[Wikimedia-l] Re: Osama and Ziyad

[Samuel Klein]

Have there been any recent cases where community voices were mobilized to
contribute to national or international campaigns for someone's release?

It sounds like a community group, working to support others, might be an
outlet for interest in advocating for those in jail, and maintaining up to
date information on their condition and needs, ways to get letters to them,
 They could get advice from the WMF team, and work with and through
Amnesty (et al). The reasons that a specific org might not want to advocate
openly for a victim may not apply to individuals, who have their own
leverage and can advocate on behalf of humanity.

SJ




On Thu, Oct 5, 2023, 2:58 PM Maggie Dennis  wrote:

> Hello, all.
>
> I’m Maggie Dennis. I’m the VP who oversees our human rights team in its
> work. Reiterating what the team previously said about not being able to
> discuss particular situations, I can disclose a little more general points
> about our approach as you pose, LW, and, I hope, address some of your
> concerns, Lodewijk.
>
> It’s devastating when community members face targeting for their
> dedication to supporting free knowledge. This matters a lot to me, to my
> team, and to all the Foundation. I know it matters to you as well.
>
> The Wikimedia Foundation does resource this important work. We have
> partners in this field with whom we collaborate closely. Our human rights
> team possesses extensive experience in addressing such issues and also
> maintains strong connections with NGOs specializing in these areas. We
> regularly engage with these organizations on both general matters and
> specific cases.
>
> Every situation in which a community member is targeted is unique, and we
> recognize the need for specialized responses and support. Volunteer
> well-being is our priority, and we are committed to providing the right
> assistance for each case. While we believe in the importance of public
> discourse and transparency, safety always takes precedence. In some
> instances, the Foundation has found it appropriate to speak publicly to
> address these challenges and have done so. In others, we may be advised to
> handle matters differently.
>
> In terms of some Wikimedians who might have concerns whether our strategy
> is the right one, I fully respect that there must be. Because each case is
> different and frequently these situations are highly complex, we know that
> even different expert organizations might rank the risk and the right
> response of a specific situation differently. We have sometimes sought
> multiple opinions on a case. At the end of the day, we collaborate closely
> with relevant groups on our response to ensure the safety and well-being of
> individuals affected and the broader community members who could be
> impacted. We do the best we can to uphold the principles of free knowledge
> while prioritizing safety for everyone.
>
> While I can’t discuss specific cases, I am always happy to talk about
> general matters of policy and approach in my quarterly community
> conversations. We will also answer questions to the extent that we believe
> we safely can that are posed about the team’s work to
> talktohumanrig...@wikimedia.org. Depending on the case,the human rights
> team may provide ways to help or avenues to connect with  organizations who
> are supporting. They may also be able to advise when silence is regarded as
> the best response. (There are some risks to being too open about who we
> work with and how we work that we need to consider every time.)
>
> People can read more generally about the human rights team
>  here.
>
> While this is not my area of focus in my role at the Foundation, I also
> want to generally call out that the Foundation also conducts human rights
> advocacy routinely in regards to legislation. Our Global Advocacy
>  team not only meets
> with legislators around the world to fight for the rights that keep free
> knowledge free, but also considers and guides our work by providing
> proactive human rights assessments and policy development, such as the Human
> Rights Policy
> .
>
> Best regards,
>
> Maggie
>
>
> On Thu, Oct 5, 2023 at 3:14 AM Lauren Worden 
> wrote:
>
>> Dear WMF Human Rights Team:
>>
>> I would like some clarification on your statement below. In
>> particular, does your stated approach allow you to follow the best
>> practices described at
>> https://freedomhouse.org/2023/summit-for-democracy-political-prisoners
>> to, e.g., "meet regularly with family members of political prisoners,
>> advocacy groups, and media outlets and journalists, in public and in
>> private, in their efforts to secure an individual’s release"?
>>
>> The literature review at
>> https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/20.500.12413/17277 states:
>> "The theoretical and empirical literature attributes 

[Wikimedia-l] Re: Osama and Ziyad

[Maggie Dennis]

Hello, all.

I’m Maggie Dennis. I’m the VP who oversees our human rights team in its
work. Reiterating what the team previously said about not being able to
discuss particular situations, I can disclose a little more general points
about our approach as you pose, LW, and, I hope, address some of your
concerns, Lodewijk.

It’s devastating when community members face targeting for their dedication
to supporting free knowledge. This matters a lot to me, to my team, and to
all the Foundation. I know it matters to you as well.

