Bassel Khartabil

Bassel Khartabil
Native name باسل خرطبيل
Born Bassel Khartabil
(1981-05-22) May 22, 1981
Damascus, Syria
Residence Damascus, Syria
Currently imprisoned in an unknown location
Nationality Syrian
Occupation Software engineer
Known for Aiki Framework, Openclipart, Open Font Library, Fabricatorz, Mozilla, Creative Commons
Awards Index on Censorship 2013 Digital Freedom Award
Signature

Bassel Khartabil (Arabic: باسل خرطبيل‎), also known as Bassel Safadi (Arabic: باسل صفدي‎), (born May 22, 1981) is a Palestinian Syrian open-source software developer. From March 15, 2012, the one-year anniversary of the Syrian uprising, he was detained by the Syrian government at Adra Prison in Damascus.[1] As of October 3, 2015, he had been transferred to an unknown location, probably to be judged by a military court.[2][3] On October 7, 2015, Human Rights Watch and 30 other human rights organizations issued a letter demanding that Khartabil's whereabouts be disclosed.[4] On November 11, 2015, rumors surfaced that Khartabil had been secretly sentenced to death.[5][6]

Khartabil was born in Damascus and raised in Syria, where he specializes in open source software development. He has been chief technology officer (CTO) and co-founder of collaborative research company Aiki Lab[7] and was CTO of Al-Aous,[8] a publishing and research institution dedicated to archaeological sciences and arts in Syria. He has served as project lead and public affiliate for Creative Commons Syria,[9] and has contributed to Mozilla Firefox, Wikipedia, Openclipart, Fabricatorz, and Sharism.[10] He "is credited with opening up the Internet in Syria and vastly extending online access and knowledge to the Syrian people."[11]

His most recent work includes a 3D virtual reconstruction[12] of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria,[13] real time visualization, and development with Fabricatorz for the web programming framework Aiki Framework.

Detention

On March 15, 2012, Khartabil was detained amid arrests in the Mazzeh district of Damascus by Military Security Branch 215.[14] That day marked the one-year anniversary of the Syrian uprising, with pro- and anti-government protesters demonstrating in Damascus and elsewhere in the country.[15]

Khartabil was interrogated and tortured for five days by Military Branch 215. Security forces raided Khartabil's house, confiscating his computer and other effects. He was then transferred to the Interrogation Division Branch 248 and detained there incommunicado for 9 months. On December 9, 2012, Khartabil was brought to a hearing before a military prosecutor without an attorney present, and accused of "harming state security". Khartabil was then sent to the Adra Prison in Damascus.[14]

On December 12, 2013, a request for written answer on the question of Bassel's imprisonment was raised before the European Parliament to the Commission (Vice-President/High Representative), stating that "his voluntary work, always non-violent in nature, was greatly valued by Syrians of all backgrounds, and it is strongly suspected that his arrest was part of an effort to restrict access to online communities and discourses and stifle free expression in Syria."[16] On March 18, 2014, the written answer from High Representative/Vice-President Catherine Ashton was published, stating that "The HR/VP deplores the ongoing imprisonment of Bassel Safadi Khartabil, shares the concerns at his situation and follows it very closely."[17]

On April 21, 2015, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) adopted an Opinion on Bassel Khartabil's case, calling his detention "arbitrary" and asking for his immediate release.[14][18] The WGAD concluded that Kharbatil's detention violated Articles 9, 14 and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Syria ratified in 1969.

Personal life

Bassel was arrested a few days before his marriage contract to Noura Ghazi, a lawyer and human rights activist, was to be signed. The contract was finalized later that year, while Bassel was in prison. The couple first met in Douma in April 2011 after coming back from a demonstration.[19]

On Valentine's Day 2015, Noura made public a love letter she wrote Bassel where she reflects on what has taken place in Syria in the time Bassel has been imprisoned:

Bassel, I am very afraid, I am afraid about the country that is being slaughtered, divided, bleeding, being destroyed..

