Middle East and North Africa HUMAN False Freedom RIGHTS Online Censorship in the Middle East and North Africa WATCH Human Rights Watch November 2005 Volume 17, No. 10(E) False Freedom Online Censorship in the Middle East and North Africa About this Report...........................................................................................................................................1 Summary ..........................................................................................................................................................2 Regional Overview .....................................................................................................................................3 Recommendations......................................................................................................................................7 Note on Methodology ...............................................................................................................................8 Legal Standards Pertaining to Online Freedom of Expression.............................................................10 Right to Freedom of Expression and Exchange of Information......................................................10 Right to Privacy ........................................................................................................................................14 Anonymity and Encryption ....................................................................................................................15 Assigning Liability for Online Content.................................................................................................16 Internet Cafés............................................................................................................................................17 Egypt...............................................................................................................................................................17 Access to the Internet..............................................................................................................................18 The Internet and the Human Rights Movement.................................................................................21 Internet Censorship Issues......................................................................................................................24 Morality..................................................................................................................................................25 Political Violence..................................................................................................................................26 Case Studies of Internet Repression......................................................................................................28 Shohdy Naguib Sorour........................................................................................................................28 Ashraf Ibrahim .....................................................................................................................................29 The Muslim Brotherhood...................................................................................................................30 Ahmad Haridi .......................................................................................................................................31 Iman Badawi .........................................................................................................................................32 Internet Cafés in Egypt .......................................................................................................................33 Blocking Web Sites ..............................................................................................................................34 The Library of Alexandria...................................................................................................................36 Entrapment ...........................................................................................................................................37 Legal Framework......................................................................................................................................37 Encryption.............................................................................................................................................40 Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................41 Iran..................................................................................................................................................................42 Access to the Internet..............................................................................................................................43 Legal Constraints on Free Expression ..................................................................................................44 Encryption.............................................................................................................................................46 Mechanisms of Internet Control............................................................................................................47 Detentions .................................................................................................................................................49 The Group Detentions of August-October 2004...........................................................................49 Sina Motalebi ........................................................................................................................................53 Mojtaba Lotfi ........................................................................................................................................54 Mohammad Reza Nasab Abdullahi...................................................................................................55 Mojtaba Saminejad...............................................................................................................................55 Arash Sigarchi .......................................................................................................................................56 Censorship.................................................................................................................................................57 Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................64 Syria.................................................................................................................................................................66 Testing the Limits of Repression ...........................................................................................................67 Access to the Internet..............................................................................................................................74 Internet Cafés .......................................................................................................................................76 Legal Framework......................................................................................................................................77 Emergency Law....................................................................................................................................77 The Press Law.......................................................................................................................................79 The Supreme State Security Court.....................................................................................................82 Detentions .................................................................................................................................................82 The Political Joke .................................................................................................................................82 `Abd al-Rahman al-Shaghuri ..............................................................................................................83 Yahya al-Ous and the Qutaish Brothers...........................................................................................83 Mas`ud Hamid......................................................................................................................................84 Habib Salih............................................................................................................................................85 Censorship and Surveillance...................................................................................................................85 Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................89 Tunisia ............................................................................................................................................................91 Access to the Internet..............................................................................................................................92 Legal Framework......................................................................................................................................94