Two years into Taliban rule, media repression worsens in Afghanistan
When the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in 2021, they promised to protect press freedom and women’s rights – a key facet of their efforts to paint a picture of moderation compared to their oppressive rule in the late 1990s. “We are committed to the media within our cultural frameworks. Private media can continue to…
In Marcos Jr.’s Philippines, milder tone belies harsh media reality
At a waterfront courthouse in Tacloban City, a long-time hotbed of communist insurgency in the Philippines’ Eastern Visayas island region, heavily armed guards were escorting jailed journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio to trial. The picturesque setting belied the harsh reality of the April 17 hearing. Cumpio could be put behind bars for life if found guilty…
‘Living in fear’: Exiled Afghan journalists face arrest, hunger in Pakistan
Stuck with no income for more than a year after fleeing Afghanistan for Pakistan, Samiullah Jahesh was ready to sell his kidney to put food on the table for his family. “I had no other option, I had no money or food at home,” Jahesh, a former journalist with Afghanistan’s independent Ariana News TV channel,…
‘Don’t give up’: After fleeing overseas, Hong Kong journalists fight on
When Hong Kong journalist Matthew Leung covered a small protest in the northern English city of Manchester last October, little did he know it would become one of the biggest stories in his career—and unleash a diplomatic storm between China and Britain. His photographs, showing a group of men beating a Hong Kong pro-democracy protester…