Carl Lavin 03.11.08, 7:00 PM ET

There are places in the world where no one will be allowed to read this article. There are places in the world where people who have criticized their government in online posts have been arrested and put in jail.

To honor those cyber-dissidents, March 12 is being celebrated as International Online Free Expression Day. A group advocating for global press freedoms, Reporters Without Borders, announced the campaign against government censorship of the Internet and said that 63 cyber-dissidents are now in jail around the world "for using their right to free expression on the Internet." The country with the most online journalists and bloggers in jail? China

On Tuesday, the U.S. State Department released its annual country reports on human rights. China although no longer on the list of the worst rights abusers, is stepping up efforts to control the Internet. The report said:

"As in previous years, citizens did not have the right to change their government. The government tightened restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, particularly in anticipation of and during sensitive events, including increased efforts to control and censor the Internet."

The list of worst abusers still includes Belarus, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, and Zimbabwe. The State Department added Sudan, Syria and Uzbekistan.

What about the countries Vice President Dick Cheney is visiting next week? President Bush is sending Cheney to the Middle East to advance a peace plan and maybe to lobby Saudi Arabia on oil prices. (A slight increase in Saudi production could ease prices--and political tension--back home.)

Here are excerpts of remarks from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice about the report, followed by the sections from the report about Internet freedoms in each of the countries on Cheney's itinerary (Oman, Saudi Arabia, Israel and the West Bank and Turkey).

I asked Megan Mitchell from Cheney's office if he was planning to raise issues of press freedom or Internet censorship. "I expect him to bring up a wide range of issues," said Mitchell, who will be traveling with Cheney.

Comments from Condoleezza Rice (March 11):

In too many countries, champions of human rights are denounced and persecuted, vilified as traitors or targeted for repression--just for insisting upon the freedoms enshrined in the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In other countries, even in those that have recently begun transitions to democracy, human rights are not fully secured, perhaps because of weak institutions or corruption, which undermine the rule of law; perhaps because of conflict or insecurity, which intrude upon the liberty of individuals; or perhaps because of crushing poverty and disease, which can cause even the most stalwart citizens to lose hope that their lives will improve.

A nation's path to a future of human rights protected by law is neither smooth nor straight. Along the way, there are bound to be stumbles and setbacks. Even under the best of circumstances, it is not easy to transform democratic ideals into effective democratic institutions. Yet despite every challenge, the courageous champions of human rights persevere. They are an inspiration to their fellow citizens and to all of us. The high standard that they set continues to give hope to people everywhere who work peacefully for their liberty, their dignity, and their rights.

We gather today to support them, and it is our hope that this human rights report will highlight the obstacles that still stand in their way, so that they may bear the mantle of justice at least--at less risk to themselves and to their families. This document is collected and written with the optimism that no corner of the earth is permanently condemned to tyranny. As President Bush has said, "Freedom can be resisted, and freedom can be delayed, but freedom cannot be denied."

From the State Department report:

Oman

The government's national telecommunications company made Internet access available for a fee to citizens and foreign residents. However, it blocked numerous Web sites considered pornographic, culturally or politically sensitive, or competitive with local telecommunications services. The criteria for blocking Internet sites were not transparent. Growing use of the Internet to express views normally not permitted in other media led the government to take additional measures to monitor and censor it. The government reportedly questioned some chat room contributors critical of government officials or policies, or whose postings precipitated criticism, after tracking the contributors through their Internet service provider addresses.

In January, police arrested the founder of the country's most popular chat room site, al-Sablah al-Omania, and 10 of his associates for publishing comments critical of government officials. After a four-month trial, a court of first instance acquitted the site's founder and three co-defendants on charges of slander but sentenced six other defendants with fines ranging from $780 to $10,400 (300 to 4,000 rials), with one co-defendant sentenced to one month in jail. Prior to the trial, the founder of al-Sablah al-Omania shut down the site to "avoid further legal complications." The site remained closed at year's end.

The government placed warnings on other Web sites, saying that criticism of the sultan or personal criticism of government officials would be censored and could lead to police questioning, which increased self-censorship. While several sites served as replacements for al-Sablah, all were rigorously cautious concerning content, and moderators reportedly deleted potentially offensive material quickly. The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority blocked establishments from offering voice over Internet Protocol services without a TRA license.

Saudi Arabia

The government restricted access to the Internet, and Saudi Telecommunications Co. reportedly monitors e-mail and Internet chat rooms. During the year, more individuals and groups exchanged views via the Internet, including by electronic mail and blogs. The government continued to block access to Web sites it deemed sexual, pornographic, politically offensive, "un-Islamic" or disruptive because of controversial religious and political content.

