Bloggers and Citizen Journalists Behind Bars–From America to Saudi Arabia

By Jeff Severns Guntzel
Published on January 28, 2009
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In the latest issue of This Magazine, Daniel Tseghay provides a roundup of bloggers and citizen journalists who are behind bars or have done time in recent years for what they’ve written, shown, or refused to disclose. It’s no surprise to see bloggers from China, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iran on the list. But the United States?

“Journalist and video blogger Josh Wolf was imprisoned in 2006 after posting a video on his blog showing an anti-G8 demonstration in San Francisco,” writes Tseghay. “Police wanted Wolf’s unedited footage in order to investigate an attempted arson, but he refused to comply and was charged with contempt. It led to Wolf serving about seven and a half months in prison, the longest period any journalist has ever served in the U.S. for refusing to disclose sources.”

If you missed the Josh Wolf story the first time around, here’s an interview from the the PBS documentary series Frontline.

To read about the much more grave situation for jailed bloggers around the world, read Daniel Tseghay’s piece here.

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