13 nations denounced for web censorship

Belarus, China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam have all censored the web in some way.

Reporters Without Borders (RWB) claims these nations are the worst culprits for systematic online censorship, and they were targeted in the group's 24-hour online protest. No one should ever be prevented from posting news online or writing a blog," said the Paris-based group, and I agree.

In an annual report, the group said 61 people worldwide, 52 in China, are in prison for posting what the countries claimed was "subversive" content.

RWB obtained a copy of the verdict in the case of Jiang Lijun, sentenced to 4 years in prison in Nov. 2003 for his online pro-democracy articles in China. RWB said that Yahoo! had helped Chinese police identify him. 200 people have already recorded a message for the founder of Yahoo!, deploring the fact that his company helps the Chinese authorities track down cyber-dissidents.

Nepal, Maldives and Libya have been removed from Reporters Without Borders' annual list of Internet enemies. But there's an addition to the list, Egypt, where it said "many bloggers were harassed and imprisoned this year." What do you think?

Via Newsvine