Asia
2010
China sets prison terms for 3 Uighur Web managers
New York, August 2, 2010—Three Uighur-language website managers were sentenced Friday to prison terms of three to 10 years after being found guilty under broad charges of “endangering state security.” The men had been jailed after ethnic rioting in July 2009 in Urumqi, capital of the far-western, predominantly Muslim, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.
In Polenghi case, autopsy shared but more needed
Two days before Italian photographer Fabio Polenghi was fatally shot while covering widespread civil unrest in the streets of Bangkok, he posted a short message to his Facebook page: “Every day is a gift, so do your best,” he wrote in a message made more poignant by his death on May 19. More than two months…
Indonesian reporter dies; had received death threats
New York, July 30, 2010—An Indonesian search team this morning recovered the body of reporter Ardiansyah Matra’is in a river in the small town of Merauke, on the southern tip of Papua province, according to news reports and the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AIJ).
Voice of Asia Network torched in Sri Lanka
New York, July 30, 2010—Two employees were injured in an arson attack today on the offices of the Voice of Asia Network in the heart of Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo, according to international and local media reports. The fire destroyed the studios of the group’s Siyatha TV station, but the network’s three radio stations have…
Afghan MP’s television station pulled off the air
New York, July 29, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Afghan government to allow privately owned Emroaz TV back on the air, after its owner said it was shut down under pressure from Iran. According to local and international media reports, the station went dark on Tuesday almost immediately after the station’s owner,…
Afghan media push bill to ensure access to information
When we report on Afghanistan, it’s often about something horrific—a deadly explosion, a murder, a kidnapping. But when you ask many Afghan journalists about the biggest challenge they face daily, it’s not danger or harassment that they cite. Although Article 50 of the Afghanistan Constitution guarantees access to public information, journalists say that obtaining such…
In Thailand unrest, journalists under fire
Two journalists died and several others were injured during the country’s political unrest. A CPJ investigation has found that both security forces and protesters engaged in reckless behavior—and in the aftermath, the government has done little to bring anyone to account. A CPJ special report by Shawn W. Crispin
Hiro Muramoto’s last footage
Reuters produced this video shortly after its cameraman Hiro Muramoto was killed while covering unrest in Bangkok on April 10. The video includes Muramoto’s last footage, taken just before he was shot. Read CPJ’s special report on the death of Muramoto and other press casualties, “In Thailand unrest, journalists under fire.”
On Pakistan’s frontier, home is often the cost of reporting
In an alert on Monday, we reported on an attack that left at least six women and children seriously injured at the home of local television journalist Zafarullah Bonari along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. A group of unidentified attackers threw grenades and opened fire on Bonari’s house. The information was scant when we first heard about…
Suspicion surrounds Indonesian reporter’s death
New York, July 27, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists joins with our colleagues in Indonesia in calling for a swift, thorough investigation into the death of Muhammad Syaifullah, the Borneo bureau chief for Kompas, Indonesia’s largest daily newspaper.