Will Amnesty International be taking up the case of David Carruthers of BetOnSports?

["Richard M. Smith" <rms () bsf-llc com>]

BetOnSports faces U.S. charges
 
http://news.com.com/BetOnSports+faces+U.S.+charges/2100-1026_3-6095251.html
 

Shares in online gaming company BetOnSports were suspended on Tuesday after
its chief executive was detained in the United States and the FBI ordered
four telephone companies to cut off its operations. 


BetOnSports said it had been unable to contact Chief Executive David
Carruthers, who is being held in Fort Worth, Texas, but had seen a U.S.
indictment "alleging various criminal acts against multiple defendants."

The detention of Carruthers is a blow to the $12 billion-a-year Internet
gambling industry. He had spearheaded a campaign against
<http://news.com.com/House+votes+yes+on+Net-gambling+crackdown/2100-1030_3-6
092852.html?tag=nl> a Republican-written bill to crack down on online
gambling. 

BetOnSports said it was urgently trying to clarify the situation and assess
the impact of a temporary restraining order on its business in the United
States, its biggest market. 

Shares in companies across the sector fell by as much as 19 percent, while
some British gaming executives said they were reviewing whether to travel to
the United States. 


  _____  

http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGACT300162006
 
Embargo Date: 20 July 2006 00:01 GMT 

Amnesty International launches global campaign against internet repression
 
Following the success of the launch of its internet freedom campaign in the
UK, Amnesty International is today going global with irrepressible.info. The
campaign aims to claim back the web as a force for change in the face of an
increasing willingness on the part of technology companies to aid censorship
and repression.

> From Iran to the Maldives and Cuba to Vietnam, governments are both cracking
down on those who use the internet to communicate their views and denying
their citizens access to its wealth of information. Web users are locked up,
internet cafes are shut down, chat rooms are policed and blogs deleted.
Websites are blocked, foreign news banned, and search engines filter out
sensitive results.

"The internet can be a great tool for the promotion of human rights --
activists can tell the world about abuses in their country at the click of a
mouse. People have unprecendented access to information from the widest
range of sources," said Amnesty International. 

"But the internet's potential for change is being undermined -- by
governments unwilling to tolerate this free media outlet, and by companies
willing to help them repress free speech."

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