From keyboard to prison cell: The dangerous side of Wikipedia editing

Since 2012, five Wikipedia editors have been imprisoned – and one executed – for the crime of contributing to the world's largest online encyclopedia.

In Saudi Arabia, editor Osama Khalid received a 32-year prison sentence in 2022 for making edits "critical about the persecution of political activists in the country," as reported by The Guardian. His colleague Ziyad al-Sofiani was handed an 8-year sentence on similar charges of "swaying public opinion" and "violating public morals."

In Belarus, the crackdown on online freedom resulted in two Wikipedia editors going to prison. Mark Bernstein faced detention and restricted freedom for editing articles about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, while Pavel Pernikaŭ received a two-year prison sentence for edits about political repression in Belarus. As Democracy for the Arab World Now noted, these cases reflect growing government efforts to control online narratives.

Syrian Wikipedia contributor Bassel Khartabil was arrested in 2012 for his open-source work and later executed at Damascus' Adra Prison in 2015. His death triggered international outrage and led the Wikimedia Foundation to establish a fellowship in his name, honoring his commitment to free culture and information sharing.

Fortunately, we're not seeing any threats against journalists over critical coverage of political figures in the United States, as evidenced by yesterday's NY Times article, "Trump and His Picks Threaten More Lawsuits Over Critical Coverage."

Previously:
US-born journalist threatened by Yakuza
Here's John Oliver's take on the disappearance of Saudi journalist in Istanbul