Melbourne Film Festival Website is Hacked to Protest Uighur Advocate's Invitation

July 27, 2009
Film Festival’s Web Site is Hacked to Protest Invitation to Uighur Advocate
By Dave Itzkoff
The Web site of the Melbourne International Film Festival was defaced by hackers who were protesting a planned appearance at the festival by an advocate for the Uighur ethnic group in China, The Associated Press reported. Rebiya Kadeer, a former businesswoman and an advocate for the Uighurs, is scheduled to attend the film festival on Aug. 8. The Chinese government has blamed her for inciting violence this month between Muslim Uighurs and Han Chinese, though Ms. Kadeer, who lives in exile in the United States, has denied any involvement. On Saturday, hackers posted a Chinese flag on the festival’s Web site for about 45 minutes, along with messages that demanded that organizers apologize for including Ms. Kadeer and a documentary about her life in the festival program. The A.P. said there were no disturbances at the premiere of the documentary, “10 Conditions of Love,” on Sunday night.