please post to ourmedia list

English: (could someone provide a Spanish translation or at least a good summary?)

Summary:

- general intro
- draft solidarity statement
- solidarity wiki
- other demands suggested
- further background

GENERAL INTRO

As many of you know, Indymedia servers have been seized affecting not just the 20 IMCs that were hosted, but also the network as a whole. It is also affecting our communication rights as a global community, and it will continue to happen to more organizations and networks unless we take serious and diverse actions.

We seek the input and participation of all of you on this list to help us strategize collectively and to outreach to your own networks. This is a perfect list for this kind of action. We can use this crisis as an opportunity to strengthen our solidarity together and to be creative in how we respond and how we link it up to our various work and projects. Indymedia is of course engaged in a legal strategy and have a powerful team here in the U.S. (and could use more international legal support). But legal strategy is just one part of the necessary response. We need multiple political and social responses.

For the moment, apart from giving feedback to the draft call to action, we ask that you (1) have your organization sign on to the call to action (2) share the final draft with your organization and network (3) draft up your own call to solidarity and action for your own country and region (4) share strategies for how to use this to further all of our work and (5) if you have other suggestions for demands that reach beyond just the indymedia scope, please share them.

Thank you,

Sheri
Indymedia
IMC-Legal

DRAFT SOLIDARITY STATEMENT

To this end, some folks from the UK have put together a draft solidarity call to action for the UK, and are seeking feedback. This draft can also be used as a template for other countries/orgs. Please review and comment. A finalized draft of this UK call to action should be out by end of the day. I expect many more to follow in the days and weeks to come.

ALERT: Urgent Action Call In Support of Indymedia

"An unacceptable attack on press freedom, free speech and privacy."

Two Indymedia Web Servers were seized from the US-owned web hosting company Rackspace operating in London (UK) on 7 October 2004, at the request of the US Justice Department, which apparently acted at the prompting of Italian and Swiss authorities.

Indymedia is an global alternative media network that provides challenging and independent reporting, particularly of political and social justice issues, with a newswire where any member of the public can publish their own reports and articles.

The seizure of the servers in London shut down around 20 different Indymedia websites including Ambazonia, Uruguay, Andorra, Poland, Western Massachusetts, Nice, Nantes, Lilles, Marseille, Euskal Herria (Basque Country), Liege, East and West Vlaanderen, Antwerpen (all Belgium), Belgrade, Portugal, Prague, Galiza, Italy, Brazil, UK, and Germany. Many are still offline, those few that have returned have suffered significant data loss.

The particular legal framework under which the seizures took place is unknown. Five Days after the seizures there is still an almost total information blackout from the authorities in the UK, US, Switzerland and Italy. Indymedia still has no confirmation of who ordered the seizures, who took the servers in London, why the seizures took place, where the servers are now located, and whether they will be returned.

Statements of support for Indymedia and condemnation of the shutting down of over 20 Media outlets have been received from The International Federation of Journalists, the National Union of Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and many other organisations.

Indymedia UK condemns the seizure of the servers as an unacceptable and unprecedented attack on press freedom, free speech and privacy, and asks for urgent solidarity action in demanding:

- A full investigation into the circumstances and legality of the Indymedia Server Seizures.

- The immediate return of the servers, with all data intact.

Please write urgently to:

- Home Secretary, David Blunkett
- ADD AMERICAN CONTACT?
- ANY OTHERS?

Please send copies to ___________________ (SOME INDYMEDIA EMAIL)

Organisations and individuals are also encouraged to issue their own statements in support of Indymedia and against the seizure of the servers.
Please send copies to ___________________ (SOME INDYMEDIA EMAIL)

Additionaly organisations and indivduals can add their names and statements of support here:
http://SOMEINDYMEDIA NEWSWIRE POSTING

For background on the server Seizures see:
http://indymedia.org/en/static/fbi
http://www.indymedia.org
http://www.indymedia.org.uk

WIKI FOR SOLIDARITY

We also have set up a wiki for this matter, please check it out for more information and to contribute: http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/AhimsaSolidarity

OTHER DEMANDS SUGGESTED - JUST A HUMBLE BEGINNING:

- returning the servers
- funds to allow the imc technical staff that is working on restoring the data loss of the affected imcs to perform the most delicate surgery possible in hopes of restoring data
- an official apology from the organizations/nations responsible for absconding with the servers
- agreement that the national and international official and unofficial protections generally afforded to journalists will be afforded to the global IMC

FURTHER BACKGROUND

Indymedia update courtesy of Sasha Constanza-Cook:

en]

Evidence is beginning to mount that the authorities of at least four countries (Switzerland, Italy, U.K. and U.S.A.) are involved in last week's seizure of two of Indymedia's servers that brought down more than 20 of the Indymedia network's web sites and several internet radio streams. Indymedia has yet to receive any official statement or information about what the order entailed or why it was issued.

