as “protection” instead of “protest,” and ultimately their legal right to be consulted with regards to their lands.
Sovereign consultation may at times include decisions to accept environmental risk and also needs to consider the diversity of opinion among tribal representatives with regards even to DAPL (such as Archambault’s call to activists and protectors to go home after the early December pipeline halt).  The increased significance of the “protector” language by the year’s end allows us to hope that no matter the outcome of DAPL construction, members of the Standing Rock camps, and news articles about them, have helped United States citizens to become more practiced at thinking about continued relevance of land issues for Native Americans.  Future media coverage could continue to help us think about issues related to tribal sovereignty with more depth and complexity.

author: Media Cloud


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Malaysian Court Convicts Activist for Screening Human Rights Documentary · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Image from @Callum_Macrae, the director of the documentary
A human rights activist was found guilty by a Malaysian court of violating the country's Film Censorship Act, which bans the screening of videos that don't have approval from the government.
Lena Hendry could face up to three years in jail after the Magistrate Court ruled on February 21 that her group organized a private screening of the documentary titled “No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka” without the permission of the Censorship Board.
The film screening, which was done on July 3, 2013, was attended by 150 people. During the show, 30 police officers raided the venue and stopped the program. The Sri Lanka embassy allegedly pressured the Malaysian government to block the screening of the documentary.
The police subsequently filed charges against Hendry, who was then the program officer of Malaysia-based human rights group Pusat KOMAS. In 2016 a local court acquitted Lena Hendry, but prosecutors appealed the decision.
“No Fire Zone” tackles the 2009 Sri Lankan civil war that reportedly killed up to 70,000 Tamil civilians. The producers claimed that the film helped in educating delegates to the UN Human Rights Council about the situation in Sri Lanka.
The documentary was shown at several events in Malaysia and even in the country’s parliament building. But it’s a mystery as to why the police singled out Hendry for screening the film.
For many activists, the Magistrate Court’s ruling proved that the law is a censorship tool that undermines freedom of speech. They urged the government to repeal the “obsolete” and “repressive” law. They also warned that the decision will have a chilling effect in society since it can be a precedent to crack down on other videos and documentaries that criticize the policies of the state.
After the release of the court’s decision last week, Hendry’s friends and supporters were quick to respond and gather public support.
Below is an excerpt of a letter initiated by the producers of the documentary. It is addressed to Malaysian authorities:
The reality is that the law is being used for political censorship, and that is what appears to lie behind the conviction of Lena.
History has vindicated the film. Yet while the perpetrators of the crimes it exposed walk free, Lena faces jail for showing it. Her conviction is a denial of free speech which brings shame on Malaysia and should immediately be overturned.
Human rights advocate Pusat KOMAS questioned the motives of the police:
We continue to be puzzled that while the police found no basis to detain Lena’s colleagues who were also present in the same event, she was singled out and charged with committing an offense. This contradictory double standard action reflects the inconsistency in the prosecution and the ridiculous nature of Lena’s arrest and subsequent conviction for screening a documentary film.
The Centre for Independent Journalism described the court’s ruling as an attack on free speech:
This demonstrates the targeting of civil society by the Malaysian government for promoting discussions on human rights and expression of political viewpoints. Censorship laws – whether impacting journalism or creative content – are drawn up and implemented arbitrarily, and historically abused to silence critical content.
The Southeast Asian Press Alliance joined Malaysian activists in demanding the repeal of the law:
Section 6 of the Film Censorship Act in particular is ridiculously obsolete in the context of today’s communications technology which allows anyone with an internet connection to access an unlimited number of films that did not pass through the censorship body.
The hashtag #DefendLena is being used by Hendry’s supporters to inform the public about her case.
Screening, sharing, watching and making films is not a crime. #defendlena #nofirezone
— KOMAS (@pusatkomas) February 27, 2017
I hope more and more people especially of the film community do their part to #DefendLena and not just stay silent about it
— fitri (@shufitri) February 27, 2017
We concerned by #Malaysia conviction of Lena Hendry 4 screening film abt #SriLanka war. Chilling effect on freedom expression @davidakaye pic.twitter.com/hVwSPPKxxJ
— UN Human Rights Asia (@OHCHRAsia) February 22, 2017

source: news-globalvoices

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: Mong Palatino


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Russian Ex-Mayor Campaigns to Create ‘Putin–Superhero’ Art Show · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

A room in the design for the “Putin-Superhero Exhibition.” Image: Boomstarter.ru
Alexander Donskoi is an entrepreneur who once served as the mayor of Arkhangelsk, until he was arrested for economic crimes and abusing his office. Today, he owns a chain of museums and tourist traps called “The Big Funny Association.” Donskoi is also behind a project to create a new art exhibition in honor of Russia’s president, and he wants to name it “Putin-Superhero.”
Donskoi is trying to crowdfund the startup cash for his exhibition idea on Boomstarter, a Russian clone of the website Kickstarter. He’s asking investors to front him 3 million rubles (about $52,000). If he can collect enough money, he plans to stage the exhibition in Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as New York City and Berlin.
So far, a day into the campaign, he’s raised just 50 rubles (about 86 cents).
The slow start isn’t for a lack of trying, however. To help draw support, Donskoi has recruited Yulia Dyuzheva, a 21-year-old journalism student at Moscow State University, who stars in the advertisement featured on Boomstarter. Dyuzheva, who’s also a professional photo model and a self-described “patriot,” was voted “Moscow State University’s sexiest fitness babe” last December by the pro-Kremlin tabloid Life.ru.
Yulia Dyuzheva. Photo: Vkontakte
In the promotional video, she tells viewers that their help is needed to fight back against those who “slander” President Putin.
On Boomstarter, Donskoi and his team offer a blueprint of what visitors to the Putin-Superhero exhibition could expect to see. The welcome area would feature the Russian flag, the state coat of arms, and the text of the Russian national anthem, in addition to a wax figure in Putin’s likeness. This statue would be perfect for selfies, Donskoi says.
Photo: Boomstarter.ru
The next room would be a dramatic shift to the turbulent times of Russia in the 1990s. “Recall the dirty streets filled with cheap vendors, the criminals on every corner, and the crash of 1998,” the Boomstarter announcement reads. This exhibit would be a dimly lit room with a broken down, busted up Soviet car, flanked by trash and anti-Yeltsin graffiti.
Photo: Boomstarter.ru
Next, visitors would learn about Vladimir Putin’s beginnings, reading the rapturous recollections of his school teachers, presented on a large wall in the form of a Soviet-era newspaper.
Photo: Boomstarter.ru
The next few installations would be more expanded newspapers, showing major news events in the collapse of the USSR, as well as honoring Putin’s service in East Germany with the KGB.
Visitors would also get a chance to step into a replica of the presidential office, including a recreation of the president’s official desk. Guests would be invited to sit at the desk and finish the phrase “If I were president, I would…” According to the Boomstarter description, the visitors with the best speeches in each tour group would receive prizes.
Photo: Boomstarter.ru
The next several rooms would feature more newspaper clippings retelling Russia’s resurgence since Putin’s first presidency, culminating with an exhibit dedicated to the president’s hobbies: flying with cranes, tranquilizing tigers, and hugging polar bears — all real-life, carefully orchestrated photo opportunities Putin has staged over the years.
In addition to a cafeteria that would supposedly serve the “modest meals” Putin ate as a Soviet child, guests could also expect to find a “Hall of Illusions With Vladimir Putin” and “Fly to Crimea with President Putin, without leaving the museum.” Donskoi offers no description for these last two attractions.
Photo: Boomstarter.ru
Alexander Donskoi isn’t the likeliest person to dream up a “Putin-Superhero” exhibition. In fact, he announced his intention to run for president in 2008, when Putin stepped down from office.
In February 2007, in an interview with the newspaper Novaya Gazeta, Donskoi said Ilya Klebanov, one of Putin’s official proxies, called him on the telephone and threatened to prosecute him on multiple criminal charges, if he didn’t drop out of the race.
“No one in the president’s administration will talk to me,” Donskoi complained in the interview. “Honestly, I never thought this kind of thing could be possible in this day and age. I thought this was only possible in Communist times — to become a dissident in our country.”
He never made it to the ballot, and was immediately targeted in multiple criminal investigations that ultimately cost him his job as mayor.
More than a decade later, times have finally changed for Alexander Donskoi, who’s now offering “a presidential dinner and a guided tour” to anyone who invests 20,000 rubles ($340) or more in his idea for a “Putin-Superhero” exhibition.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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‘Speed Thrills but Kills,’ ‘Safety on Road Is Safe Tea at Home’ and Other Bhutanese Road Signs · Global Voices
Rezwan