Access to the Internet was available only through local government-monitored servers. According to the Communications and Information Technology Commission, there were approximately 2.3 million subscribers and users. Some citizens circumvented controls by accessing the Internet through servers in other countries. The government had a process through which citizens could request reconsideration of a decision to block a particular Web site, and authorities reportedly unblocked some Web sites partially.

The law criminalizes defamation on the Internet, hacking, unauthorized access to government Web sites and stealing information related to national security. At year's end there were no reported prosecutions.

Early in the year, according to press reports, a Web site managed by Ra'if Badawi dealing with alleged transgressions of the religious police was closed.

Several times during the year, according to a foreign press report, telecommunications authorities blocked www.menber-alhewar.com, the "Dialogue and Creativity" Internet forum of Ali al-Dumaini, a political-reform activist, where members sought to discuss issues of human rights, tolerance and democracy.

On Dec. 10, 2007, security agents detained Fouad Ahmed al-Farhan, a blogger with the popular, pro-reform Web site Alfarhan.org, and questioned him "about violating non-security regulations." In one of his last posts before his detention, al-Farhan sharply criticized 10 influential business, religious and media figures.

Israel And Occupied Territories

There were no restrictions on Internet access or reports of the government monitoring e-mail or chat rooms. On Dec. 5, 2007, survey results published in the Globes newspaper indicated that Israelis averaged 37.4 hours per month using the Internet. Approximately 4 million persons had Internet access.

Turkey

The Internet was widely available in the country. It is used in schools, libraries, private Internet cafes and other public locations, and the government encouraged its use. There were some restrictions on Internet access.

On May 4, the government adopted a new Internet law governing criminal and civil law violations. The law allows the government to ban a Web site if there is sufficient suspicion that one of eight crimes is being committed via the site: encouraging suicide, sexual abuse of children, facilitation of drug abuse, provision of dangerous substances for health care, obscenity, prostitution, gambling or crimes regulated in Turkish Code 5816 (crimes against Ataturk).

Upon receiving a complaint or as a result of personal observations, a prosecutor may file an application for a ban on access to the offending site, or, in an urgent situation, the prosecutor or the Telecommunication Presidency may impose a ban. In either case, a judge must rule on the matter within 24 hours. Following a judicial ban order, the Internet service provider (ISP) must block access within 24 hours. If the judge does not approve the block, the prosecutor must ensure access is restored.

The ISP may face a penalty ranging from six months' to two years' imprisonment for failing to comply with a judicial order. The law also allows individuals who believe a Web site violates his or her personal rights to request that the ISP remove the offensive content.

On March 7, an Istanbul court banned access to the YouTube Web site to block a cartoon video that lampooned Turkey's founding father, Ataturk, as gay. The court ruled that the ban was necessary because "Ataturk and Turkey were insulted with swearwords written in English on Ataturk's photos and to protect freedom of expression." On March 8, the court ruled in a new decision that it would lift its prior order if YouTube removed the offensive video. On March 9, after YouTube removed the video, the ban was lifted, and users were again able to access the site.

On Aug. 17, a court prohibited all postings on the wordpress.com Web site in response to a petition filed by lawyers for Adnan Oktar, a controversial Turkish Muslim author best known as an ardent anti-evolutionist and author of the book Atlas of Creation. Letters from Oktar's lawyers claimed that Edip Yuksel, a popular Turkish Muslim author who has defended evolution and criticized Oktar, posted offensive and illegal content on his wordpress sites.

Oktar's lawyers initially applied to have only several postings blocked but later applied for a blanket prohibition after authors moved the allegedly defamatory content to other sites hosted on the wordpress.com domain. The government said that, pursuant to the court order, all wordpress sites were blocked because it did not possess the technology to block just one site. All wordpress sites remained blocked at year's end.

Earlier, on April 17, an Istanbul court granted Oktar's petition to block access to the electronic dictionary Web site Eksi Sozluk for allegedly insulting him; access to the site was restored one week later without the offensive links.

On Sept. 17, a Sivas court issued an order to block access to YouTube after the court determined that content on the site insulted Ataturk and the leaders of the government. Reporters Without Borders issued a statement calling the blocking of the entire Web site a disproportionate measure and urged the government to reverse the decision. YouTube removed the offensive content, and the government did not block access.

Government authorities have on rare occasions accessed Internet user records to protect "national security, public order, health and decency" or to prevent a crime. Police must obtain authorization from a judge or, in emergencies, the highest administrative authority before taking such action.