False Freedom
Online Censorship in the Middle East and North Africa

About this Report

Summary

Regional Overview
Recommendations
Note on Methodology

Legal Standards Pertaining to Online Freedom of Expression

Right to Freedom of Expression and Exchange of Information
Right to Privacy
Anonymity and Encryption
Assigning Liability for Online Content
Internet Cafés

Egypt

Access to the Internet
The Internet and the Human Rights Movement
Internet Censorship Issues

Morality
Political Violence

Case Studies of Internet Repression

Shohdy Naguib Sorour
Ashraf Ibrahim
The Muslim Brotherhood
Ahmad Haridi
Iman Badawi
Internet Cafés in Egypt
Blocking Web Sites
The Library of Alexandria
Entrapment

Legal Framework

Encryption

Conclusion

Iran

Access to the Internet
Legal Constraints on Free Expression

Encryption

Mechanisms of Internet Control
Detentions

The Group Detentions of August-October 2004
Sina Motalebi
Mojtaba Lotfi
Mohammad Reza Nasab Abdullahi
Mojtaba Saminejad
Arash Sigarchi

Censorship
Conclusion

Syria

Testing the Limits of Repression
Access to the Internet

Internet Cafés

Legal Framework

Emergency Law
The Press Law
The Supreme State Security Court

Detentions

The Political Joke
`Abd al-Rahman al-Shaghuri
Yahya al-Ous and the Qutaish Brothers
Mas`ud Hamid
Habib Salih

Censorship and Surveillance
Conclusion

Tunisia

Access to the Internet
Legal Framework
Internet Censorship

The Tests

Internet Cafés
Surveillance
Detentions

Zoheir Yahiaoui
Mohamed Abou
The Youths of Zarzis and Ariana
Abdallah Zouari

Conclusion

Appendix A:
Human Rights Watch's Letter to the Governments of Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates
(2 page pdf, 547 Kb)

Appendix B:
Government Responses and Human Rights Watch's Translation of the Egyptian Government’s Response
(26 page pdf, 2.9 Mb)

November 2005   Vol. 17, No. 10(E)