A roadsign in Bhutan: “This is a highway, not a runway”. Image from Flickr by Hrishikesh Sharma CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Driving through the landlocked Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, you might notice a remarkable thing: many of the road signs among the mountain highways are full of wit, wisdom and puns.
The country has mostly snow-covered mountains in the north and mountainous tropical rain forest in the south. The roads on these mountains are narrow and dangerous, and speeding is always a problem. These signs are sometimes blunt to the extreme in their messaging, but they most likely make drivers think twice before breaking any rules.
Actual road sign in Bhutan ?? pic.twitter.com/A9q9rnvEEy
— Crazy World (@CrazyGloble) February 28, 2017
Bhutan has now approximately 8,000 kilometres (5,000 miles) of roads and no rail lines. Until 1961, travel in Bhutan was mostly by foot or on muleback or horseback as there weren't many paved thoroughfares. Road construction began during the First Development Plan (1961–66) connecting the capital Thimphu with Phuntsholing on the border of neighboring India.
However, the tiny country did not have the expertise to do the construction on its own. In 1961 the Border Roads Organisation, a subdivision of the Indian Army Corps of Engineers, started Project Dantak which helped the Bhutanese Department of Public Works to construct and maintain over 1,500 kilometres of roads and bridges, Paro Airport, several heliports and other infrastructure for more than half a century.
Bhutan started opening up to outsiders in the 1970s, and tourism is still restricted. Travellers and locals are probably nonetheless entertained by these road signs, which are in English and occasionally also in Dzhongka, Bhutan’s official language.
But they serve a very important purpose, too. There are 15.1 traffic-related fatalities per 100,000 people in Bhutan (population 742,700) every year. In Bangladesh (population 171 million), it's 13.6, and 14.2 in Pakistan (population 202 million). India has higher (population 1.252 billion), with 16.6.
According to Brigadier PKG Mishra, the chief engineer of Project Dantak, these lighthearted road signs were put in strategically:
We are using humour to convey a subtle but important message. No matter where in the world you’re from, humour is something that is easily understood, appreciated and remembered.
Facebook user Puran Gunung in Bhutan seemed to appreciate them:
I Loved Driving on the Hills coz of these boards. I would prefer this, rather than the Advertising Boards along the roads.
Creative, Informative & Helpful.
Here are a few of the signs shared on social media:
Road sign seen in Bhutan -quite an accurate assessment #distracteddriving #insurance pic.twitter.com/0zHERymeEh
— Terry Golesworthy (@TerryCRG) February 28, 2017
A particularly blunt road sign warning. ? “One who drives like hell is bound to get there.” Firey ? words on icy ❄ roads. #Bhutan #Roadtrip pic.twitter.com/N3SyMDBQLe
— ??Curtis S. Chin (@CurtisSChin) November 29, 2016
If you're married divorce speed!
~ Seen on a road sign #Bhutan #Payana
— Anjali (@anjalihegde) November 11, 2016
Peep Peep, Don’t Sleep! Be gentle on my curves! Life is a journey, complete it.
Road sign in Bhutan ― reminding… https://t.co/OzPgZ1fIg3
— Inside Bhutan (@InsideBhutan) April 8, 2016
Image by Puran Gunung /Facebook. Used with permission.
Bhutan road sign, Start Lounge edition: pic.twitter.com/yuSnpHAM
— Jennifer Prior (@jhprior) May 4, 2012
Great road sign: “You have reached Trumseng La, Bhutan's highest road pass. Check Your Brakes. Bash On Regardless. Thank you.” – Jamie Zeppa
— David Nichols (@DrNick0770) September 14, 2016
The signs of the roads in Bhutan are great – sometimes It feels like a self-help book ??? #wordsofwisdom #bhutanroadtrip #bhutantravel #bhutanroads #takeiteasy
A post shared by Rafael Azzi (@rafaelazzi) on
Very true ! #amaladestinations #roadhumour #signs #himalayan #roadsign #roadtrip #travel #bhutan #amaladestinationsbhutan
A post shared by Amala Destinations (@amaladestinations) on
Image via Puran Gurung / Facebook. Used with permission.

author: Rezwan


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Tunisian Government Pledges to Loosen Restriction on Civil Servants Speaking to Media · Global Voices
Afef Abrougui

Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed speaking to the media during the 2016 World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly which took place in Tunisia. Photo by the ITU, shared on Flickr under a Creative Commons License (CC BY 2.0).
In a win for Tunisian media workers, the Tunisian government suspended state-issued guidelines dictating how government employees should communicate with the media.
The guidelines in question, issued by Prime Minister Youssef Chahed in circular number 4 of 15 January 2017, required civil servants not to speak to the press and not to reveal official information unless they were authorized by their superiors:
احتراما للواجبات المحمولة على كل الأعوان العموميين في علاقتهم بوسائل الإعلام، الواردة في مدونة سلوك وأخلاقيات العون العمومي، فإنه يتعين عليهم الإمتناع عن الإدلاء بأي تصريح أو مداخلة وعن نشر أو إفشاء معلومات آو وثائق رسمية، عن طريق الصحافة أو غيرها من وسائل الإعلام، حول مواضيع تهم وظيفته أو الهيكل العمومي الذي يعمل به، بدون الإذن المسبق والصريح من رئيسه المباشر
Out of respect for the duties of civil servants in their relationships with media outlets, as outlined in the code of conduct and ethics of the public servant, they [civil servants] are refrained from making statements or interventions, or disclosing official information or documents in the press or by any other means, related to their functions or to the public structures they work for without the preliminary and explicit authorization of their hierarchy
Despite being in line with existing legislation regulating information and communication units in ministries and government institutions, the guidelines were denounced by rights groups and organizations promoting press and media freedoms. In addition to calling on the government to immediately withdraw these guidelines, local journalists and media syndicates used the issue as an opportunity to lobby the government to review Decree 4030 of 4 October 2014 on the code of conduct and ethics of public servants.
The decree bans public servants from making statements to the media and disclosing public information without the authorization of their hierarchical superiors or the directors of the public institutions they work at. The guidelines were issued in line with the aforementioned decree.
The National Syndicate for Tunisian Journalists along with other unions representing media professionals threatened protest actions including a demonstration that was scheduled on 28 February and a strike in the media sector, if the controversial guidelines are not suspended and Decree 4030 is not reviewed.
However, in a meeting between government representatives and unions representing journalists and media professionals that took place on 27 February, the government decided to suspend the guidelines, and to amend Decree 4030 by 3 March.
Since the 2011 ousting of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, who held power for 23 years, Tunisia has taken steps in favor of freedom of information, in an attempt to improve government transparency and reduce corruption. In 2016, the constitutional right to access information was reinforced by the parliament's adoption of a freedom of information law (Law 22 of 24 March 2016 on access to information). Last week, the parliament adopted a law protecting whistle-blowers who reveal evidence of corruption. However, these reforms are often slow to translate into actions.
It seems that journalists and rights groups in Tunisia are meant to keep fighting for democratic reforms. As Journalists’ Syndicate president Neji Bghouri put it: “The professional organizations will continue their work to thwart any measures that could restrict press freedom.”

author: Afef Abrougui


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Australian Children’s Writer Mem Fox Says Her Detention at US Border Was ‘Traumatic’ · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

