TOP CRIME STORIES OF 2009
As the year draws to a close, we reviewed all 25 editions of The CRIME Report from 2009 to determine the "Top 10 Stories of the Year."
1) Iran's Civil Protest Movement
A seemingly rigged presidential election triggered an outpouring of spontaneous protest - inside Iran and in the US - that then turned into a sophisticated nonviolent conflict. Just days after protests broke out, we ran "A Page from Khomeini's Playbook," observing that the tools of the 1979 Revolution were now being turned against the Islamic Republic. To inspire nonviolent activists, we also published a Farsi edition of a 1958 comic book about Martin Luther King, Jr.
2) Nokia's Role in Iran's Crackdown
Back in April, we noted Nokia's role in supplying the Iranian regime with sophisticated surveillance technology to track dissidents. Within days of the June protests, the "Nokia No" campaign launched with over 11,000 people sending emails to Nokia and protests in Boston, New York, and even Shiraz.
3) Obama's Cairo Speech - and Cairo Film Fest
CRIME editor Dalia Ziada was invited to attend President Obama's Cairo address and a private meeting with Senior White House Advisor Valerie Jarrett - and then interviewed on CNN. Picking up on the speech's themes, Ziada just organized the Cairo Human Rights Film Festival, which drew standing-room only crowds.
4) Record-Breaking Essay Contest on Civil Rights
This year marked the fourth running of the "Dream Deferred Essay Contest" on civil rights in the Mideast. Over 2,500 young thinkers entered the contest, far surpassing previous years. Several winning writers were profiled in the past few months.
5) Fathi El-Jahmi Dies in Detention
Less than two months before he died, we published an exclusive interview with Libyan dissident Fathi El-Jahmi. He described how speaking out against repression landed him in jail, how he refused to apologize to gain his release, and how - in his words - "without international pressure I will die in prison."
6) Omar Al-Bashir's International Arrest Warrant
The dictator responsible for the death of millions of civilians in his own country was at last held accountable by international courts. While he is unlikely to get arrested, a grassroots Sudanese protest movement - "We Are Disgusted" - is emerging online to protest repression.
7) Women Finally Elected to Kuwaiti Parliament
"Dream Deferred" essay contest judge Rola Dashti and three other Kuwaiti women crashed the glass ceiling and got elected to parliament. Dashti gave us an exclusive interview about her victory, which was the culmination of a long campaign, and a few months later Kuwaiti women won passport rights.
8) Moroccan Magazines Seized for Publishing Good News
A few months after we interviewed Moroccan editor and essay contest judge Ahmed Benchemsi, his best-selling Arabic and French magazines were seized at the printing press. The alleged crime? Publishing an opinion poll showing that Morocco's King Muhammad VI enjoys a 90% approval rating.
9) Groundbreaking Editor Profiled, Then Jailed
We playfully profiled Mauritanian editor Hanevy Ould Dahah as a journalist "wanted" for running the muckraking website Taqadoumy.com ("Progressive"). A few months later, he was indeed "wanted" and sentenced to six months in a judicial hit-job. Though Hanevy has served his full sentence, he remains in jail as we go to press.
10) Kareem Amer's Failed Appeal
Hopes were recently raised that Egyptian blogger Kareem Amer would at last be released from prison after serving three years in jail. But a judge has just declined Kareem's latest appeal, and it appears the young writer will serve out his full four-year term for, among other alleged crimes, insulting Egypt's president.
We hope 2010 will bring more success stories and fewer repression stories. Whatever does happen, The CRIME Report will be on the case, chronicling the Mideast’s grassroots civil rights movement in all its agony and glory.
Happy new year to all our readers!
