Hi everyone,
Thank you for raising this issue here on this list. I wanted to share some more information about how we’ve been working to support Bassel to this point, in public and behind the scenes. Unfortunately, some efforts are sensitive, so can’t be shared in full on public mailing lists. But we’re committed to supporting next steps or decisions by the community, and keeping you updated going forward.
Working with some other colleagues at the Foundation, we have been tracking Bassel's case for some time now, in direct contact with the organizers of the #FreeBassel campaign http://freebassel.org [1], and Bassel's family. The actions we have taken to date have been in coordination and approval with the #FreeBassel campaign, including:
- Coordination and communication with related organizations, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Amnesty International. (ongoing) - Regular contact and updates with senior human rights officials at the U.S. State Department. (ongoing) - Outreach to the press around Bassel’s arbitrary detention and contributions to the free knowledge movement. Please see this WIRED story, “A Jailed Activist’s 3-D Models Could Save Syria’s History >From ISIS http://www.wired.com/2015/10/jailed-activist-bassel-khartabil-3d-models-could-save-syrian-history-from-isis/.” [2] (Although we did reach out to WIRED, we cannot say for certain if that story was the direct result of our efforts or others within the #FreeBassel coordination community). (10/21) - Raising Bassel’s case in public speaking opportunities, including Lila’s keynote to the Creative Commons Summit. (10/15) - Blog post #FREEBASSEL: Free culture advocate who built 3D renderings of Palmyra missing in Syria https://blog.wikimedia.org/2015/10/08/bassel-missing-syria/ [3]. (10/08) - Ongoing participation in #FreeBassel social media campaigns on Facebook and Twitter.
Bassel is in a situation known as arbitrary detention http://en.alkarama.org/1763-syria-un-calls-for-the-release-of-freedom-of-speech-advocate-bassel-khartabil [4]. Arbitrary detentions are characterized by uncertainty, lack of information, and volatility. They’re scary because we don’t know what’s happening, and often we are making decisions without a lot of information. Our goal is always to support Bassel to make sure our efforts help him without putting him at greater risk. So we’ve been working with experienced human rights campaigners, including the #FreeBassel campaign, to understand the best actions to take at different times over the past two months.
We’ve been in touch with Bassel’s family, who would support continued efforts to raise awareness about Bassel’s situation through a note on Wikipedia if that should happen. We can also join action letters (like this http://www.amnesty.nl/nieuwsportaal/pers/syria-fears-life-free-expression-advocate [5]) where the community agrees it's appropriate. If the community decides to move forward with an action, we are here to help. We are monitoring the discussions and activity in https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Banner:Free_Bassel as a place where community consensus can form. Please let us know if there’s anything else we can do to support efforts to raise awareness for Bassel.
Katherine
[1] http://freebassel.org/ [2] http://www.wired.com/2015/10/jailed-activist-bassel-khartabil-3d-models-coul... [3] https://blog.wikimedia.org/2015/10/08/bassel-missing-syria/ [4] http://en.alkarama.org/1763-syria-un-calls-for-the-release-of-freedom-of-spe... [5] http://www.amnesty.nl/nieuwsportaal/pers/syria-fears-life-free-expression-ad...
On Tue, Nov 24, 2015 at 7:38 AM, Daniel Mietchen < daniel.mietchen@googlemail.com> wrote:
Yes, a CentralNotice would seem appropriate here. Please help flesh it out at https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Banner:Free_Bassel .
Daniel
On Tue, Nov 24, 2015 at 3:38 PM, Gerard Meijssen gerard.meijssen@gmail.com wrote:
Hoi, I have started a text.. Thanks, GerardM
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Banner:Free_Bassel
On 24 November 2015 at 15:25, Pete Forsyth peteforsyth@gmail.com
wrote:
+1 Gerard, or Andrea, or anybody who knows better than myself, could you
start
a draft on Meta Wiki with a proposed text for a banner, and where it
should
link/what it should advise readers to do? Pete On Nov 24, 2015 3:13 AM, "Tito Dutta" trulytito@gmail.com wrote:
Sad news. Agree with everyone here that we should do something.
On 24 November 2015 at 16:38, Gerard Meijssen <
gerard.meijssen@gmail.com
wrote:
Hoi, Tomorrow we have a platform as well at the Erasmus award ceremony in Amsterdam. It is Wikipedia, its community that is receiving the
award..
Thanks, GerardM
On 24 November 2015 at 12:03, Cristian Consonni <
kikkocristian@gmail.com
wrote:
2015-11-24 10:47 GMT+01:00 Andrea Zanni <zanni.andrea84@gmail.com
:
> Use the centralnotice.
[...]
> A Wikipedian, a member of our community sentenced to death for
believing
in > our Mission and Vision is something extraordinary. I understand
the
caution > of setting a precedent, but I think it's worth it. > > Also, remember: we have few days before we'll ask money again to
all
the
> English-speaking countries. > How could we ask for money when we are not using the power that
was
> bestowed upon us by the very same spirit, love and courage that
is
> condemning Bassel to death?
I strongly support this.
As for the precedent, recall that the Wikimedia Foundation
supports
the users, we did this with User:Diu in Greece:
https://blog.wikimedia.org/2014/02/14/wikimedia-foundation-supports-wikipedi...
This is much more than a lawsuit.
A message I do not want us to send is that if you enough force or
the
threat is big enough, then we, as a movement, will be scared away.
C
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