Ouch Bassel, I am very afraid that our dream is changing from seeing ourselves being the generation freeing their country to the one witnessing its destruction. Ouch Bassel, I am very afraid …

— Noura Ghazi, A Love Letter to Jailed Syrian-Palestinian Bassel Khartabil[20]

Awards

For its 2012 list of Top Global Thinkers, Foreign Policy named Bassel together with Rima Dali as #19 for "insisting, against all odds, on a peaceful Syrian revolution."[21]

On March 21, 2013 Bassel was awarded Index on Censorship's Digital Freedom Award.[22][23] Although still detained at the time in Adra Prison, Bassel was able to communicate his gratitude through Dana Trometer and Jon Phillips receiving the award on his behalf, wherein he paid "respect to all the victims of the struggle for freedom of speech, and, especially for those non-violent youths who refused to carry arms and deserve all the credit for this award."[24]

#FREEBASSEL campaign

Missing Bassel Posters at Creative Commons Global Summit 2015 in Seoul
A drawing on a wall, mostly in Korean. The English text says, "WIFI: FREE BASSEL PASSWORD: MISSING BASSEL."
Poster of the #FREEBASSEL campaign
CC Global Summit July 2015
A digital reconstruction of the Temple of Bel from the New Palmyra project

2012

After his detention became widely known in early July 2012, a global campaign was launched calling for his immediate release.[25][26] Notable Internet companies like Mozilla,[27][28] Wikipedia, Global Voices,[29] EFF[30] and Creative Commons[31][32] wrote letters to the Syrian government urging Bassel's immediate release. Notable individuals like Lawrence Lessig,[33] Joi Ito,[34][35] Mitchell Baker,[36] Jillian York,[37][38] Mohamed Nanabhay[39] and Barry Threw[40] wrote public letters of support. And, international press such as Al Jazeera,[41] Framablog,[42] Hackernews[43] published about the effort.

In October, Amnesty International released a document with information suggesting that Bassel has been ill-treated and even tortured.[44][45] On October 23, the Taiwan chapter of Amnesty International led a letter-writing event at Insomnia Cafe to raise awareness about Bassel in Taipei, Taiwan.[46][47][48] On November 26, Bassel was announced to be one of the top 100 global thinkers by Foreign Policy.[49]

In December, Bassel was moved to a military prison to await a military trial.[50][51] In response, a fasting campaign was launched to raise awareness about Bassel's deteriorating incarceration situation.[52]

2013

On January 25, 2013, reports were circulating about Bassel's pending trial and fears of his execution.[53]

On March 15,[54] the #FREEBASSEL project lead a #FREEBASSELDAY campaign with Creative Commons, Mozilla, and other community leaders which resulted in the creation of public artworks, meetups, press, and videos.[55][56][57][58][59][60]

On May 22, commemorating Bassel Khartabil's 32nd birthday—the second time he spent a birthday in prison as well as the 799th day of the Syrian conflict—the Index on Censorship,[61][62] Creative Commons,[63] and the #FREEBASSEL campaign joined forces to celebrate Khartabil's achievements and to encourage others to send birthday wishes. His mother wrote, "I just want him free, I pray for him to be free and I pray for all his friends who believe and work on Bassel’s freedom."[64] In addition, by publicly launching Project Sunlight,[65] the advocacy groups encourage action to uncover more information about Khartabil's condition and location.[66]

At the Index on Censorship Awards, Jon Phillips stated about Bassel, "Lock-up, Lock-out fails. Locking-up Bassel, only locks-out his personal freedom. By locking-up Bassel, his Syrian captors are accidentally locking-out themselves from the future...thousands of people that Bassel’s work helped, now help him by spreading the message #FREEBASSEL. This is what truly builds Syria and connects it to the global connected future. This award proves that his lock-up, is NOT a lock-out of his digital freedom."[67] On December 10, the Freebassel project, along with other signers, sent a letter to the European Union Parliament.[68]

2014

On January 23, 2014, Marc Weidenbaum and the #FREEBASSEL campaign launched an iteration of his Disquiet Junto project in honor of Bassel, where participants in the online musical composition group were invited to "complete" Bassel's unfinished 3D visualization of Palmyra and "create a soundscape of between one and three minutes that might be employed in an immersive, completed digital visualization of ancient Palmyra." 38 musical compositions were created as part of the project.[69]

On March 15, the #FREEBASSEL project led a second iteration of the #FREEBASSELDAY campaign with Creative Commons, the Wikimedia Foundation, and other community leaders and supporters. This involved a Wikipedia "edit-a-thon", meetups, the creation of a cookbook in Bassel's honor, and press mentions.[70]

On September 1, journalist and human rights activist Rebecca MacKinnon wrote about Bassel and the Zone 9 Bloggers in the World Policy Journal.[71] Subsequently, in October, Wikipedia hosted an editathon for zone 9 bloggers.[72] Three months later, on December 10, Global Voices led a campaign on Human Rights Day to raise awareness about Bassel Khartabil's imprisonment.[73][74][75]