The Wikimedia Foundation does resource this important work. We have
partners in this field with whom we collaborate closely. Our human rights
team possesses extensive experience in addressing such issues and also
maintains strong connections with NGOs specializing in these areas. We
regularly engage with these organizations on both general matters and
specific cases.

Every situation in which a community member is targeted is unique, and we
recognize the need for specialized responses and support. Volunteer
well-being is our priority, and we are committed to providing the right
assistance for each case. While we believe in the importance of public
discourse and transparency, safety always takes precedence. In some
instances, the Foundation has found it appropriate to speak publicly to
address these challenges and have done so. In others, we may be advised to
handle matters differently.

In terms of some Wikimedians who might have concerns whether our strategy
is the right one, I fully respect that there must be. Because each case is
different and frequently these situations are highly complex, we know that
even different expert organizations might rank the risk and the right
response of a specific situation differently. We have sometimes sought
multiple opinions on a case. At the end of the day, we collaborate closely
with relevant groups on our response to ensure the safety and well-being of
individuals affected and the broader community members who could be
impacted. We do the best we can to uphold the principles of free knowledge
while prioritizing safety for everyone.

While I can’t discuss specific cases, I am always happy to talk about
general matters of policy and approach in my quarterly community
conversations. We will also answer questions to the extent that we believe
we safely can that are posed about the team’s work to
talktohumanrig...@wikimedia.org. Depending on the case,the human rights
team may provide ways to help or avenues to connect with  organizations who
are supporting. They may also be able to advise when silence is regarded as
the best response. (There are some risks to being too open about who we
work with and how we work that we need to consider every time.)

People can read more generally about the human rights team
 here.

While this is not my area of focus in my role at the Foundation, I also
want to generally call out that the Foundation also conducts human rights
advocacy routinely in regards to legislation. Our Global Advocacy
 team not only meets with
legislators around the world to fight for the rights that keep free
knowledge free, but also considers and guides our work by providing
proactive human rights assessments and policy development, such as the Human
Rights Policy
.

Best regards,

Maggie


On Thu, Oct 5, 2023 at 3:14 AM Lauren Worden 
wrote:

> Dear WMF Human Rights Team:
>
> I would like some clarification on your statement below. In
> particular, does your stated approach allow you to follow the best
> practices described at
> https://freedomhouse.org/2023/summit-for-democracy-political-prisoners
> to, e.g., "meet regularly with family members of political prisoners,
> advocacy groups, and media outlets and journalists, in public and in
> private, in their efforts to secure an individual’s release"?
>
> The literature review at
> https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/20.500.12413/17277 states:
> "The theoretical and empirical literature attributes several potential
> roles to civil society in [security sector and justice reform]. These
> include making security and justice institutions accountable,
> mobilising a range of social groups for reform, publicising abuses and
> advocating for reform, offering technical expertise, and improving
> security-citizen relations."
>
> If the Foundation staff has prohibited itself from engaging with the
> public on freeing jailed wikipedians, orchestrating letter writing
> campaigns, or coordinating with other NGOs and government agencies,
> such as those Andreas has described as having no record of the
> imprisoned Arabic Wikipedia administrators, then I would hope that the
> CEO or Trustees would step in immediately to rectify any internal
> policies such that best practices can be upheld.
>
> -LW
>
>
> On Tue, Oct 3, 2023 at 3:51 PM 

[Wikimedia-l] The WikiNobel editathon Friday 6 October

[elisabeth]

Dear all,

This Friday, as the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate is announced, Wikimedia Norge
will be hosting the annual WikiNobel editathon. Join us for a fun,
fast-paced and informal hybrid event! You can read all about it on our
website: https://www.wikimedia.no/en/2023/10/03/wikinobel-2023-2

 

It's always a well-kept secret who the winner is, and as soon as it's
announced people turn to Wikipedia to learn more about the Laureate and the
Peace Prize in general. At the editathon we collaborate to provide reliable
info in as many Wikimedia projects and language versions as possible. The
Zoom meeting and YouTube-stream will be at 10.50-11.30 CEST (08.50-09.30
UTC), but there are six different ways in which you can take part. Many of
them can happen at the time you choose!

 

So, let's illustrate how swiftly and accurately this knowledge movement
responds to world events. Welcome to Oslo, Norway this Friday!