Mem Fox at Ubud Writers and Readers Festival 2014. Photo by Flickr user Anggara Mahendra. CC BY 2.0
Social media in Australia and beyond ignited over the recent detaining and aggressive questioning of much-loved Australian children's author Mem Fox by United States border authorities.
The 70-year-old Fox was held for an hour and 40 minutes and “interrogated” for 15 minutes in early February at Los Angeles airport on her way to the city of Milwaukee for a conference. The detention was apparently the result of a mistake over her visa by US Customs and Border Protection agents, not President Donald Trump's immigration policies.
When news broke on 25 February, the first responses on social media were disbelief and outrage:
Beloved author, Mem Fox. I am appalled by the way she was treated. This is unacceptable.https://t.co/SI7Z67wiPz#amwriting #kidlit
— Lauren Kerstein (@LaurenKerstein) February 24, 2017
Jeez, moronic nasties are in charge in Trump's America. We should all do a Mem Fox and not visit https://t.co/cnFDn6TO8O
— Maralyn Parker (@MaralynParker) February 25, 2017
Mem recounted her “traumatic” experience and the treatment of others in an opinion piece for The Guardian:
In that moment I loathed America. I loathed the entire country. And it was my 117th visit to the country so I know that most people are very generous and warm-hearted. They have been wonderful to me over the years. I got over that hatred within a day or two. But this is not the way to win friends, to do this to someone who is Australian when we have supported them in every damn war. It’s absolutely outrageous.
She said when it came to the agents’ interactions with those detained, “everything was yelled, and everything was public”, and specifically detailed the treatment of an elderly Iranian woman in a wheelchair and a woman from Taiwan, both of whom didn't appear to speak English.
Mem said she received a written apology from US officials after she lodged a complaint with the United States embassy in Canberra. However, the apology didn't seem to quieten her supporters:
@USAembassyinOZ what an absolutely disgraceful way to treat an Australian legend, Mem Fox! Such disrespect! No excuse! Apology insufficient!
— Deborah Hogg (@DebHoggoz) February 25, 2017
America I was already furious at you but now you've made Mem Fox cry I think we're officially DONE FOREVER. https://t.co/35IDARxjwF
— Beck ~ Bottle Police (@bcgalore) February 25, 2017
Mem's books and characters became a recurring meme in online reactions, especially a certain green sheep:
Mem Fox, detained in US until she revealed to Trump where Green Sheep was hiding.@BanjoHfuhruhur @MGliksmanMDPhD pic.twitter.com/rJHITeD3oi
— Jonathan Trevithick (@JonTrevithick) February 25, 2017
Other tweeps found their own humour in this unfortunate story:
First they came for the children's authors and I did not spea…
Hang on.
They came for the children's authors? https://t.co/tPkminAUs3
— Ern Malley (@GeoffShadbold) February 25, 2017
Sarah J. Schmitt spoke for many parents:
Oh, hell no. You don't mess with Mem Fox. My boys will fight you! https://t.co/Z6dYxfueMA
— Sarah J. Schmitt (@SJSchmitt) February 25, 2017
Fox's latest children's book, titled “I'm Australian, Too”, was particularly relevant given the experience:
Sadly, I'm a refugee, I'm not Australian yet. But if your country lets me in, … Listen to Mem Fox's new book here: https://t.co/XC80TCfGkK pic.twitter.com/6kXLfdQdDC
— Jenny Darling & Assc (@AgentsJDA) February 25, 2017
In fact, Fox in her piece reflected on its deeper significance:
The irony! I had a copy of my new book “I’m Australian, Too” – it’s about immigration and welcoming people to live in a happy country.

author: Kevin Rennie


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More Than a Century Later, Ethiopians Are Still Debating Their Victory Against Italian Colonialism · Global Voices
Endalkachew Chala

A painting the Battle of Adwa. Image: National Museum of World Cultures. CC 3.0
The Ethiopian Empire stunned the world on March 1, 1896, when it won a decisive victory against the Kingdom of Italy at the Battle of Adwa, cementing Ethiopia's sovereignty against Italian encroachment.
Italy's army suffered heavy casualties, losing an estimated 7,000 soldiers, and another 1,500 were wounded and 3,000 taken captive.
The victory established Ethiopia as a sovereign state in an era when Africa was being carved up by European colonists. During this period, Western powers conquered almost all of Africa, except Ethiopia and Liberia, making the Battle of Adwa a historical anomaly, and the story is increasingly accessible to readers today, thanks to historians like Raymond Jonas and Harold Marcus, who have published pivotal research on this event.
Ethiopian Internet users commemorate the battle's anniversary with debates about its historical implications and the accuracy of the information we have today about the conflict, all in the context of Ethiopia's contemporary political complexities and flaws.
One of the frequent claims in online debates is the idea that the victory at Adwa didn't deliver freedom and independence equally to all ethnic groups in Ethiopia. Ethiopian nationalists tend view the battle as a powerful symbol of black anti-colonial resistance not only for Ethiopia but also for all Africa. However, ethno-nationalist political rivals, like the Oromos, often fire back that these triumphalist narratives used to describe the Adwa battle are biased and presented entirely from the perspective of Ethiopia’s ruling class.
This can lead to debates about the nature of Ethiopian identity, and whether it should be based on civic nationalism or ethnic ties. Most common in the country's Amharic-speaking communities, Ethiopian nationalism traditionally promotes “cultural unity” and asserts that Ethiopians are a nation.
The role played in 1896 by Emperor Menelik, the man generally credited with the victory at Adwa, is also part of the debate online today.
Ethiopian nationalist Internet users often depict him as modern-day Ethiopia's luminary father, while ethno-nationalists have described him as “a rogue.”
Facebook user Tsegaye Ararssa said he considers the Battle of Adwa to be “a colonial war among competing colonial empires, despite the participation of subject peoples as foot soldiers.”
He wrote:
Adwa is anything but a black victory over a white colonizer. Adwa was a moment of self-hating denial of blackness. Nothing typifies this more than the emphatic Menelikan disavowal of his blackness when he was invited to be an honorary president of the global association for the improvement of the life of the “Negro”. By saying “I am not a Negro; I am Caucasian,” Menelik stipulated that he is “an honorary white man.”[…] Adwa was the inaugural moment for the birth of racialized hierarchy between and among the peoples of Ethiopia.
Yetneberk Belayneh, however, contended that the victory is actually “a symbol of multi-ethnic cooperation”:
From the perspective of modern world history, Adwa represented a struggle for national independence waged by a coalition of diverse ethnic groups.
The wonderful leadership and mobilization role of King Menelik II and the national patriotism of diverse leaders […] the participation of 100,000 troops from dozens of ethnic groups from all parts of the country is the “mysterious magnetism” that holds Ethiopia together to win the Italian colonial army at the Battle of Adwa.
Writing for “Tigrean Press,” Tecola Hagos argued that the battle shouldn't be considered the first victory of an African nation over a European nation. It says:
According to The US Army Infantry Magazine on the Battle of Adwa:-
“Historians consider the Battle of Adwa, culmination point of the Italo-Ethiopian War (1895-1896), to be one of the most important events in the world. In fact, it was the ﬁrst victory of an African nation against a European counter-part since Hannibal’s successful battles against Rome during the Second Punic War 2,200 years ago.”
It's quite distressing to observe a prestigious institution, being misguided and deluded by a handful of Amhara political elite's counter-factual historical version. To demonstrate the course of history in an authentic way: the first defeat of The European colonizers by The Africans was not the Battle of Adwa held 121 years ago.
The first hefty and ignominious loss of The European colonizers was marked on January 26 1885 at The Battle of Dogali led by Raesi Alula.
The Battle of Dogali was fought on Jan, 26, 1887, between Italy and Ethiopia in Dogali, where 500 Italians fought for hours before running out of ammunition. In the end, only eight of Italy's men escaped.
Abebual Demilew noted the significance of the victory for the Pan-African movement, a worldwide campaign to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all people of African descent:
The battle of #Adwa – when #Ethiopia‘s effect realized the #Pan-#African movement.
— Abebual Z Demilew (@evidence2policy) February 28, 2017
Demilew tweeted:
The Battle of #Adwa is of huge significance 4 #Africa, the decimation of the continent could not be completed. #Ethiopia last woman standing
— Abebual Z Demilew (@evidence2policy) February 28, 2017
Responding to claims that Emperor Menelik II once said, “I am not a Negro at all; I am a Caucasian,” Yared Asrat wrote:
@RedSeaFisher Even if we assume that he said so, does it nullify the fact that he annihilated white colonialist at the battle of Adwa??
— Yared Asrat (@YaredALegesse) February 26, 2017
Wondwossen Teklu pointed out the imbalance of military strength between the two armies:
Unapologetically Am proud of the Victory of Adwa . The battle of Adwa was between the “Civilized” Colonizer Vs Ethiopian farmers. pic.twitter.com/7zipsMZUu5
— Wondwossen Teklu (@Kalebe38Teklu) February 26, 2017
One Twitter user noted the contribution of Empress Taytu Betul, the wife of Emperor Menelik II, during the war:
The fearless Empress Taytu Bitul with her own army at the battle of Adwa #Ethiopia ??? pic.twitter.com/UczvPK7eo9
— ሀይለ ሚካኤል (@lijberhanu) February 20, 2017
The empress was Emperor Menelek II's third wife and the founder of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital city. She led her own military unit during the war.
On Facebook, Wondwosen honored the anniversary by sharing information about a book about the Battle of Adwa:
As we approach Victory Day, it is only appropriate to recommend an excellent book dedicated to it: The Battle of Adwa: Reflections on Ethiopia’s Historic Victory against European Colonialism. The book is edited by professor Paulos Milkias and professor Getachew Metaferia, and several renowned scholars have contributed chapters to the book. The book offers an in-depth treatment of the Battle of Adwa, and its political, diplomatic and military antecedents and outcomes. The book covers, with astonishing detail, events leading up to the battle, how the battle itself unfolded, and its far-reaching consequences thereafter. It is one of the most instructive books on the Battle of Adwa, and to top it all, it is freely downloadable here: http://www.sahistory.org.za/…/paulos_milkias_getachew_metaf…
The Battle of Adwa is part of the foundation of Ethiopian history, and that significance to the country's national identity also makes it one of the country's most hotly contested collective memories.

