Committee to Protect Journalists – Defending Journalists Worldwide.

CPJ decries conviction of 2 Hong Kong editors

Chung Pui-kuen, the former chief editor of Hong Kong's now-shuttered outlet Stand News, walks outside on bail after he was found guilty in a landmark sedition trial under a colonial-era law, in Wanchai District Court in Hong Kong on August 29, 2024. — Chung Pui-kuen, former chief editor of Hong Kong’s shuttered Stand News, was found guilty in a landmark sedition trial under a colonial-era law in Hong Kong on August 29. (Photo:AP/Billy H.C. Kwok)

The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by Thursday’s conviction by a Hong Kong court of former Stand News editors Patrick Lam and Chung Pui-kuen on charges of conspiracy to publish seditious publications and calls on authorities to stop using anti-state charges against journalists.

“The guilty verdict is another nail in the coffin for Hong Kong’s press freedom,” said Iris Hsu, CPJ’s China representative. “It shows the government’s determination to destroy independent journalism in the city. Hong Kong authorities must stop persecuting the media for their critical reporting.”

The editors of the now defunct independent news site, who are out on bail, are due to be sentenced on September 26 and could be jailed for two years.

China was the world’s worst jailer of journalists, with 44 behind bars, in CPJ’s 2023 prison census, including Jimmy Lai, founder of the shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, who is facing life imprisonment if convicted of conspiring to collude with foreign forces.

Reuters safety adviser killed, 3 journalists injured in Ukraine

Reuters safety advisor Ryan Evans in an undated photo taken in Ukraine. Evans was killed and three other journalists were injured in a missile strike in eastern Ukraine on August 24, 2024. (Photo: Reuters/Staff) — Reuters safety adviser Ryan Evans in an undated photo taken in Ukraine. (Photo: Reuters/Staff)

The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the killing of Reuters safety adviser Ryan Evans in an August 24 attack that also injured three journalists in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk.

“The missile strike that killed Reuters safety adviser Ryan Evans and injured three other journalists is a sad and sobering reminder that the Russian-Ukraine war remains as dangerous for journalists and media workers covering it today as it was when the conflict started with Russia’s invasion of Crimea 10 years ago,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “We condemn the attack on Kramatorsk’s Hotel Sapphire, where journalists and other civilians were staying. Journalists are civilians protected under international humanitarian law and need to be able to report on the war.”

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The Committee to Protect Journalists promotes press freedom worldwide.

We defend the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal.

Journalists Attacked

Myat Thu Tan

MURDERED

Myat Thu Tan, a contributor to the local news website Western News and correspondent for several independent Myanmar news outlets, was shot and killed on January 31, 2024, while in military custody in Mrauk-U in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State.

He was arrested on September 22, 2022, and held in pre-trial detention under a broad provision of the penal code that criminalizes incitement and the dissemination of false news for critical posts he made on his Facebook page. Myat Thu Tan had not been tried or convicted at the time of his death.

The journalist’s body was found buried in a bomb shelter, with the bodies of six other political detainees, and showed signs of torture.

Myanmar’s military junta has cracked down on journalists and media outlets since seizing power in a February 2021 coup.

Learn more about Myat Thu Tan