June 17, 2005

Freedom Blog Awards announced

by brian_turner

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Weblogs which have defended freedom of expression, have been recognised in the Freedom Blogs awards. Blogs are Internet diaries where people publish thoughts or news. They are popular because they are free and simple to use.

The public chose seven blogs out of 60 shortlisted by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), an organisation monitoring press freedom across the world.

The winners included Shared Pains, an Afghan blog commenting on daily political and social life.

Mojtaba Saminejad from Iran was also one of the winners. His blog gained him a two-year prison sentence in June 2005.

Malaysian blog Screenshot won the Asia category. Its editor, Jeff Ooi, was threatened with imprisonment in 2004 for allowing a comment on his blog which authorities claimed “insulted Islam”.

This is the first time the awards have taken place, but RSF hopes to make them an annual event.

The winners were:
Asia: Screenshot (Malaysia, published in English)

Joint winner Africa and Middle East: Shared Pains (Afghanistan, Farsi)

Joint winner Africa and Middle East: Al Jinane (Morocco, French)

Europe: ICT lex (Italy, Italian)

Americas: Press Think (US, English)

Iran: Mojtaba Saminejad (Iran, Farsi)

International: Netzpolitik (Germany, German)

Julien Pain of RSF said “Blogs are a great tool in repressive regimes. In countries like China and Nepal, setting up a blog is the only way to be a real journalist”.

The awards aim to highlight the importance of blogs in terms of freedom of expression, particularly in oppressive regimes, where they are often the only source of information.

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Story link: Freedom Blog Awards announced

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