author: Endalkachew Chala


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Netizen Report: Social Media Users Arrested for Political Speech in Myanmar, Palestine, Turkey · Global Voices
Netizen Report Team

Cartoon by Carlos Latuff, labeled for reuse.
In mid-February, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg laid out a sweeping vision of the social network’s role in “bringing us all together as a global community.” It echoed a 2015 Facebook ad that promised, “the more we connect, the better it gets.”
Of course, the ubiquitous connectedness to which Zuckerberg aspires can serve the interests of many different actors — including governments seeking to keep a clean, positive image online and to quiet their critics. Highlighted below are a few such examples from February 2017.
A man in Myanmar was sentenced to six months in prison for defaming State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi on Facebook. Activists from Myanmar are calling for amendments to section 66D of the Telecommunications Law, which criminalizes defamation. According to PEN Myanmar, 38 people have been charged under section 66D since Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy took power, among them human rights activists and journalists known for their critical commentary on the party.
Palestinian journalist Sami al-Saai, a political reporter with the local and independent Al Fajer Al Jadeed TV station, was arrested by Palestinian Intelligence Services on February 2 in the West Bank and charged with ‘inciting sectarian strife‘ in Facebook posts. Despite having posted bail, he was held in Jericho Prison for 20 days, where he says he was forced to stand for very long periods of time, deprived of sleep, and injected with an unknown drug four times a day.

Al-Saai believes that he was actually arrested for sending reportson Palestinian political prisoners in Israel and the West Bank to Hamas, the militant movement that governs the Gaza Strip and is the main political rival to the nationalist Fatah party, which controls the Palestinian Authority. Al-Saai suspects that these report were the pretext for his arrest.
Dengin Ceyhan, a Turkish pianist and supporter of the 2013 Gezi Park protests, was arrested in mid-February for social media posts that allegedly insulted President Erdogan. Ceyhan is in good company — Turkish Minute cited statistics from Turkey’s Ministry of Interior indicating that from August 2016 to January 2017, 1656 social media users were arrested “on suspicion of terrorist propaganda and insulting senior state officials on social media.” For regular updates on social media censorship and persecution of journalists by Turkish authorities, see the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Turkey Crackdown Chronicle.
University students in India rallied behind a female student facing online rape and death threats for standing up to the right-wing student group Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi, which has ties to Hindu nationalist organizations. The student, Gurmehar Kaur, started the #StudentsAgainstABVP protest after ABVP protesters disrupted a conference on cultures of protest that was intended to feature activists supportive of the “Free Kashmir” movement. The protest is supportive of free speech on university campuses and in opposition to hateful messages, and has spread widely across India.
Staff at the pro-Beijing newspaper Sing Pao Daily have reported physical and digital attacks on their work and homes to local police. In addition to multiple cyberattacks on the newspaper’s website on February 18 and 19, vandals believed to be associated with local organized crime attacked the home of a senior editor at Sing Pao, leaving his front door covered in red paint. The attacks indicate a divide among pro-Beijing leadership in Hong Kong.
Ukraine's Ministry of Information Policy is preparing a list of websites that “undermine Ukrainian sovereignty” in an effort to uphold the country's new information security doctrine. The policy appears to target the dissemination of pro-separatist and pro-Russian information. A statement from the presidential administration said the policy was introduced “with a view to counter the destructive information impact of Russia in conditions of hybrid war unleashed by it.”
Tunisia’s assembly voted unanimously on February 22 in favor of a draft law that would protect the rights of whistleblowers denouncing corruption. The law also provides penalties for individuals seeking to reveal the identities of anonymous whistleblowers.
Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor held a closed door meeting with the authors of several popular channels on the messaging app Telegram. While it remains unclear what they discussed, a critic of Roskomnadzor wrote on his channel that officials were seeking information about the service in order to find new content to ban. The meeting was reportedly organized by the head media liaison for the All-Russia People’s Front, a political movement created by Vladimir Putin in 2011.
The UK Parliament Science and Technology Committee launched a new inquiry into the use of algorithms in public and business decision making. “How an algorithm is formulated, its scope for error or correction, the impact it may have on an individual—and their ability to understand or challenge that decision—are increasingly relevant questions,” said the Committee in its announcement. Submissions on this topic may be sent to the committee through April 21.
Ellery Roberts Biddle, Leila Nachawati and Sarah Myers West contributed to this report.

