We define dissidents as persons who criticize the practice or authority of tyranny and advocates for the values of freedom, equality and human rights. Groups of dissidents sometimes form dissident movements which advocate collectively for political freedom and human rights.

CyberDissidents continue the noble tradition of political dissent using information communication technology, with particular focus on the internet. Though the tactics of dissent have changed over time, its essence has not. At great personal risk, CyberDissidents utilize the power of the World Wide Web to fight oppression and promote freedom. Cyber-dissidents use technology like blogs to organize, communicate and strengthen networks of like-minded activists.

Cyberdissidents.org welcomes the participation of all internet activists who agree with our basic principles. We are aware that freedom activists do not have a monopoly on dissent. Some dissidents oppose regimes but do not share our belief in freedom and equality. Some groups use the rhetoric of democracy while seeking to replace one tyranny with another. These voices do not belong to our network. We work hard to identify and promote only those truly dedicated to liberty and equality.

A great many dissidents have taken to the internet to oppose tyranny and promote ideals of liberty and democracy. They face intimidation, threats, torture, prison and even death. Cyberdissidents.org works to highlight their plight in the West and encourage policy-makers to link freedom of speech and press with foreign aid.

Publicity of these internet activists can serve as a protective measure against regime oppression. Two key examples come to mind. Member of the Cyberdissidents.org Advisory Board, Natan Sharansky, was imprisoned for nine years in the Soviet Union. He writes "In 1986, the Soviet dissident Anatoly Marchenko died in the infamous Chistopol prison after a long and futile hunger strike for improved conditions. Three years earlier, I had gone on a similar hunger strike in the same prison and been subjected to the same tortuous conditions by KGB thugs. But the authorities eventually gave in to my demands.

Why? Because my nine years of imprisonment were accompanied by a relentless worldwide campaign and steady, unambiguous pressure on the communist regime by leaders of the free world. The regime knew that it would pay a heavy price if I were to die. With Marchenko, it was confident that the world did not care enough to do much more than mount a formal protest."

Sharansky firmly believes that Western pressure and attention literally saved his life. His views are shared by Chairman of the Cyberdissidents.org Advisory Board, Ahmad Batebi, who recently escaped Iran after eight years of torture and imprisonment. When his picture appeared on the cover of The Economist in 1999, an Iranian judge told him he had signed his own death warrant. But Batebi believes that this picture also saved his life. His case became a rallying call for many in the West. Though kept in unbearable prison conditions, Batebi was not killed like many of his fellow dissidents. He maintains that Western attention made all the difference. Had the world not been watching, the Iranian government likely would have put him to death.

Admittedly, this approach is not without risk. But bloggers and internet dissidents in autocratic Middle Eastern countries are already at great risk. We believe that the West has a moral duty to stand up for these brave dissidents who are our greatest allies. We must force unelected regimes to answer for their crimes; we must never hesitate to speak out when men and women are imprisoned for nothing less than speaking their minds.

Cyberdissidents.org is dedicated to bringing the world's attention to online democracy advocates and their plight. Whether the Middle East has one dissident blogger or a million, we have the moral duty to defend the defenseless and help liberate the oppressed.