Asia

Dhaka, September 14, 2026—Bangladesh’s government must immediately withdraw or substantially revise proposed amendments to the Cyber Protection Act that would criminalize reporting officials deem unverified, and grant authorities the power to block journalists’ work and deregister news outlets, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday.  The draft amendments, which the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting…

The Committee to Protect Journalists, together with eight other press freedom and human rights organizations, on Friday urged Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to take immediate action to address the country’s rapidly deteriorating press freedom environment.  In a joint letter, the groups expressed concern about new restrictions on reporting in parts of Pakistan, recurring internet…

New York, September 9, 2026—Pakistani authorities must immediately release independent journalist Muhammad Bilal Ghauri and drop the cybercrime case filed against him over his commentary about the appointment of a senior counterterrorism official, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Ghauri, who covers news via his popular YouTube channel, was reported missing by his family…

New York, September 7, 2026—Taliban authorities must allow independent broadcaster Rah-e-Farda TV to resume operations, immediately release its owner, Salman Akhlaqi, and end their crackdown on news outlets serving Afghanistan’s persecuted Shiite Hazara community, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Monday. On September 6, Taliban security forces raided Rah-e-Farda TV’s office in the capital…

New Delhi, August 18, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Bangladeshi authorities to drop their new crimes against humanity case against journalists Shyamal Dutta, Mozammel Babu, and Farzana Rupa, and stop criminalizing news reporting.  Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Monday ordered prison authorities to produce the journalists, who have been detained since 2024…

New York, August 14, 2026—Five years on from the Taliban’s seizure of Afghanistan, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the group to halt its brutal repression of the press — particularly women journalists — and lift sweeping restrictions that have cut access to independent information and allowed a propaganda ecosystem to flourish. After capturing…

Jakarta, August 11, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB) and its executive vice-chairperson, Salim Fateh Din, to withdraw their excessive RM100 million (US$24.45 million) defamation lawsuit against veteran journalist P. Gunasegaram over an opinion piece on an urban rail project. The lawsuit, filed in the Shah Alam High Court…

New York, August 6, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Pakistani authorities to withdraw draconian new guidelines requiring journalists working for international media outlets to obtain authorization before reporting outside Islamabad, Karachi, or Lahore, in a move likely to censor coverage of unrest in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The guidelines, reviewed by CPJ, require international and…

New York, August 5, 2026—Pakistani authorities must account for and immediately release journalists Razi Tahir and Muhammad Saif, who were taken by men in police uniform from their office in the capital city Islamabad, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Wednesday.   Tahir and Saif, independent journalists who publish through Tahir’s popular social media…

August 4, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Vietnamese authorities to end their harassment of journalist Doan Bao Chau after a Hanoi court sentenced him in absentia to seven years in prison over social media posts critical of the government. On August 3, the Hanoi People’s Court convicted Chau under Article 117 of Vietnam’s…