author: Netizen Report Team


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Philippines Offers Media Credentials to Bloggers — But Some Suspect State is Trying to Control Online Content · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Social Media Policy Town Hall. Photo from the Facebook page of the Presidential Communications Operations Office
The Philippine government may soon give media accreditation to bloggers and other ‘social media publishers’. Many have welcomed the initiative as a positive “step towards citizen engagement” but others worry that the proposed guidelines on how bloggers can join government-sponsored events could undermine the independence of accredited ‘social media publishers’.
The Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) organized a Social Media Policy Town Hall event to announce the creation of a Social Media Office, unveil the guidelines on how PCOO employees can use social media, and consult the public about the framework for social media accreditation.
Last month, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte agreed to the request of his online supporters to document his activities inside the presidential palace. It led to the discussion of whether the government can give media accreditation to bloggers. This was also proposed during the previous administration but it was refused after mainstream media groups cited the issue of accountability and professionalism involving bloggers and other netizens.
Accredited bloggers will have faster processing for on-site or access passes to PCOO events and activities. They will also be included in the agency's mailing list and media volunteer programs.
During the Social Media Policy Town Hall, the PCOO discussed the draft guidelines for media accreditation of bloggers. Bloggers or social media publishers with at least 1,000 followers can apply for accreditation. They must have editorial independence, they are barred from endorsing commercial products, and they have to follow the PCOO’s code of conduct. In particular, they should refrain from using “offensive, inflammatory, or provocative” language. Further, accredited bloggers should post all press releases and statements of the PCOO.
An online poster announcing the Social Media Policy Town Hall. Image from the Facebook page of the Philippine Information Agency.
In a press statement, Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar mentioned the reason why the government drafted the social media policy:
We’re in interesting times wherein we are seeing bloggers with names become bigger than anyone… It’s a phenomenon that we have to embrace, at the same time we also have to control.
Danilo Arao, a journalism professor, highlighted this quote in his critique of the government’s social media policy:
…a supposedly harmless gesture of voluntary accreditation becomes a scheming attempt to control online content.
He described the 10-page draft memorandum as a “self-serving” document that “seeks to make mouthpieces of accredited social media users.”
He explained further how the draft disempowers bloggers as critical and independent reporters:
This essentially reduces the accredited ones to mere mouthpieces of the PCOO. And when analyzed in the context of one of the guidelines that they should “not use language that is offensive, inflammatory, or provocative” (PCOO, 2017, p. 7), it becomes clear that contrary views are unacceptable lest they be misinterpreted as provocative.
Noemi Lardizabal-Dado, a speaker during the town hall, reiterated that bloggers should not be required to publish everything what government officials are saying or doing:
…it is not a matter of sharing press releases as part of our responsibility. Bloggers are independent minded and have the freedom of choice which press release to share or write about.
Antonio Contreras, another speaker in the town hall, reminded the government about the consequence of strictly regulating social media users:
The moment you begin regulating it (social media), you are constraining it.
Blogger Trixie Angeles warned that the proposed code of conduct can stifle the creativity and freedom of bloggers:
This code of conduct is very worrisome. Social media is like the ‘wild, wild west.’ If traditional media is the very proper east coast, we're the wild west. The reason why we have such a wild reach is because we are a little free-er in our speech.
Tess Termulo, another blogger who participated in the event, echoed a similar point:
What would be considered as “offensive”? Does offending feelings considered offensive? With the arguments online, it is easy to be “offended”.
I think this also represents the freedom of bloggers to be more expressive with what they post as opposed to traditional journalists who follow a stricter code of ethics. Since this is an aspect of expression that traditional journalists must exercise utmost restraint, it is up to the bloggers to be able to express the pulse of ordinary citizens.
Among those who attended the town hall were pro-Duterte bloggers who were initially granted the privilege of interviewing the president inside the Malacanang Palace. They were also part of the group of bloggers who petitioned the government for media accreditation.
Below are some Twitter reactions about the event:
Citizen engagement, not news broadcasting, is the reason citizens want access. Feedback to govt, not newsmaking, is the point. #AllMediaPH
— Jane U. (@citizenjaneph) February 23, 2017
#AllMediaPH this move is mixing accreditation and establishment of social media group. Take note of that.
— Editors of Manila (@edsMNL) February 23, 2017
The town hall succeeded in gathering bloggers who are interested to join other journalists in covering the president's activities. It allowed the government to determine the views of bloggers about its proposed social media policy. There are several objections to the content of the memorandum, but fortunately the PCOO said it will consider the suggestions and views raised during the town hall. The office will release an updated memorandum this month.


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Red Paint, Stalking and Cyberattacks: Pro-Beijing Newspaper Condemns Escalated Violence · Global Voices
Hong Kong Free Press

Sing Pao’s front page attacking Zhang Dejiang, October 3. Photo: Sing Pao via Hong Kong Free Press.
This post was written by Ellie Ng and originally published on Hong Kong Free Press on February 27, 2017. The version below is published on Global Voices under a partnership agreement.
The pro-Beijing Sing Pao Daily says its staff are being targeted after it published numerous stories critical of China’s no. 3 official Zhang Dejiang, Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and the China Liaison Office, Beijing’s organ in the city.
The Chinese-language paper said threats against its staff have recently intensified and that its employees have sought police assistance four times within a week. The latest report filed to police was made in the early hours of February 26, after the apartment door of a Sing Pao senior editor was smeared with red paint.
According to Sing Pao, the senior editor returned home under the protection of police officers. They found the front door of his house covered in red paint, which is often used as a symbolic warning. There were also photographs of the editor and posters of Sing Pao Director Gu Zhuoheng posted on the property’s walls.
The paper suspected someone hired local triad (organized crime group) members to commit the act. It “strongly condemned” the unlawful acts and urged the police to arrest the culprits.
Sing Pao said the threats were likely meant to silence the newspaper, which is known for its anonymous attacks against the political syndicate associated with senior official Zhang Dejiang, Leung Chun-ying and the Liaison Office.
The Hong Kong Journalists Association said in a statement on February 26 that it “strongly condemns the escalating violence and threats” against the paper:
The campaign of terror, which has been going on for more than a week, is on the surface an outrageous attempt to silence the paper.
This is an outright challenge to law and order in Hong Kong as well as a threat to press freedom which is enshrined in the Basic Law.
The association urged the authorities to set up security efforts to protect Sing Pao’s staff and make arrests.
A police spokesperson said the force was “very concerned” about the incidents. It said the Kowloon East Regional Crime Unit is following up on the case and will provide protection to the relevant persons.
Last week, the paper issued an urgent statement saying that individuals had posted leaflets threatening its management personnel outside their homes. It claimed that photographs in the leaflets were likely taken from the managers’ home-return permits – travel documents issued by the Chinese authorities for Hong Kongers to enter mainland China.
The paper also claimed that “a large number of suspicious individuals who look like mainlanders” had been loitering outside its offices and following its managers since mid-February.
It added that its website fell victim to two cyberattacks on February 18 and 19.
The paper suspected the threats were politically motivated and “intended to sway the result of the chief executive election.” It accused Leung and the China Liaison Office of being behind the attacks, charging that the threats were “aimed at suppressing dissent.”
Last month, Sing Pao reporters were denied for the first time access to a Lunar New Year dinner organised by the Liaison Office. The paper said its reporters were told by a receptionist: “You are not welcome to report on our event.”
Since last August, Sing Pao has been running anonymous commentaries attacking Zhang, Leung and the Liaison Office. It claimed that “corrupt officials” in Hong Kong would be stripped of power.
It also said that Leung would not be allowed to seek re-election, days before the chief executive announced that he would not be seeking a second term.
These threats have led to speculation that Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing camp is fragmented and that Chinese President Xi Jinping is prepared to eradicate a powerful sector within the Communist Party.

author: Hong Kong Free Press


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Ukraine Will Blacklist Websites That ‘Undermine Ukrainian Sovereignty’ · Global Voices
Isaac Webb

Rally in support of Novorossiya in Moscow, June 11, 2014. Source: Artem Tkachenko, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Ukraine's Ministry of Information Policy is preparing a list of websites that “undermine Ukrainian sovereignty” as part of an effort to uphold the country's new information security doctrine, signed on February 25 by President Petro Poroshenko.
Information Policy Minister Yuriy Stets said at the March 2 press conference that “in the coming two weeks, I would like [Deputy Minister Dmitry Zolotukhin] to present to an expert council at the Ministry of Information Policy, composed of media experts and public officials, a list of sites that should be blocked.”
Emblem of the Ministry of Information Policy of Ukraine
The policy appears to target the dissemination of pro-separatist and pro-Russian information: according to a statement released by the Presidential Administration, the policy was introduced “first of all with a view to counter the destructive information impact of Russia in conditions of hybrid war unleashed by it.”
Stets said that websites like Russian Spring and Novorossiya, which are associated with pro-Russian movements that erupted in Ukraine in the spring of 2014 and an imagined separatist state in eastern and southern Ukraine, respectively, would be added to his ministry's black list.
The Ministry of Information Policy will not be solely responsible for blocking the websites, however. Stets said Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) and an expert council would analyze his ministry's suggestions, though no protocol currently exists. “We are finding a mechanism by which they will be blocked in the near future,” Stets said.
Stets suggested that his ministry would collect information about sites it believes should be blocked and then send it to a court for an official decision, emphasizing that the expert council reviewing sites to be blocked would not act as a state censor.
Ukraine's new information security doctrine empowers the Ministry of Information Policy to monitor mass media and the internet to detect information that is deemed illegal in Ukraine—including that which poses a threat to Ukraine's national security.

author: Isaac Webb


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Walking on Death Along the Iraqi Border · Global Voices
Syria Untold