 

All the best,

Elisabeth

 

Vennlig hilsen / Kind regards,

Elisabeth Carrera

daglig leder/Executive Director
Wikimedia Norge

 

Tel. +47 48 92 48 92
  elisab...@wikimedia.no

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[Wikimedia-l] Re: Osama and Ziyad

[Lauren Worden]

Dear WMF Human Rights Team:

I would like some clarification on your statement below. In
particular, does your stated approach allow you to follow the best
practices described at
https://freedomhouse.org/2023/summit-for-democracy-political-prisoners
to, e.g., "meet regularly with family members of political prisoners,
advocacy groups, and media outlets and journalists, in public and in
private, in their efforts to secure an individual’s release"?

The literature review at
https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/20.500.12413/17277 states:
"The theoretical and empirical literature attributes several potential
roles to civil society in [security sector and justice reform]. These
include making security and justice institutions accountable,
mobilising a range of social groups for reform, publicising abuses and
advocating for reform, offering technical expertise, and improving
security-citizen relations."

If the Foundation staff has prohibited itself from engaging with the
public on freeing jailed wikipedians, orchestrating letter writing
campaigns, or coordinating with other NGOs and government agencies,
such as those Andreas has described as having no record of the
imprisoned Arabic Wikipedia administrators, then I would hope that the
CEO or Trustees would step in immediately to rectify any internal
policies such that best practices can be upheld.

-LW


On Tue, Oct 3, 2023 at 3:51 PM WMF Human Rights
 wrote:
>
> In the interest of safeguarding confidential information and ensuring the 
> safety of our community members, the Foundation will not publicly disclose 
> details regarding human rights cases. The Human Rights Team recently updated 
> its meta page to clarify this approach. Our primary concern is to uphold the 
> safety and privacy of everyone involved. At the same time, our inability to 
> discuss these matters should not be read as inaction. We care deeply about 
> volunteer safety and our role, more generally, involves different levels of 
> internal support, wider advocacy and partnerships with others depending on 
> the circumstances of an event.
>
> On Tue, Oct 3, 2023 at 6:06 AM Andreas Kolbe  wrote:
>>
>> Let's put it a different way then:
>>
>> Is anyone at the WMF doing anything in support of the two jailed Saudi 
>> Wikimedians, be it liaising with international or regional human rights 
>> organisations, the US State Department, briefing journalists so the wider 
>> public is aware of the situation, or anything else to make sure Osama and 
>> Ziyad aren't forgotten about as they start (by my calculation) their fourth 
>> year in jail?
>>
>> I am asking because the press reports published at the start of this year do 
>> not seem to have led to any significant coverage of the two Wikimedians' 
>> plight on the websites of major human rights organisations. (If I have 
>> missed any, please let me know.)
>>
>> For example, I found nothing at all on the website of Reporters without 
>> Borders. Similarly, the most recent Amnesty International report on the 
>> "crackdown on online expression" in Saudi Arabia includes several mentions 
>> of Twitter users but none of Wikipedians:
>>
>> https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/02/saudi-arabia-alarming-crackdown-on-online-expression/
>>
>> Amnesty's report specifically mentions that a Twitter user was sentenced for 
>> supporting women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul but fails to mention 
>> that one of the jailed Wikimedians uploaded Loujain al-Hathloul's Commons 
>> picture, which is used in her Wikipedia articles.
>>
>> I didn't find anything about Osama and Ziyad or, more generally, Wikimedians 
>> in Saudi Arabia on the website of the EFF.
>>
>> There is a mention of Osama and Ziyad and the fact that they were 
>> Wikipedians on the PEN website:
>>
>> https://pen.org/report/freedom-to-write-index-2022/
>>
>> The U.S. State Department's 2022 country report on Saudi Arabia, published 
>> in March 2023, includes a mention of Osama's 32-year prison sentence, but 
>> doesn't make clear that he was jailed for being a Wikipedian, and Ziyad is 
>> not mentioned:
>>
>> https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/saudi-arabia/
>>
>> Will this be remedied in the U.S. State Department's 2023 country report? I 
>> think each country report covers the period up to October of the preceding 
>> year, so this month will be the last chance to make sure the 2023 report 
>> published next spring will include information on Osama and Ziyad's prison 
>> sentences and their Wikipedia activity.
>>
>> Andreas
>>
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Sep 25, 2023 at 11:09 PM The Cunctator  wrote:
>>>
>>> Frankly, that's implausible.
>>>
>>> On Mon, Sep 25, 2023, 3:37 PM DerHexer via Wikimedia-l 
>>>  wrote:

 I do think that posting any kind of response to these questions on a 
 public mailing list would do more harm than good. Thank you.

 Best,
 DerHexer
 Wikimedia Steward

 Am Montag, 25. September