jeanferfreeThe Guatemalan Twitterer Jean Anleu (@Jeanfer) has finally been released*. Bail was paid through the support of his employer and the people who sent donations via PayPal. Jean expressed his thankfulness and relief in this interview (Spanish).

Once able to log-in to his Twitter account, Jean changed his background and profile pictures, removed his name and other personal information, and protected his account (removing himself from the public Twitter timeframe and allowing only people he approves to be able to view his updates).

He also removed most of the content on his WordPress blog.

While Twitter has put a strain on the Guatemalan government (as posted on Spanish blog “Alt1040“) and many have called this an example of the Streisand Effect, it is possible that people in countries where freedom of speech is not encouraged will have to think twice about posting observations and/or opinions on Twitter and other social networks.

We can only hope that government officials seeking to create fear by silencing innocent citizens will realize the power of online real-time communication. The masses can no longer be silenced.

jeanfertwitterfree

* For background on this, see our previous post.

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