A displaced man from Dayr az-Zawr looks down at the al-Hawl Camp, 40 Km east of al-Hasakah. October 24, 2016. Source: Kamal Sheikho/SyriaUntold
This story was originally written for Syria Untold by Kamal Sheikho. It was translated by Naziha Baassiri. It is republished here as part of a partnership agreement.
Defying death, they jump silently but frantically as they leave their past behind. They care for nothing but these moments that will define the rest of their existence. They are now in search of a new life.
Abdus-Sattar (pseudonym used for security reasons), a man in his fifties, used to be a farmer in the city of Bukamal located at the farthest tip of eastern Dayr az-Zawr province, Syria. The area has been under the control of the ‘Islamic State’ (ISIS) group since July 2014. He told SyriaUntold how he, along with his wife and three children, fled al-Bukamal and covered 200 km in 16 days in the desert, avoiding mine fields to reach al-Hawl Camp in Al-Hasakah.
In an attempt to stop civilians from fleeing the area, ISIS has resorted to setting up check points and patrols along the outer roads, as well as planting mines around border cities and towns.
Abdus-Sattar said he and his family had to walk for parts of their journey after taking a smuggler’s car. On November 25, 2016, they reached Rajm as-Salibi on the Syrian-Iraqi border, which is under the control of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG). After two weeks, Abdus-Sattar and his family were moved to al-Hawl Camp.
A displaced woman from Raqqa after she received food aid at Rajm as-Salibi on the Syrian-Iraqi border. October 25, 2016. 25-10-2016. Source: Kamal Sheikho/SyriaUntold
Unpleasant Surprises
Abdus-Sattar and others like him did not care about the landmines they knew they would have to dodge on their journey to freedom. Desperate to reach the other side under Kurdish control, they walked rugged roads that they had never been on before, fully aware that unpleasant surprises, such as a land mine or a bomb, could be there waiting for them in the dark.
Talking to SyriaUntold, Abdus-Sattar said he had agreed to pay $1,000 to the smuggler as long as they avoid roads that had landmines.
However, after reaching the Iraqi border on November 10, “the smuggler told us to continue our journey on foot and to be careful to follow the footprints that barely show in the dark. I realized then that we were walking on death, because we were in the middle of a mine field.”
He added that the journey was in several stages. “We stayed at a border village for almost 12 days, before we walked for a whole night to reach the outskirts of al-Hasakah city.”
“We stayed at an empty place in the middle of the desert for a day before we walked for 12 hours from 6 pm to 6 am the next day to reach the Rajm as-Salibi border point,” continued the farmer.
Abdus-Sattar’s hardship and that of others like him does not end at their arrival at Rajm as-Salibi. Between November 25 and December 10, he and his family were stuck at the Iraqi border waiting to be allowed into the al-Hawl Camp. This is part of a YPG security vetting process of all those fleeing ISIS-controlled areas to stop ISIS members from infiltrating the camp.
Today, Abdus-Sattar and his family live in a small tent that doesn’t exceed four meters, which is divided into two sections: a kitchen and a sleeping area. Now, this family awaits the YPG approval to travel to Damascus.
Abdus-Sattar lights a cigarette and shares his troubled thoughts with SyriaUntold: “For two and a half years, I lived under the mercy of their [ISIS] rules. I witnessed how they kill people and execute their rulings three times.”
A displaced man carries two water bottles to his tent in al-Hawl Camp in al-Hasakah. October 24, 2016. Source: Kamal Sheikho/SyriaUntold
She Convinced Him to Keep Going
Mahmud, a man in his forties originally from al-Bukamal, told SyriaUntold via Whatsapp that the hardest bit of his journey was after reaching the Syrian-Iraqi border, because he was fully aware it was filled with landmines.
Mahmud was a wedding photographer living in an ISIS-controlled area, until he was ratted out by an informer working for ISIS who accused him of sending photos and video clips to western media outlets.
A resident of the al-Hawl Camp for the last two months, Mahmud still remembers those tough moments. “They raided my shop on December 2 [2016] and led me to prison for interrogation but couldn’t prove anything after going through my gear and my phone.”
He adds that ISIS confiscated everything in his shop, “and a judge ruled I get 70 lashes in a public square for practicing a forbidden profession. I also had to take a Sharia course for two weeks.”
After these events took place, Mahmud decided to flee al-Bukamal with his wife and two young children. He agreed to pay 400,000 Syrian Pound (SYP) (the equivalent of $800). It was hard to save that amount of money given his salary was a mere 75,000 SYP per month, but a quick and short trip was necessary for him to escape. However, it turned out to be a dangerous experience.
On December 23, the smuggler informed Mahmud that they would leave that same night. They headed by car to the al-Suwar town, north east of Dayr az-Zawr, before continuing to the town of Markadah in the southern al-Hasakah countryside. Yet all attempts to sneak into the Kurdish areas failed.
They then headed for the Iraqi border, but as soon as they arrived, Mahmud pleaded with his wife “to go back and not risk our lives. But she convinced me to keep going instead of returning to certain death in Dayr az-Zawr,  and a very possible death on the way back. Perhaps this was the only option we had to survive. That’s why I tried again.”
Their second attempt also failed due to heavy rain and strong winds as they were trying to cross the mine fields. They were forced to go back and stay put with the Bedouins. “All the credit goes to the woman who [gave us shelter in her tent]. She drew us a map away from the mines planted by ISIS along the border. After that, we got to Rajm as-Salibi. The trip took us five days,” said Mahmud.
A displaced woman with her children fill up drinking water from a water tank in al-Hawl Camp in al-Hasakah province. October 24, 2016. Source: Kamal Sheikho/SyriaUntold
Running to Escape Paralysis
Suad (33), from Raqqa, decided to “escape hell” with her husband, as she put it. “The residents of Raqqa live in a ghost town,” she told SyriaUntold via Whatsapp.
She talked about her tragedy and her family situation: “My only daughter is eight years old. She has osteoporosis and we have to take her to a specialized hospital in Damascus every three months, or she will be paralyzed and die.”
Suad said that ISIS officials gave her permission to leave Raqqa to go to Damascus as long as she mortgaged her house [as guarantee of her return]. She added that they prevent civilians from leaving their areas by threatening to confiscate their papers or to fine them or punish them according to their interpretation of Sharia. Those who are allowed to travel need to provide guarantees either through offering money or mortgaging property or having a family member guarantee their return.
After clashes escalated in the northern countryside of Raqqa and ISIS took over Palmyra again on December 10, the extremist group banned all civilians from leaving the area. It ordered all land crossings be closed. “That’s when we decided to sell the house for one million SYP ($2,000). We paid half to the smuggler and the other would be for us to get to Damascus [via plane from the Qamishli airport]. Then we’ll see what happens,” Suad explained.
Due to the heavy clashes in the northern countryside, the smuggler had to take the roads on the Iraqi border. But upon arrival, Suad panicked. “I was walking and felt like I had stepped on a mine and that it will explode and  die in my homeland. But when I looked at my daughter and my husband, who was aching for salvation, I got the power to keep walking.”
On December 25, Suad and her family reached Rajm as-Salibi after a journey that lasted eight days. Given her daughter’s condition, they were immediately taken to the al-Hawl Camp. Today, the family of three lives in a small tent that doesn’t protect them from the cold winter, while they patiently await to be allowed to travel to Damascus.
Suad concluded: “There is less than a month left to my daughter’s medical appointment. We have come a long way and risked our lives, but nothing is harder than the wait.”
She and others fleeing from Raqqa and Dayr az-Zawr, who amount to almost 5,000 according to the al-Hawl Camp’s administration, are now waiting to travel to Damascus as well as other locations to leave behind their tragic past.

author: Syria Untold


text:
A Year After Berta Cáceres’ Assassination, the Struggle for Land in Honduras Continues—and So Do the Threats · Global Voices
Elizabeth Rivera