An FBI spokesperson, Joe Parris, confirmed to Agence France-Presse that the FBI issued a subpoena to the provider who hosted the Indymedia servers in the U.K., but that it was "on behalf of a third country." (1) Daniel Zapelli, senior federal prosecutor for Geneva (Switzerland), confirmed that he has opened a criminal investigation into Indymedia coverage of the 2003 G8 Summit in Evian. (2) Zapelli will provide details of that investigation at a press conference on Tuesday.

Federal prosecutor of Bologna (Italy) Marina Plazzi stated that she is investigating Italy Indymedia because it may "support terrorism." (3) Plazzi says she will provide more information on Thursday, October 14th.

Meanwhile international journalist associations have come forward in support of Indymedia. "We have witnessed an intolerable and intrusive international police operation against a network specialising in independent journalism," said Aidan White IFJ General Secretary. (4) Indymedia is consulting with the Electronic Frontier Foundation on how to retrieve its servers and prevent further government attacks on free speech. "EFF is deeply concerned about the grave implications of this seizure for free speech and privacy, and we are exploring all avenues to hold the government accountable for this improper and unconstitutional silencing of independent media.," said EFF Staff Attorney Kurt Opsahl. (5)

As of Monday, October 11, five of the downed websites have been restored, including Brasil, Euskal Herria, Poland, UK and Nice. Indymedia volunteers are working around the clock to restore the remaining sites, however at least four of them - Uruguay, Italy, Western Massachusetts and Nantes - have suffered data loss as a result of the governments' action.

"This FBI operation gives us even more reason to continue with what we have been doing for several years," says an activist from Italy Indymedia.

"Uruguay has a long history of media repression. We don't have the money to pay for web hosting, and so we rely on the solidarity of other countries. Actions like the seizure of the servers make the whole world insecure for free media," says Libertinus, an Indymedia volunteer from Uruguay, one of many Indymedia web sites that was caught in the FBI actions as a bystander. "Uruguay's national elections will take place on October 31st. It's a bad time for this to happen."

Notes to the editor

For more information, visit www.indymedia.org/en/static/fbi, email [log in to unmask] , Tommaso at +39-3383903806, Hep Sano at +1-415-867-9472 (San Francisco), or David Meieran at +1-412-996-4986 (Pittsburgh).

(1) On October 7, 2004, Rackspace, a web hosting provider based in San Antonio (USA), turned over two servers at its London officer after it was issued a court order under the Mutual Legal Assistence Treaty. Rackspace officials claim that the order prevents them from divulging the reasons for the seizure and to whom the servers were actually given. They stated, "Rackspace is acting as a good corporate citizen and is cooperating with international law enforcement authorities." See more details on www.indymedia.org/fbi and on the press releases from 8 and 9 October: http://www.indymedia.org/en/2004/10/111999.shtml and http://www.indymedia.org/en/2004/10/112047.shtml

(2) For more examples see: http://www.indymedia.org/en/static/fbi.shtml

(3) AFP report: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1509&ncid=738&e=6&u=/afp/20041008/tc_afp/us_internet_justice

(4) International Federation of Jounalists: http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?Index=2734&Language=EN

(5) Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): http://eff.org/

[pt]

Come?am a reunir-se provas de que as autoridades de pelo menos quatro pa?ses (Su??a, It?lia, Reino Unido e EUA) est?o envolvidas na apreens?o de dois servidores da Indymedia na semana passada, que tiveram por resultado "mandar abaixo" mais de 20 sites da Indymedia e diversos streams de r?dio. A Indymedia est? ainda para receber alguma resposta oficial acerca do conte?do e o porqu? desta ac??o do FBI.