2015

On March 15, 2015, #FREEBASSEL supporters met up in San Francisco at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and online for a Wikipedia edit-a-thon for #FREEBASSELDAY 2015.[76][77] In addition, the Creative Commons Arab World organized a virtual Arabic Wikipedia edit-a-thon to translate and expand pages related to Bassel and his interests.[78][79] On September 24, Bassel was profiled[80] with the launch[81] of the EFF's Offline[82] project "sharing the stories of imprisoned technologists and technology users."[81]

As of September 12, Jaysh al-Islam shelled and stormed the prison, taking control of two buildings.[83][84] Until early October he was still in Adra Prison in the suburbs of Damascus, Syria.[14] By October 3, he was transferred to an unknown location, probably to be judged by a military court.[2][3]

On October 6, Amnesty International released a new report on Khartabil's status.[85] A day later, Human Rights Watch and 30 other human rights organizations issued a letter demanding that Khartabil's whereabouts be disclosed.[4] On October 17, Creative Commons Board of Directors approved a resolution calling for Bassel Khartabil's release.[86] On October 21, the New Palmyra project was launched to carry on his 3D modeling work and other creative uses of data about Palmyra.[87][88] A day later, the MIT Media Lab offered Khartabil a position of research scientist at the Center for Civic Media to work with Ethan Zuckerman on projects to make Syria's history available to the world.[89][90] On November 9, after a five-day book sprint involving 44 contributors, an anthology of personal reflections on Bassel Khartabil together with essays on free culture, entitled The Cost of Freedom: A Collective Inquiry, was released under a Creative Commons public domain license.[91][92] Two days afterward, rumors surfaced that Khartabil had been secretly sentenced to death.[5][6]