“Demonstration for Berta Cáceres”. Vigil at the doors of the OAS (Organization of American States) on 5 April 2016. Photo by Daniel Cima from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on Flickr. Used under CC 2.0 licence.
Below is an edited version of an article by Laura Salas originally published on Witness. It is republished on Global Voices with permission from the author.
Since her death a year ago, Berta Cáceres, who founded the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (in Spanish, Consejo Cívico de Organizaciones Populares e Indígenas de Honduras), has become an icon of the land rights struggle of hundreds of local communities throughout Central America and the rest of the American continent.
Cáceres was killed on 3 March 2016, and a recent report from international NGO Global Witness revealed details of her murder, which allegedly was a conspiracy between representatives of the Honduran government and DESA company – in charge of the construction of the Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam project – for her leadership in defending the territory of the Lenca communities in Honduras. The report's main findings included:
1. Las relaciones de DESA con el asesinato de Berta Cáceres, dado que dos de los hombres detenidos actualmente por su asesinato trabajaban para la empresa.
2. Las relaciones del ejército de Honduras con el asesinato de Berta Cáceres, dado que tres de los detenidos por su asesinato están relacionados con el ejército hondureño; dado que el presidente de DESA, Roberto David Castillo Mejía, solía trabajar para la inteligencia militar; y dado que se ha denunciado que el nombre de Berta Cáceres aparecía en una lista negra del ejército.
1. DESA's ties to the murder of Berta Cáceres, given that two of the men currently detained for her assassination worked for the company.
2. The Honduran army's ties to the assassination of Berta Cáceres, given that three of those detained for her murder are part of the Honduran army; given that the president of DESA, Roberto David Castillo Mejía, used to work in military intelligence; and since it has been reported that the name of Berta Cáceres appeared on an army blacklist.
Groups throughout Latin America and indigenous communities have been following Cáceres’ example and celebrating her work to defend their land against large transnational corporations, which, with the support of local governments, profit from the exploitation of natural resources at the expense of the rights of the people. In some cases, like in Cáceres’, this struggle is even costing their lives.
In the following video, the Central American Movement 2 March ‘Berta Lives On’ summed up her legacy as follows:
Yo he sido una guerrera porque vengo de un pueblo que también es un pueblo guerrero.
I am a warrior because I come from people that are also warriors.
In this context, the technologies available to the communities and their supporters are indispensable. Today, these tools and platforms allow local social movements to tell their own stories and share their version of events, often exposing atrocious violations of human rights.
That is why, on the anniversary of the reprehensible murder of Cáceres, we are reminded of some of the audiovisual works on this topic which speak not only to Cáceres’ legacy, but also to the struggle of entire communities that face abuses every day.
“Guardian of the Rivers” is a documentary by the Mother Earth Campaign and promoted by grassroots organizations to “show the interior of Honduras, one of the most dangerous countries for the defenders of natural resources, governed by a notion of extractive development, that is confronted by the worldview of the people and which does not allow them to take decisions related to their environment.” The documentary begins with a quote by Cáceres:
De los ríos somos custodios ancestrales el pueblo lenca resguardados por los espíritus de las niñas que nos enseñan que dar la vida por los ríos, en múltiples formas, es dar la vida por la humanidad y por este planeta.
The Lenca people are the ancestral guardians of the rivers and in turn are protected by the young feminine spirits who teach us that giving our lives in various ways to defend the rivers is to give our lives for the good of humanity and this planet.
Luchamos para que la energía sea un derecho de los pueblos. Debería ser parte de los bienes comunes y por tanto los pueblos deberíamos tener un poder de decisión. Entender porqué la energía está vinculada a las represas, a la minería, con el agua, con las concesiones petroleras para entender porqué los proyectos están por encima del gobierno.
We strive to make energy a human right. It should be part of the common property and therefore the people should have a say in it. People should understand why the issue of energy is linked to the dams, the mining, the water, and the oil concessions, in order to understand why these projects are above the government.
These are the words of Cáceres herself in this documentary produced by the Central American Caravan For Good Living (‘Buen Vivir’) to “show the truth and the contexts behind the murder, contrary to what the government and the media in Honduras want us to believe.”
The “Berta Vive” (Berta Lives) documentary clearly shows the international condemnation of her brutal assassination, the Honduran government's attempts to discredit her struggle, as well as the racist treatment that the Lenca people have received from international organizations such as the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO), which funds the Honduran extractive development model through projects like dams that the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras opposes.
All these documentaries show that, like Berta Cáceres, the members of the Lenca communities who resist the exploitation of their territory are at risk for their activism, but they also highlight their strength and determination. Through these audiovisual works, people around the world can follow the struggle of these women and their communities and increase awareness of the situation to help diminish the dangers they face and properly safeguard the natural resources they protect.

author: Elizabeth Rivera


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In Azerbaijan, Another Blogger Gets Jail Time · Global Voices
Arzu Geybullayeva

Censorship graffiti image via Pixabay. CC0, public domain.
On March 3, 2017, popular video blogger Mehman Huseynov was sentenced in Baku to two years on charges of slander.
In his final statement Huseynov called the decision bogus before adding that someone must have not liked his work, and that he was being punished for that reason.
Huseynov is an administrator of a popular Facebook page where he shares videos on a vast number of topics, from poor working conditions to the lavish lifestyles of government officials and their ownership of real estate. His page has over 300,000 followers.
Rights groups and Azerbaijan observers were quick to call on Azerbaijan's authoritarian government to release the young blogger.
Instead of investigating credible allegation of ill-treatment, #Azerbaijan jails outspoken critic #MehmanHuseynov for 2 years. #FreeMehman! pic.twitter.com/Kfe0gadI4A
— Giorgi Gogia (@Giorgi_Gogia) March 3, 2017
UNACCEPTABLE:#Azerbaijan blogger #MehmanHuseynov sentenced to 2 years on false defamation charges #FreeMehman #media https://t.co/peMpcooWEC pic.twitter.com/RmIDrjbY8G
— Civil Society Forum (@eapcsf) March 3, 2017
You think @presidentaz it’s okay to imprison and punish #HumanRightsDefenders… We say no! Release #MehmanHuseynov #HRC34 https://t.co/wE2J8S4ORg
— Florian Irminger (@FlorianIrminger) March 3, 2017
The timing of Huseynov's arrest could have been better from a government perspective. The Geneva based rights organization Human Rights Houses tweeted that they would address the issue at the 34th meeting of the UN-backed Human Rights Council and call for his immediate release.
We will take the floor at #HRC34 in 45 minutes, calling for immediate & unconditional release of #MehmanHuseynov #Azerbaijan @ForstMichel
— Human Rights Houses (@HRHFoundation) March 3, 2017
Daha bir qurban getdi, hə? Dincəldinizmi? #MehmanHuseynov
— Fuad Həsənli (@fuadhasanli) March 3, 2017
One more prayer gone. Are you satisfied now?
Huseynov was detained on January 9 in central Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, by a group of plainclothes police officers.
He was held incommunicado overnight, allegedly for violating administrative rules. The next day, a court fined him 200AZN (more than $100) on charges of disobeying the police (Article 535.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences).
Speaking to journalists following his brief detention, Huseynov said police placed a sack over his head and used force against him during detention. On January 11, his lawyer Elchin Sadigov published pictures of Huseynov’s body indicating torture and his clothes covered in blood stains.
While arresting, silencing, and intimidating journalists, bloggers, and activists is par for the course in Azerbaijan these days, Huseynov is the first blogger or journalist to be officially sentenced for slander by a court in Azerbaijan.
Prior cases of journalists or bloggers being sentenced typically saw narcotics possession (often bogus), hooliganism, abuse of power, and tax evasion as common charges.

author: Arzu Geybullayeva


text:
Two Syrian Activists Explain Their Experiences Being Imprisoned by ISIS in Al Bab · Global Voices
Elia J. Ayoub

