law

Moroccans gang together for the release of the "Facebook prisoner"

Julien — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:12:36 +0100

Fouad Mourtada got three years in a maximum security prison for creating a fake Facebook profile page for a member of the Moroccan royal family. Now, web-users all over the world are ganging together to get Fouad out of prison.

The 26-year-old Moroccan IT engineer created a profile in the name of Prince Moulay Rachid (the brother of Mohamed VI, king of Morocco). The offence led to his sudden street arrest on Feb 5. After weeks in custody, where his family says he was tortured, he went to trial in Casablanca. He explained that he created the fake profile in admiration for the prince, and with no malicious intentions. However, the court wanted to "make an example" of Mourtada, and they condemned him, at the end of February, to three years in a maximum security prison for the "usurpation of identity".

Since Mourtada was put behind bars outrage among the Moroccan public and on the international blogosphere has only escalated. Young people in particular cannot understand why a harmless joke led to such a severe sentence. Last Saturday demonstrators in Morocco and across Europe marched to demand the release of the Facebook prisoner.

Susan wants to open Canada’s first ever brothel

Julien — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 11:04:00 +0100

Material compiled with the help of our Observer in Canada, Ostap Karmodi.

Although prostitution is legal in Canada, brothels are not. Sex workers have to trawl the streets by night, putting themselves at severe risks. Physical abuse is commonplace and many have been killed. One man was recently convicted for the murder of six women, most of them prostitutes from the poor Vancouver district of Downtown Eastside, and he's suspected of 43 other similar murders. Now, a group of Vancouver sex-workers has set up a sex workers “cooperative”, with the hopes of opening Canada’s first ever brothel in time for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Susan Davies, one of the campaign’s organisers, tells us about her struggle.

Abusive policeman suspended after evidence posted on YouTube

Julien — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:56:01 +0100

Now known as ‘The Baltimore Cop’ on YouTube, a police officer who physically and verbally abused a fourteen year-old skateboarder was yesterday suspended for his actions. Seventeen-year veteran Salvatore Rivieri was caught on camera shouting at and pushing Eric Bush last summer. But until the video surfaced on YouTube this week, no action was taken. Now, Rivieri, who threatened to “smack you upside the head”, is awaiting the conclusion of an internal investigation. And while he waits, the world watches. The video has already been viewed by around a million people worldwide.

Underground smooch caught on tape… and viewed by thousands

Julien — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 10:36:21 +0100

Filmed in September and posted online a few weeks ago, this video had been watched by 15,000 people just two days after being posted on YouTube. Now, after an investigation by Shanghai's metro rail authority, one of the employees responsible has been fired, while the other two had already resigned. The couple, who were filmed at Youyi underground station while being mocked by the voyeurs, say that their privacy has been violated. Although they were issued a formal apology by the rail authority, they still plan to take them to court. Since the incident, the man has quit his job due to insulting telephone calls.

Video posted on YouTube by 'greatsunrise', 18 January 2008

Extracts from the translation:

"Oh la la"

"She just wants to seduce him."

"Ah, did he come back?"

(rire)

"It's a bit hardcore for me"

"The girl's pretty."

"Prettier than the guy!"

"What idiots, doing that here."

(rire)

"More more!"

"Come back tomorrow, again again. Now go find a hotel."

Modern art hijacks television

Julien — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 10:07:00 +0100

A group of artists in the Czech Republic are facing up to three years in prison for playing a practical joke. Last July, the ‘Ztohoven' art group hijacked a Czech television broadcast and introduced the image of an atomic cloud into a weather report. Early risers who were tuned into the morning programme were stunned to see the cloud rising in the midst of a peaceful country landscape.

The stunt caused outrage in the country, but it was also commended; the group was awarded the NG 333 prize by the National Gallery, with a cash bonus of €12,500. Yet despite their appraisals, the trial for ‘attempted scaremongering' and ‘the distribution of deliberately misleading information' is fast approaching for half a dozen of the artists. Our Observer for Eastern Europe talked to one of the elusive group's members about why they did it. See the original video and photos of past ‘offences' committed by the group.

Villagers forced out of their homes by riot police

Julien — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 17:21:03 +0100

By our regional editor in China, Zhang.

In less than four years the village of Taiping in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province in south-west China, has seen over 70% of its residents expelled by the authorities. Despite fervent protest on the part of the inhabitants, there are now only 300 houses where 1000 used to stand, and still the project continues. The most recent development in the programme has seen 33000 square metres of collectively-owned land sold - in secret - to developers for 1.2m RMB (€115,000). This amount is considered to be extremely low for such an area and, furthermore, the villagers who live on the land will receive almost nothing from the payment.

Forced out of their homes by riot police last Friday afternoon, two of the residents ended up in hospital - one of them 82 years old. Cut off from electricity and water by the government, the entire village had slowly become more and more inhabitable every day.

And the villagers' part of the deal? Three percent of the payment divided between all of them. Any right to complain? Petitioners against the plans were either imprisoned or silenced.

Start of a revolution in Belarus?

Julien — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 18:05:29 +0100

Belarus is one of the few remaining countries in the world where markets are entirely owned by the state. Inhabitants are, however, allowed to carry out small trade and sell their products in the street or on the markets, which is a good way of making a bit of money on the side for local people. But a new law recently introduced by the government will prohibit stall owners from employing anybody who is not a close-relative. The so-called Decree 760 therefore makes it impossible to run anything more than a one-man stand. On Monday, Belarusian market-traders stood up to the government and gathered in the streets to protest. They were quickly dispersed by the police. With another protest planned for Feb. 18, is there a revolution brewing in Belarus?