Zouhair Yahyaoui (Arabic: زهير اليحياوي, romanized: Zuhayr al-Yaḥyāwī; December 8, 1967 – March 13, 2005) was the first cyber-dissident to be pursued and condemned in Tunisia, a country that is often rated at the top of lists of Internet policing by independent third-party sources such as the OpenNet Initiative.[1] He was the nephew of the judge Mokhtar Yahyaoui, who was also a vocal critic of the Tunisian regime and its lack of respect for judiciary processes. His cousin Amira Yahyaoui founded the NGOAl Bawsala.[2]
Yahyahoui, alias Ettounsi, founded and edited one of the first open discussion forums on the Internet, the satirical website TUNeZINE (which has since been shut down). This 'Zine' (a play on words connecting the genre to the President) drew participants from across the political spectrum discussing women's issues, human rights, economic problems, freedom of expression as well as religion. The site itself was often victim of the prevalent censorship in Tunisia; access to it could be difficult if at all possible, and though he used a pseudonym, Yahyaoui himself was tracked down and arrested for creating the site. Imprisoned for eighteen months in the Borj al Amri prison, there were numerous campaigns for his release. During his imprisonment, he executed three hunger strikes which helped to draw the attention of the international community. Some human rights activist groups like Reporters Without Borders helped to draw attention to his case.
Deathedit
After leaving prison, Zouhair Yahyaoui was no longer the same man. Weakened by hunger strikes, torture and bad treatment, he died of a heart attack on March 13, 2005. After the Tunisian revolution that ousted Zine el Abidine Ben Ali on January 14, 2011, the newly elected constituent assembly elected Ben Ali's long-time opponent, Mohamed Moncef Marzouki, as a new president. Being a human rights activist, the new president decided that March 13 would become the national day of Internet freedom to commemorate the death of Zouhair Yahyaoui.[3]
Accoladesedit
Yahyaoui was awarded numerous journalistic prizes (in absentia) for his efforts to create a democratic discussion forum; for example, in 2003 Reporters Without Borders gave him the Globenet-Cyber Freedom Prize.[4]
^"Internet Filtering in Tunisia in 2005: A Country Study | OpenNet Initiative". opennet.net. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
^"Tunisie: Un timbre en hommage à Zouhair Yahyaoui, pionnier du cyber-activism". Kapitalis. March 13, 2017.
^"Tunisia is celebrating a "martyr" of internet freedom with commemorative postage stamps". Quartz. March 14, 2017.
^Reporters Without Borders June 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
External linksedit
See also PEN American Center , numerous articles by the committee to Protect Journalists such as [2], and [3]
January 01, 1970
zouhair, yahyaoui, arabic, زهير, اليحياوي, romanized, zuhayr, yaḥyāwī, december, 1967, march, 2005, first, cyber, dissident, pursued, condemned, tunisia, country, that, often, rated, lists, internet, policing, independent, third, party, sources, such, opennet,. Zouhair Yahyaoui Arabic زهير اليحياوي romanized Zuhayr al Yaḥyawi December 8 1967 March 13 2005 was the first cyber dissident to be pursued and condemned in Tunisia a country that is often rated at the top of lists of Internet policing by independent third party sources such as the OpenNet Initiative 1 He was the nephew of the judge Mokhtar Yahyaoui who was also a vocal critic of the Tunisian regime and its lack of respect for judiciary processes His cousin Amira Yahyaoui founded the NGO Al Bawsala 2 Zouhair YahyaouiZouhair Yahyaoui in 2004Born 1967 12 08 December 8 1967DiedMarch 13 2005 2005 03 13 aged 37 Other namesEttounsi Contents 1 Career 2 Death 3 Accolades 4 Awards and honors 5 References 6 External linksCareer editYahyahoui alias Ettounsi founded and edited one of the first open discussion forums on the Internet the satirical website TUNeZINE which has since been shut down This Zine a play on words connecting the genre to the President drew participants from across the political spectrum discussing women s issues human rights economic problems freedom of expression as well as religion The site itself was often victim of the prevalent censorship in Tunisia access to it could be difficult if at all possible and though he used a pseudonym Yahyaoui himself was tracked down and arrested for creating the site Imprisoned for eighteen months in the Borj al Amri prison there were numerous campaigns for his release During his imprisonment he executed three hunger strikes which helped to draw the attention of the international community Some human rights activist groups like Reporters Without Borders helped to draw attention to his case Death editAfter leaving prison Zouhair Yahyaoui was no longer the same man Weakened by hunger strikes torture and bad treatment he died of a heart attack on March 13 2005 After the Tunisian revolution that ousted Zine el Abidine Ben Ali on January 14 2011 the newly elected constituent assembly elected Ben Ali s long time opponent Mohamed Moncef Marzouki as a new president Being a human rights activist the new president decided that March 13 would become the national day of Internet freedom to commemorate the death of Zouhair Yahyaoui 3 Accolades editYahyaoui was awarded numerous journalistic prizes in absentia for his efforts to create a democratic discussion forum for example in 2003 Reporters Without Borders gave him the Globenet Cyber Freedom Prize 4 Awards and honors edit2003 PEN Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write AwardReferences editThis article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations March 2009 Learn how and when to remove this message Internet Filtering in Tunisia in 2005 A Country Study OpenNet Initiative opennet net Retrieved 2018 05 25 Tunisie Un timbre en hommage a Zouhair Yahyaoui pionnier du cyber activism Kapitalis March 13 2017 Tunisia is celebrating a martyr of internet freedom with commemorative postage stamps Quartz March 14 2017 Reporters Without Borders Archived June 19 2008 at the Wayback MachineExternal links editSee also PEN American Center 1 numerous articles by the committee to Protect Journalists such as 2 and 3 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Zouhair Yahyaoui amp oldid 1180777395, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