Screenshot from Khudr's video inside a prison that was run by ISIS. Source: YouTube.
In late February, Turkish-backed Syrian rebels took the city of Al Bab, approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) northeast of Aleppo. The city had been under ISIS control since November 2013, and its capture on February 24 was part of Turkey's “Euphrates Shield” operation, with the backing of both the US-led coalition and Russian airstrikes.
Al Bab provides insight into the complexity of military operations in Syria today. Indeed, the city was besieged by both Assad regime-allied forces from the south and Turkish-backed rebels from the north, each trying to recapture it from ISIS, with clashes between the two happening concurrently.
Many civilians have started sharing their stories of life under the brutal ISIS organization (also known as Daesh or the so-called Islamic State). One 30-year-old mother of four, Umm Abdo, told AFP's Nazeer Al-Khatib that ISIS forced civilians out of their shelters to take their place as anti-ISIS forces bombarded the area:
Each time they [ISIS] found a family in a basement, they'd chase them out so they could take their place. They wouldn't allow anyone to go out into the street, and at the same time you couldn't take cover in a basement. So you just had to endure the bombardment.
Global Voices reached out to two activists who had been jailed by ISIS in Al Bab at one point. The first is Issa Ali El Khudr, a 23-year-old citizen journalist born in Aleppo. The second is Karam Al-Masri, a 23-year-old photographer and video journalist from Aleppo.
Photo shared by Abdo Khuder, a former member of the Local Council of Aleppo City, showing a message written by a former inmate of the prison. It reads: “I swear that from this prison nothing remains but a memory.” Source: Facebook.
Khudr released a video widely shared in Syrian circles showing him going through the ISIS-run prison where he spent six months of his life. On June 3, 2014, Khudr, then 20 years old and armed with nothing but a camera, was arrested in the northern part of Aleppo's countryside and was sent to the “Islamic Court's Prison” in Al Bab, the name given to a former Assad regime court house turned into a prison by ISIS.
At the beginning of the video, we see Khudr with a scarf wrapped around his face. Seconds later, he removes it and says:
Greetings. First of all, we won’t hide our faces or use fake identities or ask people to die for us. I am not afraid of Bashar Al-Assad. I belong to the Syrian revolution. I am not afraid of [ISIS leader] Al Baghdadi or his half-men.
“The days passed, and I never expected to come back here, the place from where I entered humiliated,” he says in the video. “I never expected to get out of here.”
And he told Global Voices: “I thought I would die there. All I could think about was how to let my parents know so that they would stop waiting.”
Luckily, his sentence was reduced to three months in December. But Khudr didn't wait; he escaped after 15 days.
Over two years later, on February 23, 2017, Khudr decided to go back to the prison and asked a friend to film him as they he went through its remains. The purpose? To show those “impressed” by ISIS’ slogans of what they actually did to those who opposed them. He explains:
Today I am going to do a tour, to show people who were impressed by the Islamic State, by its slogans, by that they claimed that they ruled under the law of God and that everyone was fighting because they ruled under the law of God. We will see what rule was applied in this building.
At several points in the video, we see Khudr going from room to room to tell us who stayed there.
Sequence of screenshots from about minute four showing Khudr entering a room formerly occupied by an ISIS militant called Abu Hassan. Khudr was tortured in this room, he says. Source: YouTube.
Halfway through the video, Khudr finally reaches the room in which he was imprisoned:
When they first brought me, they brought me to this room. They used to have me sit over there in that corner. Here we see that every prisoner had a number. Issa Ali El Khodor had the number 292. My number went down to 200. In this cell, we were 115. Come.
On the wall, we see a famous line by the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish written by Khudr himself on the day he entered: “On this earth what makes life worth living:”
Screenshot from the video showing the Darwish quote followed by ‘Khalifa Khudr’ and the date. Source: YouTube.
At that point we see a number of names written on the walls. They belong to the up to 115 prisoners that, according to Khudr, were living together in this cell:
Screenshot from the video showing the room. Source: YouTube.
Khudr explains the writing:
Journalist Karam Al-Masri, 28/11/2013… ‘Freedom of the press'… [ISIS member] Abu Salman Hajji Moscow is a Russian who was arrested… He was sentenced with a warrant that came out from Al Raqqa [ISIS’ self-proclaimed capital]. Khaled Al Shawki’s fate is not known. Hussein Abu Yaacoub got out. Walid el Sheikh’s fate is unknown. Abu Rassoul got out and yesterday he went into prison. Adnan Al Selou was executed unfortunately. Ibrahim Ibrahim we don’t know where he is. Rabi Al Hajj Ali I was talking to yesterday.
He shows a small room next to theirs and says, “This was the execution room. When a person was put here, he would consider himself dead.”
They then reach the cell where Khudr says he spent the month of June 2014 with two other men.
Khudr sits in the cell where he spent the month of June 2014 with two other men. Source: YouTube.
In this cell, I remained the whole month of June. Me, Bassel El Homsi who got killed and Youssef who left. We slept together in this solitary room. And they used to bring someone with us and all four of us would sleep here. We used to crouch here to fit each other and we would sleep squeezed. I am going to pray here. A gratitude prayer, not an obligatory one.
Cells where ISIS kept some of their prisoners. The prison used to be run by the Assad regime. Photo taken by Khudr. Source: Facebook.
And in this room there is a toilet. We were 66 in here. I was here for a month. And we used to sleep like this. One would lie on one side and one on the other and the legs would cross each other.
Another Syrian man, who Global Voices was told but cannot confirm is a citizen journalist from a Damascus suburb, took a recent photo of himself in one of those coffin-like rooms:
These are Assad's former prisons. This is what the single-person cells look like. pic.twitter.com/4HnrfL6gYW
— Rami (@RamiSafadi93) February 27, 2017
Among the many prisoners who wrote their names on those walls was Karam Al-Masri. On February 28, 2017, he uploaded the following photo on Facebook:
Karam Al-Masri's name, on the right (the large circle) with the date he wrote it on: November 28, 2013. Taken by Abdo Khuder. Source: Facebook.
Al-Masri, also armed with nothing but a camera, was arrested by ISIS along with two other friends, a photographer and a paramedic, on November 23, 2013, he told Global Voices. He said he was on his way to document a massacre that had just occurred:
On my way to document the massacre, ISIS stopped me. They took me out of the car and searched me. They asked me what I was doing and I told them I was a photographer. When I told them, they put a bag over my head and took me to a near by pediatric hospital that they had turned into a base.
Al-Masri didn't stay at the former pediatric hospital for long. After a few hours, ISIS took him to a village about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) from Aleppo. There, they took him to a facility that few knew even existed as it was located underground. That place included a prison with approximately 45 rooms. “All rooms were designed for solitary confinement,” he tells us. “There were no collective rooms.”
At the time, Al-Masri had just started working for the news agency AFP as a stringer. ISIS therefore found him “guilty” of working for a Western outlet, which made him in their eyes a “kaffir” or unbeliever, which is theoretically punishable by death.
Luckily for Al-Masri, he ended up spending six months in prison. Of those six months, he said he spent a month and a half in solitary confinement:
My cell was about two meters of height and a meter in width. I did not see the light for 45 days. As a result of spending so much time in complete darkness, I developed problems with my eyes and had to start wearing glasses.
The reason why he did not stay longer in solitary confinement was because factions of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) were making advances against ISIS in that area, forcing the latter to retreat to another location, taking the prisoners with them, he said:
They killed a lot of prisoners when they decided to retreat, as though they had no use for them anymore. I was lucky enough to be spared.
But those 45 days were enough to mark him for a long time. His punishment felt so harsh he compared it to being in a regime prison:
It was extremely painful. It felt like I was in a prison operated by the regime. I was arrested by the regime before 2011. There was no difference between them. It was the same level of torture, same principle.
Al-Masri said he did not stay at the second location for more than seven or eight days as, this time, the regime was making advances against ISIS and the group had to relocate to a third location. He stayed at that third location for a further 45 days before ending up in Al Bab, where he served the rest of his sentence until his release.
He recently recounted his experience for AFP. He said:
I still remember every detail. The 165 days in ISIS detention are etched into my memory. In the first 45 days, they only fed us every 3 days. The food was a half portion of Arabic flatbread, or 3 olives or an egg. I didn't see a single shabbih (pro-regime militant) – all those held with us were rebels, activists and journalists.
Still, Al-Masri was luckier than many. He was kept alive because ISIS wished to exchange him for prisoners captured by the FSA. In the end, despite the fact that an exchange never happened, he was still granted “amnesty,” and he was released along with his photographer friend.
His paramedic friend was not so lucky:

author: Elia J. Ayoub