References

  1. ↑ "#FREEBASSEL: a campaign to free Bassel Khartabil from Syrian jail". Al Bawaba. 4 July 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  2. 1 2 "WE NEED EVERYBODY’S HELP TO #FREEBASSEL". 2015-10-03.
  3. 1 2 Amira Al Hussaini (2015-10-03). "Fears for Imprisoned Syrian Blogger Bassel Khartabil, Transferred to an Unknown Location". Global Voices.
  4. 1 2 "Syria: Disclose Whereabouts of Detained Freedom of Expression Advocate". Human Rights Watch. 2015-10-07.
  5. 1 2 "IGF 2015 Flyer on Bassel Khartabil". Electronic Frontier Foundation. eff.org. Retrieved 2015-11-15.
  6. 1 2 "#FreeBassel: Death Sentence Rumored for Syrian Web Developer". Global Voices. Retrieved 2015-11-15.
  7. ↑ "Aiki lab".
  8. ↑ الأوس للنشر. "الأوس للنشر".
  9. ↑ "Syria".
  10. ↑ "Threatened Voices / Bloggers / Bassel (Safadi) Khartabil".
  11. ↑ "Request for Written Answer on the Question of the Imprisonment of Bassel Safadi Khartabil". European Parliament. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  12. ↑ "#NEWPALMYRA". newpalmyra.org.
  13. ↑ "Bassel Safadi discusses project involving 3D reconstruction of ancient city of Palmyra at San Francisco Art Institute, live from Syria via Skype". Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  14. 1 2 3 4 "UN Calls for the Release of Freedom of Speech Advocate Bassel Khartabil". Alkarama. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  15. ↑ "As revolt against Assad enters 2nd year, ‘up to 500,000’ Syrians may flee crackdown". Al Arabiya. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  16. ↑ "Request for Written Answer on the Question of the Imprisonment of Bassel Safadi Khartabil". European Parliament. 12 December 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  17. ↑ "Answer given by High Representative/Vice-President Ashton on behalf of the Commission on the Question of the Imprisonment of Bassel Safadi Khartabil". European Parliament. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  18. ↑ "Netizen Report: U.K. Spied on Human Rights Organizations in Egypt, South Africa". Slate. 24 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  19. ↑ "Stories from the Syrian Revolution: Love in the Time of Revolution is a Revolution". Free Syrian Translators. 1 September 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  20. ↑ "A Love Letter to Jailed Syrian-Palestinian Bassel Khartabil". Global Voices. 23 February 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  21. ↑ "The FP Top 100 Global Thinkers: 19 RIMA DALI, BASSEL KHARTABIL". Foreign Policy. 26 November 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  22. ↑ "Imprisoned internet pioneer Bassel Khartabil wins Index on Censorship Digital Freedom Award". Creative Commons. 21 March 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
  23. ↑ "Bassel Khartabil Wins Index on Censorship Digital Freedom Award". Fabricatorz. 21 March 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
  24. ↑ "Winners – Index Awards 2013". Index on Censorship. 21 March 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
  25. ↑ "Activists launch #FREEBASSEL campaign to bring about release of Syrian web entrepreneur, well-known in technology communities". Al Jazeera. 4 July 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  26. ↑ Galperin, Eva. "Open Source Developer Bassel Khartabil Detained in Syria". Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  27. ↑ McAllister, Neil. "Mozilla Foundation and EFF join hunt for Syrian open source developer". The Register. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  28. ↑ Tam, Donna (11 July 2012). "Free-software activists hope for detained engineer's freedom". The Register. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  29. ↑ "Bassel (Safadi) Khartabil". Global Voices. 4 July 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  30. ↑ "Bassel Khartabil Letter of Support". freebassel.org. 30 March 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  31. ↑ Ito, Joi (29 June 2012). "Please help us Free Bassel, open source developer and CC volunteer". Creative Commons. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  32. ↑ "Re: Call for the release of Bassel Khartabil". freebassel.org. 29 March 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  33. ↑ Lessig, Lawrence (4 July 2012). "On the fight for liberty: July 4, 2012". Lawrence Lessig. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  34. ↑ Ito, Joi (29 June 2012). "Please help us Free Bassel, open source developer and CC volunteer". Lawrence Lessig. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  35. ↑ Ito, Joi (29 June 2012). "クリエイティブ・コモンズのボランティアでもあるオープンソース開発者、Bassel氏解放への支援呼びかけ". Joi Ito. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  36. ↑ Baker, Mitchell (5 July 2012). "Please help us Free Bassel, open source developer and CC volunteer". Mitchell Baker. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  37. ↑ York, Jillian (30 June 2012). "Free Bassel". Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  38. ↑ "Contributor Imprisoned in Syria". lizardwrangler.com.
  39. ↑ Nanabhay, Mohamed (1 July 2012). "bassel-safadi-at-the-cc-arab-world-workshop-in". Jillian York. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  40. ↑ Threw, Barry (29 June 2012). "Please Help Free Bassel Khartabil #FREEBASSEL". Barry Threw. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  41. ↑ "Activists launch #FREEBASSEL campaign to bring about release of Syrian web entrepreneur, well-known in technology communities". Al Jazeera. 4 July 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  42. ↑ "#FREEBASSEL Lettre de soutien au syrien Bassel Khartabil". Creative Commons. 3 July 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  43. ↑ Wijers, Bjorn (3 July 2012). "Opensource contributor Bassel Khartabil detained in Syria. Needs help". YCombinator Hackernews. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  44. ↑ "Call for the Release of Bassel Khartabil". Creative Commons. 29 October 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  45. ↑ Doctorow, Cory (31 October 2012). "Free/open source programmer and Creative Commons activist Bassel Khartabil faces torture in notorious Syrian prison". Boing Boing. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  46. ↑ "Amnesty Taiwan Syria Urgent Action - FREE BASSEL". Insomnia Blog. 23 October 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  47. ↑ "AMNESTY TAIWAN: SYRIA URGENT ACTION - #FREEBASSEL Letter". freebassel.org. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  48. ↑ "AMNESTY TAIWAN: SYRIA URGENT ACTION - #FREEBASSEL". freebassel.org. 19 October 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  49. ↑ "Top 100 Global Thinkers". Foreign Policy. 26 November 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  50. ↑ "Open Source Developer Bassel Khartabil Moved to Syrian Military Prison". Electronic Frontier Foundation. 12 December 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  51. ↑ Randaree, Bilal (20 December 2012). "Concerns over fate of Syrian prisoner". Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  52. ↑ Al Hussaini, Amira (17 December 2012). "#FastforBassel Campaign Launched for Syrian Netizen Facing Military Trial". Global Voices. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  53. ↑ Izi, Touria (25 March 2013). "Fears that Syria may execute jailed software activist". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  54. ↑ "The FreeBasselDay Event". freebassel.org. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  55. ↑ "CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED TO BRING HOME LOVED AND CELEBRATED INTERNET VOLUNTEER DETAINED IN SYRIA". FreeBassel.org. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  56. ↑ "Free Bassel, Free Culture". The Huffington Post. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  57. ↑ "#FreeBassel: One Year Later, Syrian Netizen Remains in Prison". Global Voices Online. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  58. ↑ "Family of Syria Internet guru appeals for EU help". The EU Observer. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  59. ↑ "#freebassel: Syrischer Netzaktivist sitzt seit einem Jahr im Gefängnis". Netzpolitik. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  60. ↑ "Seit einem Jahr in Hafts". Taz. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  61. ↑ "Birthday wishes for Bassel Khartabil". Index on Censorship. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  62. ↑ "Today is Bassel’s second birthday in prison". Index on Censorship. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  63. ↑ Harmon, Elliot. "Bassel Khartabil's Second Birthday in Prison". Creative Commons. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  64. ↑ "Bassel Khartabil’s Second Birthday in Prison". Creative Commons. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  65. ↑ "MoPad: freebassel".
  66. ↑ Phillips, Jon. "FREEBASSEL SUNLIGHT: Celebrate Bassel’s Birthday". Fabricatorz.
  67. ↑ Harmon, Elliot (March 21, 2013). "Imprisoned internet pioneer Bassel Khartabil wins Index on Censorship Digital Freedom Award". Creative Commons. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  68. ↑ "The imprisonment of Bassel Safadi Khartabil". freebassel.org. 12 December 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  69. ↑ Weidenbaum, Marc (23 January 2014). "Disquiet Junto Project 0108: Free Bassel Create a soundscape for the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra". Disquiet Junto. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  70. ↑ "In Syria, a detained Internet activist remains in limbo". CNET. 11 March 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  71. ↑ MacKinnon, Rebecca (1 September 2014). "Joining Zone Nine". World Policy Journal. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  72. ↑ Glaser, April (3 October 2014). "A Wikipedia Edit-a-thon for the Zone 9 Bloggers, A Great Way to Raise Awareness". EFF. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  73. ↑ "Break the Silence Campaign". Global Voices Online. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  74. ↑ "Romper el silencio: Campaña por activistas de derechos humanos encarcelados". Global Voices Online. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  75. ↑ "On Human Rights Day, We Remember Jailed Human Rights Defenders". Electronic Frontier Foundation. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  76. ↑ "Wikipedia Edit-a-thon: FreeBassel Day 2015". EFF. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  77. ↑ "#FreeBassel Day 2015: Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at EFF". Creative Commons. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  78. ↑ "This is not a protest! Edit for #FreeBassel". Creative Commons. 11 March 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  79. ↑ "MEETUP/SAN FRANCISCO/FREEBASSEL DAY 2015 Announcement". Freebassel. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  80. ↑ "Bassel (Safadi) Khartabil".
  81. 1 2 Danny O'Brien (2015-09-24). "Taken Offline: Years in Prison for a Love of Technology".
  82. ↑ "Offline : Imprisoned Bloggers and Technologists".
  83. ↑ "11 dead in rebel shelling on Damascus: activists". The Daily Star. 2015-09-12.
  84. ↑ "Rebels storm Syria's largest prison near Damascus: monitor". 2015-09-11.
  85. ↑ "SYRIA: FURTHER INFORMATION: ACTIVIST MOVED FROM PRISON, RISKS TORTURE: BASSEL KHARTABIL". Amnesty International. 2015-10-06.
  86. ↑ "Creative Commons Board of Directors approves resolution calling for Bassel Khartabil release". Creative Commons.
  87. ↑ "A Jailed Activist’s 3-D Models Could Save Syria’s History From ISIS". WIRED. Wired (magazine). Retrieved 2015-10-21.
  88. ↑ "New Palmyra". newpalmyra.org. Retrieved 2015-10-21.
  89. ↑ "MIT Media Lab offers research position to Bassel Khartabil". MIT News. Retrieved 2015-10-22.
  90. ↑ "MIT Media Lab reaches out to jailed Syrian activist with research position in Center for Civic Media - Joi Ito's Web". joi.ito.com. Retrieved 2015-10-22.
  91. ↑ Ruehling, Barbara. "Cost of Freedom Book to be released!". BookSprints.net. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  92. ↑ "Cost of Freedom: A Collective Inquiry" (PDF and EPUB downloads). CostofFreedom.cc. November 9, 2015. Retrieved November 10, 2015.

External links

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