- PARIS: Press watchdog Reporters Without Borders has awarded its Netizen award to a Tunisian blogging group that played an important role in the uprising that led to the January ouster of the North African country’s longtime autocratic leader.
A jury of press specialists chose the Netizen winner blogging group Nawaat.org, which is granted a €2,500 ($3,450) prize. Riadh Guerfali, or Astrubal, accepted the award Friday.
The prize is backed by Google because, as regional President Carlo d’Asaro Biondo said, it “defends our company’s core values“making information accessible to all.
RSF Secretary General Jean-Francois Julliard said Net freedom is fragile with 119 people currently detained for expressing opinions online, mainly in China, Iran and Vietnam.