Female Syrian blogger jailed for 5 years for espionage

Damascus - A 19-year-old Syrian blogger, Tal El-Melouhy, was sentenced to five years in prison on Monday after being found guilty of disclosing information to a foreign country.

Her sentencing came just days after Washington called for her immediate release.

Washington also denied that El-Melouhy, who was arrested just over a year ago, had spied for the United States.

A statement from a leading Syrian human rights association said she was charged 'under the umbrella of emergency law.'

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights called on the authorities in Damascus to respect international obligations concerning the protection and promotion of human rights.

El-Melouhy's family had been unable to confirm her whereabouts for the first 10 months of her disappearance, until local Syrian news website dp-news reported she was held at Duma women's prison, some 20 kilometres north-west of the city.

At the time of her arrest, El-Melouhy was a student and active blogger, writing articles supporting the Palestinian cause and criticising the French initiative for peace between Israel and Syria.

(Source: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1619260.php/Female-Syrian-blogger-jailed-for-5-years-for-espionage)

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Mark Makhoul, 2:48 AM, Benihana and blogs!

Mark Makhoul, a blogger living in the Middle East, is now the subject of a US$18,000 lawsuit filed by the Kuwaiti franchisee of global Japanese restaurant chain Benihana. Mark's crime? Posting a mildly critical restaurant review on his blog, 2:48AM (judge for yourself by reading his review here: http://www.248am.com/mark/kuwait/my-benihana-experience/). We’re sure that you’ll agree with us that a frank but even-handed review, even if negative, does not warrant legal action and that this is not how global brands like Benihana should engage with bloggers.

Despite a massive outcry on blogs, social and mainstream media, both Benihana in Kuwait and Benihana of Tokyo, the New-York based franchisor, have steadfastly refused comment and the court case is, as of the time of writing, still set to commence on the 8th March 2011. Although the suit is for minimum damages of $18,000, it could be for considerably more, being lodged in the distinctly un-blogger-friendly legal system of the state of Kuwait.

Benihana in Kuwait first deleted critical comments from its Facebook page and then blocked anyone who had been outspoken against them. Benihana of Tokyo has not replied to a single request made using the contact form on its website, despite a promise to return comments within 24 hours. Neither has it responded to calls on this from bloggers and journalists.

DEFENDING BLOGGERS' RIGHTS TO FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

We believe that suing a consumer for expressing an opinion is totally unacceptable. We believe that a company arrogant enough to ignore the very real expressed concerns of thousands of consumers is arrogant enough to think it can press ahead with this suit – one which would set a very worrying precedent indeed for the bloggers of the Middle East who already post their views in an environment of widespread government and commercial censorship. We want to send a clear message out – that today’s consumer has the right to express an opinion online – whether that be satisfaction or dissatisfaction – without fear of bullying and litigation from companies.

If you’d like to know more before deciding whether to post something on this, some of the coverage this case has been generating is linked on Mark’s blog here:http://www.248am.com/mark/kuwait/media-coverage-on-benihana-lawsuit/ 

http://www.fastcompany.com/1723689/benihana-kuwait-lawsuit-mark-makhou-mike-servo

http://www.thenational.ae/news/worldwide/middle-east/kuwait-restaurant-sues-blogger-for-bad-review

The full story is summed up here:http://uaecommunity.blogspot.com/2011/02/benihana-kuwait-and-justice.html 

Just so we’re clear – this didn’t originate with Mark.

Have you been "Benihana" 'd yet?? #BenihanaKUW

So I am part of the Middle East bloggers community now - not very famous (hell not famous at all) but I am part of it. When a person of this community gets attacked for no reason at all, that is an attack on all the bloggers in the community!

That is why, when Mark Makhoul gets sued for just expressing his thoughts, for writing his feelings and speaking his mind - IT JUST BLOWS MY MIND! Point is - as a blogger and a person with the right to free speech, I believe that I have the right to say it, without worrying about people getting rubbed the wrong way (unless these people are either a) a whack job of the first order or b) completely guilty [P.S. I am going for both in the case of M/s Benihana Kuwait - especially the GM]

Anyway, for those who were not following the Benihana case (to be truthful, neither was I until 2 weeks ago), it started with a pretty sharp but personal objective review of Benihana in Kuwait! The company in turn decided to sue this blogger. Problem? D-uh!! 

Mark Makhoul is only one of Kuwaits more well known bloggers and his blogs (he has 2) have a very large reach. While the review was initially quite soft (to the naked casual eye) after the GM of Benihana Kuwait commented, it raised some eyebrows. No one cares much about Benihana Kuwait especially after the way they have conducted themselves, reacting to a sundry blog post. All they needed to do was bridge the gap with some love. Instead they created a fracas. Now the world is screaming and the voices have become louder.

I am now one more voice in this shouting! "I am Mark Makhoul! Come Sue Me!!"

Have you been "Benihana" 'd yet??

Posted via email from partha's posterous