"All censorships exist to prevent anyone from challenging current conceptions and existing institutions. All progress is initiated by challenging current conceptions, and executed by supplanting existing institutions. Consequently, the first condition of progress is the removal of censorship." — George Bernard Shaw
I generally focus on problems in my own country before complaining about others. Our Founding Fathers gave us the 1st Amendment. Unfortunately, a personal tragedy made it clear that people in many other countries don't share that freedom.
Pothi Kalimuthu, the systems administrator for Think by Numbers, made sacrifices to realize a vision of a world without suffering. He helped create a platform to integrate data from life-tracking applications and devices to identify hidden root causes and discover new treatments for chronic illnesses.
On July 24th, 2014, Pothi disappeared. After two weeks, I discovered he was arrested by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of Chennai, India. The charge? Hosting Savukku, a non-profit journalistic website known for whistleblowing articles on bribery and political corruption.
Please sign our petition and share this message with anyone who appreciates freedom of speech. If you have time, please call or email the Madras High Court and tell them to free Pothi Kalimuthu, so he can continue helping the millions who endure lives of chronic illness. He is our friend, and whether you know it yet or not, he is your friend too. Thank you for anything you're willing to do to help.
Contact: Thiru. P. Kalaiyarasan Registrar General Madras High Court Tel: 91 – 044 -25301349 cpc-tn@indianjudiciary.gov.in
and/or
Indian Embassy 2107 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20008 Telephone: (202) 939-7000 Fax: (202) 265-4351
Here's a template:
I am writing to express my concern for Pothi Kalimuthu.
Pothi has made sacrifices to realize a vision of a world without suffering. He helped create a platform to integrate data from life-tracking applications and devices to identify hidden root causes and discover new treatments for chronic illnesses.
On July 24th, 2014, Pothi was arrested by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of Chennai.
Please do whatever you can to free Pothi Kalimuthu, so he can continue helping the millions who endure lives of chronic illness. He is our friend, and whether you know it yet or not, he is your friend too. Thank you for anything you're willing to do to help.
Respectfully yours, [YOUR NAME HERE]
If you're aware of any organization that might help, please share them in the comments.
Reporters Without Borders recognizes that freedom of information is the foundation of any democracy. They work to provide that foundation to the half of the world's population still denied it. Here is data from their 2014 World Press Freedom Index. I encourage everyone to check out their site and get involved.
The 2014 World Press Freedom Index spotlights the negative impact of conflicts on freedom of information and its protagonists. The ranking of some countries has also been affected by a tendency to interpret national security needs in an overly broad and abusive manner to the detriment of the right to inform and be informed. This trend constitutes a growing threat worldwide and is even endangering freedom of information in countries regarded as democracies. Finland tops the index for the fourth year running, closely followed by Netherlands and Norway, like last year. At the other end of the index, the last three positions are again held by Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea, three countries where freedom of information is non-existent. Despite occasional turbulence in the past year, these countries continue to be news and information black holes and living hells for the journalists who inhabit them. This year's index covers 180 countries, one more than last year. The new entry, Belize, has been assigned an enviable position (29th). Cases of violence against journalists are rare in Belize but there were some problems: defamation suits involving demands for large amounts in damages, national security restrictions on implementation of the Freedom of Information Act and sometimes unfair management of broadcast frequencies.
Read more at Reporters Without Borders
[table id=1 /]
Comments