Asia

February 27, 2015, Mumbai--Bangladeshi authorities should swiftly and thoroughly investigate the murder on Thursday of a blogger in the capital, Dhaka, and ensure the perpetrators are held to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Avijit Roy had criticized religious fundamentalism on his blog and had covered secular topics, including free expression.

Bangkok, February 18, 2015--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Philippine authorities to investigate the murder on Saturday of radio journalist Maurito Lim and bring the assailant to justice.

Bangkok, February 17, 2015--In an escalating campaign of harassment, Malaysian authorities seized copies of a new volume of political cartoons by Zulkiflee Awar Ulhaque, also known as Zunar, on Saturday, according to news reports. In the past three weeks, police have confiscated three separate volumes of Zunar's cartoons and detained him for four days on accusations of sedition in connection with critical posts he wrote on social media.

Bangkok, February 11, 2015--Malaysian authorities arrested a political cartoonist on Tuesday on accusations of sedition, according to news reports. Zulkiflee Awar Ulhaque, also known as Zunar, was detained after posting critical tweets about a court decision to imprison the country's main opposition leader.

Bangkok, February 2, 2015--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Malaysian authorities to halt the legal harassment of a Malaysian cartoonist. Zulkiflee Awar Ulhaque, also known as Zunar, is a frequent contributor to the news website Malaysiakini and the author of several volumes of political cartoons.

Dear President Sirisena: The Committee to Protect Journalists, an international press freedom organization, is writing to congratulate you on your recent victory in Sri Lanka's presidential election. As Sri Lanka readies itself for a new chapter in its history, we urge your government to take concrete and meaningful steps to improve the climate for press freedom.

By Tom Lowenthal/CPJ Staff Technologist

In a move unlikely to surprise those who access the Internet from mainland China, the country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently blocked several popular tools used to bypass the "Great Firewall" national Internet censorship system. Citing the need to protect "cyberspace sovereignty" and to "maintain cyber security and steady operation," the Ministry changed firewall rules to block three increasingly popular commercial virtual private network (VPN) services.

New York, January 23, 2015--A Singapore court on Thursday convicted a blogger on contempt of court charges in connection with an article he wrote that was critical of the judiciary, news reports said.

Bangkok, January 20, 2015--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Thailand's military-appointed legislature to scrap proposed legislation that would allow for mass surveillance of online activities and platforms. The Cyber Security Bill was approved this month by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha's Cabinet and is pending in the National Legislative Assembly.

New York, January 16, 2015--Agence France-Presse photographer Asif Hassan was shot and wounded today while covering clashes in Karachi between police and supporters of the Jamaat-e-Islami religious party who were demonstrating against the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, according to news reports. It is unclear from where the firing originated or whether he was targeted. Hassan underwent surgery to his chest, according to reports citing his doctor. A police officer and a local cameraman who was not identified in reports also suffered minor injuries.