Asia
2003
Journalist released on bail
New York, November 12, 2003—Selim Jahangir, a photojournalist for the national Bengali-language daily Janakantha, was released from the Rajshahi Central Jail in northwestern Bangladesh on November 10 after being held 10 days and denied bail. According to local journalists, Jahangir is still charged with obstructing an official from his duty and threatening an official’s life.…
JOURNALISTS ATTACKED
New York, November 12, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is investigating the motives behind a bomb attack on five journalists in Feni in southeastern Bangladesh on November 10. Police suspect that the assailants targeted one of the journalists, Bakhtiar Islam Munna, the local Feni correspondent for the daily Ittefaq and for the wire service…
Writer sentenced to 10-month prison term
New York, November 12, 2003—The Hanoi People’s Court sentenced writer Tran Dung Tien to 10 months in prison in a two and a half hour trial today. The sentence is retroactive and so Tien, who was arrested on January 22, 2003, is slated for release on November 22. “CPJ welcomes Tran Dung Tien’s imminent release,…
Writer to be tried tomorrow
New York, November 11, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the prolonged detention of writer Tran Dung Tien and calls for his immediate release. Tien, 74, is scheduled to go on trial tomorrow at Hanoi People’s Court. A foreign ministry official announced today that Tien will be tried on charges of “abusing democratic rights…
U.S. Embassy issues warning to American journalists
New York, November 10, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is monitoring reports that U.S. journalists and foreigners working for U.S. media in Afghanistan may be targeted for kidnapping in exchange for Taliban members in U.S. custody. At a State Department daily briefing on Friday, November 7, spokesman Richard Boucher said that the U.S. Embassy…
CPJ condemns arrest of photojournalist
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the November 1 arrest of Selim Jahangir, a photojournalist for the national Bengali-language daily Janakantha, in Rajshahi, a city in northwestern Bangladesh. We call for his immediate release from jail. Jahangir’s arrest is a blatant example of the abuse of power by local government officials, who must not be allowed to deny journalists their right to report on public events.
CPJ condemns arrest of Internet essayistDetention is part of continuing crackdown on online speech
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the recent arrest of Internet essayist Du Daobin and is gravely concerned that his arrest could mark an escalation in the continuing crackdown on online speech in China.
Editor convicted of criminal defamation
New York, October 27, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is dismayed that the executive editor of the daily tabloid Rakyat Merdeka was sentenced today on charges of insulting the president. The South Jakarta District Court gave editor Supratman (who, like many Indonesians, uses only one name) a six-month suspended sentence after Rakyat Merdeka published…
Internet essayist sentenced
New York, October 21, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the three-year sentence recently handed down to Internet essayist Luo Yongzhong on charges of subversion. Luo, who has written numerous articles that have been distributed online, was detained on June 14 in Changchun, Jilin Province. On July 7, he was formally arrested. On October…
JOURNALIST MURDERED
New York, October 20, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the Saturday, October 18, assassination of Chou Chetharith, a deputy editor of the royalist FUNCINPEC party’s Ta Prum radio station. A gunman riding on the back of a motorcycle shot Chetharith on his way to work in the capital, Phnom Penh. According to witnesses…