Joe Parris, um porta-voz do FBI, confirmou ? ag?ncia France-Presse que o FBI emitiu uma intima??o ao "fornecedor" que albergava os servidores da Indymedia no Reino unido, mas que isso foi feito "em proveito de um pa?s terceiro". (1) Daniel Zapelli, Promotor Federal de Justi?a em Geneva (Su??a), confirmou que foi aberta uma investiga??o criminal relativa ? cobertura dada pela Indymedia no com?cio do G8 em Evian, 2003. (2) Zapelli fornecer? detalhes acerca da investiga??o numa confer?ncia de imprensa na ter?a-feira.

Marina Plazzi, Promotora Federal de Justi?a em Bolonha (It?lia) afirmou que est? a investigar a Indymedia de It?lia porque poder? estar a "apoiar o terrorismo". (3) Plazzi diz que ir? fornecer mais informa??es, pr?xima quinta-feira, 14 de Outubro.

Entretanto, associa??es internacionais de jornalismo avan?aram em apoio ? Indymedia. "N?s assistimos a uma intoler?vel e intrusiva ac??o internacional de pol?cia contra uma rede que se especializa em jornalismo independente", disse Aidan White, Secret?rio Geral do IFJ. (4)

A Indymedia est? a trocar impress?escom a Electronic Frontier Foundation, acerca de como resgatar os seus servidores e evitar mais ataques governamentais ? liberdade de express?o. "A EFF est? profundamente preocupada com as graves implica??es desta apreens?o da liberdade de express?o e da privacidade, e estamos a "explorar todas as avenidas" para que o governo seja responsabilizado por este silenciar impr?prio e inconstitucional dos media independentes.", explicou Kurt Opsahl, Advogado de "Staff" da EFF. (5)

Segunda-Feira, 11 de Outubro, cinco dos sites afectados, tinham j? sido restaurados, incluindo: Brasil, Euskal Herria, Pol?nia, Reino Unido e Nice. Volunt?rios da Indymedia est?o a trabalhar arduamente para restaurar os restantes sites, no entanto, pelo menos quatro deles - Uruguai, It?lia, Western Massachusetts e Nantes - sofreram danos nos seus dados em resultado da ac??o do governo.

"Esta ac??o do FBI d?-nos ainda mais raz?es para continuarmos a fazer o que temos feito durante v?rios anos.", disse um activista do Indymedia de It?lia.

"O Uruguai tem uma longa hist?ria de repress?o dos media. N?s n?o temos dinheiro para web hosting, e por isso contamos com asolidariedade de outros pa?ses. Ac??es como a captura dos servidores tornam o mundo um lugar mais inseguro para os media independentes.", comentou Libertinus, um volunt?rio da Indymedia no Uruguai, Uruguai que foi um de muitos dos sites da Indymedia que foram apanhados, apesar de meros observadores, pelas ac??es do FBI. "As elei??es nacionais no Uruguai ocorrer?o em 31 de Outubro. ? uma m? altura para isto acontecer."

Notas ao editor

Para mais informa??es, visite o site www.indymedia.org/en/static/fbi, email [log in to unmask], Tommaso em +39-3383903806, Hep Sano em +1-415-867-9472 (San Francisco), ou David Meieran em +1-412-996-4986 (Pittsburgh).

(1) A 7 de Outubro de 2004, a Rackspace, um provedor de web com sede em San Antonio (EUA), entregou dois servidores do seu escrit?rio em Londres depois de ter sido emitida uma ordem do tribunal sob o tratado de Mutual Legal Assistence. T?cnicos da Rackspace argumentam que a ordem impede-os de divulgar as raz?es para a captura e a quem foram dados os servidores. Eles comentaram que, "a Rackspace est? a agir como um bom cidad?o corporativo e est? a cooperar com as for?as de lei e seguran?a internacionais. "Veja mais detalhes em www.indymedia.org/fbi e nos press releases de 8 a 9 de Outubro:

http://www.indymedia.org/en/2004/10/111999.shtml e
http://www.indymedia.org/en/2004/10/112047.shtml

(2) Para mais exemplos, veja em:
http://www.indymedia.org/en/static/fbi.shtml

(3) Relat?rio da AFP: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1509&ncid=738&e=6&u=/afp/20041008/tc_afp/us_internet_justice

(4) Federa??o Internacional de Jornalistas: http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?Index=2734&Language=EN

(5)Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): http://eff.org/