Brian Conley of Alive in Baghdad Jailed by Beijing Police
This story on Brian Conley appeared in my email via Read or Alive‘s Ultimate Josh.
Beijing – Brian Conley, creator of the well-known videoblog, Alive in Baghdad, was detained with his friend, Jeffrey Rae, early Tuesday, August 19th in Beijing. Their detention appears to have taken place at the same time as that of international artist James Powderly, whose detention was reported Tuesday. Three other bloggers and activists, Jeff Goldin, Michael Liss, and Tom Grant, have also been missing since Tuesday morning. Conley, 28, Rae, 28, Goldin, 40, Liss, 35, Grant, 39 are all American citizens.
The five “citizen journalists” and activists were in Beijing to support and promote human rights, freedom of expression, and freedom for the Tibetan people. They and numerous others have acted as an independent media centre for the dozens of pro-Tibet activists in Beijing who have sought to draw attention to the Chinese government’s occupation of during the Olympics
Mainstream media seems to want to ignore this bit of news. I wonder why.
According to hotel staff, Rae and Conley checked out of their hotel in Beijing before dawn Tuesday morning. At 12:30pm Beijing time on Tuesday, Conley’s wife in Philadelphia received a text message from him reading “In Jail. All fine.” A “twitter” message to Students for a Free Tibet suggested that they were being held with James Powderly, the artist and co-founder of Graffiti Research Lab who was preparing to debut a new work and technology of protest, the L.A.S.E.R. Stencil. (See http://freetibet2008.org/globalactions/jamespowderly/)
Be sure to read the full story here.
It seems I made a note of Brian Conley’s efforts back in 2006.
If the mainstream won’t say boo about this, the blogosphere must. Spread the word as far and wide as you can. We must remember that the country holding one of the last few international gestures that immediately bring up the thoughts of hope and peace is the same government known to have committed terrible violations of humans rights.
Other blogs are talking:
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Chris Brogan: Brian Conley Jailed in Beijing
Brian Conley and other American activists Detained in Beijing
Why aren’t you?
UPDATE: Under law the Chinese government has “72 hours before it is required to notify an embassy about foreign nationals who have been detained.” It is currently 60 hours and counting.
UPDATE UPDATE:
(via read or alive, Brian Conley’s Twitter, Free Tibet 2008, Alive in Baghdad)
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