2005

APRIL 30, 2005 Posted: May 4, 2005 Shi Tao, Dangdai Shang Bao LEGAL ACTION, IMPRISONED Shi was sentenced to 10 years in prison on April 30 after being convicted in March of “illegally providing state secrets to foreigners” in a closed trial in the Intermediate People’s Court of Changsha in central China’s Hunan Province.

APRIL 29, 2005 Posted: April 29, 2005 Dharmeratnam Sivaram, TamilNet and Daily Mirror KILLED—CONFIRMED Sivaram was abducted on the night of April 28 and found dead the next morning from gunshot wounds to the head.

Nothing against the “letter and spirit” This directive for journalists was published in Gorkhapatra, the government-owned daily, on February 3: “Invoking Sub Clause 1 of Clause 15 of His Majesty’s Print and Publication Act 2048 and considering the nation and national interest, His Majesty’s Government has banned for six months any interview, article, news, notice,…

Nepal After the Coup

Before the arrival of democracy in 1990, no independent newspapers were published in Nepal. State media praised government policies and refused to carry critical comment or analysis. A few privately owned tabloids vaguely affiliated with political parties were tolerated, largely because their news coverage was sensationalist and often sleazy. Radio and television were entirely government run.

APRIL 26, 2005 Posted: May 3, 2005 Zheng Yichun, freelance LEGAL ACTION, IMPRISONED Zheng was tried in Yingkou Intermediate Court on charges of inciting subversion. A prolific Internet writer and poet, he had been imprisoned since December 3 after writing articles critical of the Communist Party and Chinese government policy.

APRIL 26, 2005 Posted: May 4, 2005 Dwarika Uprety, Roadmap DETAINED The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the arrest of Dwarika Uprety, publisher of the weekly Roadma. Plainclothes security officers detained Uprety while he was walking to work this morning in the Putalisadak district of Kathmandu, according to the Kantipur news Web site.

APRIL 26, 2005 Posted: May 17, 2005 Jiahao Chen, freelance HARASSED The threat of legal action prompted Singaporean blogger Chen to shut down his site and post an apology for comments criticizing a government agency known as A*Star.

New York, April 26, 2005 – The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for the immediate release of Zheng Yichun, who was tried today in Yingkou Intermediate Court on charges of inciting subversion. Zheng, a prolific Internet writer and poet, has been imprisoned since December 3 after writing articles critical of the Communist Party and Chinese…