The Arrest of the Free Tibet Videobloggers

Photo of a LED protest banner from Students for a Free Tibet Flickr site.

During the Olympics, the Chinese put an end to a cadre of bloggers, videographers and artists acting as an independent media center for dozens of activists in Beijing seeking to draw attention to that government’s occupation of Tibet. Arrestees include light artist James Powderly and Alive in Iraq videoblogger Brian Conley. For more, see BoingBoing's entry of August 19.
Videographers Jay Dedman and Ryanne Hodson eluded police and provide a video interview on August 25 for Free Tibet.

UPDATE: Follow up post on August 31 from Dedman and Hodson on their blog, RyanIsHungry.

British reporter arrested for covering Tibet Protest in Beijing Olympics

Photo and video John Ray, a British journalist covering China since 2006, who now works for ITV.

Ray was arrested and released August 13, for covering eight individuals attempting to unfurl a banner about Tibet protest in Beijing during the Olympic games. Reporters without Borders released report the same day about the recent pattern of arrests and said,

It is the duty of the Olympic movement in its entirety to ensure respect for the spirit of the Olympic truce. Since the origins of the Olympics, tradition has required that peace should prevail during the games.

The group referred to the IOC's explaination of the Olympic truce in ancient Greece:

During the truce period, the athletes, artists and their families, as well as ordinary pilgrims, could travel in total safety to participate in or attend the Olympic Games and return afterwards to their respective countries. (...) The International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to revive the ancient concept of the Olympic Truce with the view (...) to encourage searching for peaceful and diplomatic solutions to the conflicts around the world.

I'm not holding my breath. The report out of China is chilling.

Gina Gray canned at Arlington Cemetary

Photograph by Ricky Carioti at 7/10/08 The Washington Post
See also an interview from the 7/23/08 Democracy Now.