JURIST Supported by the University of Pittsburgh
PAPER CHASE NEWSBURSTDigest RSS feedFull RSS feed
Serious law. Primary sources. Global perspective.


Saturday, April 12, 2008

Indonesia lifts ban on file-sharing websites over controversial Dutch anti-Islam film
Steve Czajkowski at 3:05 PM ET

[JURIST] Indonesian Internet providers said Friday that they will remove a ban [JURIST report] on file-sharing websites including YouTube, Google Video, and MySpace [corporate websites], which was put in place to prevent the transmission of a controversial anti-Islamic film [JURIST report] created by far-right Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders [personal website, in Dutch]. Due to complaints from Web users, the Internet providers have said that they will attempt to block individual web pages that carry the film. Indonesia's secular government issued an order [Reuters report] to block the websites earlier this month, citing fears of unrest between the nation's different religions.

Wilders' 15-minute film, released in late March and entitled "Fitna," shows images of the Quran contrasted with images of violence and says democratic values are threatened by the increasing number of Muslims in Europe. The film was described by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as "offensively anti-Islamic" [JURIST report] last month. In February, Pakistan blocked access to YouTube's website because it had posted a movie trailer for Wilders' film; access was restored [JURIST reports] several days later. Last week, a district court in the Netherlands rejected [JURIST report] a bid by the Dutch Islamic Federation to block Wilders' anti-Quran statements, saying that his comments are protected by the right of free expression and do not constitute speech that incites hate or violence. AP has more. The Telegraph has additional coverage.






Link |  | print | subscribe | RSS feeds | latest newscast | Facebook page

For more legal news check the Paper Chase Archive...


LATEST LEGAL NEWS

 New Bolivia law allows president to run for third term
4:08 PM ET, May 21

 Guatemala court voids ex-dictator Rios Montt's genocide conviction
3:37 PM ET, May 21

 UN urges Afghanistan to approve women's rights legislation
9:02 AM ET, May 21

 click for more...

Get JURIST legal news delivered daily to your e-mail!

LATEST FORUM

The War on Terror and the Need for Muslim Support
DOMESTIC
Faisal Kutty
Valparaiso University Law School

ABOUT

Paper Chase is JURIST's real-time legal news service, powered by a team of 30 law student reporters and editors led by law professor Bernard Hibbitts at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. As an educational service, Paper Chase is dedicated to presenting important legal news and materials rapidly, objectively and intelligibly in an accessible, ad-free format.

CONTACT

Paper Chase welcomes comments, tips and URLs from readers. E-mail us at JURIST@jurist.org