Censorship In Kelly Island

This article is about censorship in Kelly Island. Kelly Island is known for being heavy handed in terms of censorship. The constitution allows for limits on freedom of speech and freedom of expression to preserve public order, and there are no legal protections regarding freedom of speech or freedom of expression anywhere in the constitution. It is prohibited in any way to be critical of the president or prime minister of the country and protesting will be met with severe action. It is also prohibited to insult any foreign head of state whenever they are on Kellyian soil, and anyone convicted of criticizing any foreign head of state when on the island is subject to the same penalties as for insulting the domestic head of state. The constitution guarantees the right to freedom of the press provided that it does not express support for the Rosaulist Democratic Republic Of Kelly Island or Rosaul's Kelly Island. The constitution also allows for the government to ban websites without a court order or judicial review, and citizens who post pro-rosaul material can be arrested without a warrant.

## Legal Protections

The constitution does not have any legal protections such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, etc., and there is no bill of rights in Kelly Island. The constitution allows for these protections to be suspended to perserve public order. The country's branches of government; the Kelly Communications Commission, Kellyian Media Council, and the Kellyian Bureau of Investigations work to control the media.

Nonetheless however, freedom of speech and expression are guaranteed by the constitution provided so that it does not violate national security or public order or express support for the RDRK. But because Kelly Island does not have a bill of rights as other countries do, journalists are at greater risk of arbitrary arrest by the government, and there have been numerous instances where journalists have been arrested without a warrant and were jailed without trial for their work. Kelly Island passed a national security law that imposes tougher censorship measures towards the internet in 2022 in response to the island's June 14 Central Hotel Bombing. Furthermore, a court order is not needed to block a website within Kelly Island and criminals can be arrested without a warrant for infractions, and anyone who joins the RDRK or has ties with them can be jailed without a warrant, a conviction, or a trial.

### Anti-Lockdown Protest

The Kelly Communications Commission cut off internet access entirely on April 2, 2020, to repress protests against stringent lockdown measures. A state of emergency was passed by Bob Odell that completely banned protesting in any shape or form and outlawed out-of-context activity on social media. 367 protestors were arrested for violating the law by protesting and accessing the internet while cut off, and at least 18 people were arrested for extremism for inciting people to protest online. In response, the government blocked social media to supress the protest.

## Arrests

The government routinely arrests persons who share Rosaulist content on the internet. Access to politically sensitive content carries a prison sentence of 20 years and sharing communist symbols or anything that provides support to the RDRK carries a minimum prison sentence of 20 years and a maximum sentence of life without parole. Under the country's penal code, uploading anything regarding or mentioning Benjamin Rosaul or Rosaul's regime is a serious crime that carries severe criminal penalties, even if it is just satirical.

On June 14, 2013, a 19-year-old man was arrested for uploading a portrait of Benjamin Rosaul online and was later convicted of extremism and sentenced to 45 years in prison. On September 21 of that same year, another person in Kelly Island had his computer seized for leaving a like on a post depicting Rosaul's return and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

During a comedy stream on Instagram on January 19, 2016, security forces raided a 20-year-old's house for impersonating Benjamin Rosaul. He was convicted of extremism on March 29, 2016 and was sentenced to 50 years in prison.

On April 15, 2019, a computer belonging to a 16-year-old was seized by national police after he made a satirical image of Bob Odell and uploaded it online. The boy was eventually arrested and sentenced to two months in Juvenile Hall two days later. This caused massive controversy and rights groups demanded for his release. A week after sentencing, the national court reduced his sentence to only two weeks.

On December 29, 2021, a 14-year-old was arrested without a warrant and charged with extremism for drawing a portrait of Benjamin Rosaul on his computer and added it into a server in an online game. If convicted, he could face 20 years in prison.