Asia
2013
Getting ready for contingencies in Afghanistan
Considering the worst-case scenarios for post-2014 Afghanistan, international news agencies should start planning a range of assistance responses for locally hired journalists and media staff. By the end of 2014, NATO troops will have largely withdrawn and the Karzai government will make way for a new administration. If the situation becomes chaotic, Afghans working for…
Bangladesh harasses staff, press affiliated with Amar Desh
New York, April 16, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the official harassment of a pro-opposition daily in Dhaka and calls on all parties to ensure a free and vibrant press is allowed to function amid ongoing political turmoil.
Sri Lankan daily attacked again, twice in two weeks
New York, April 15, 2013–Sri Lankan authorities must immediately investigate an attack on the offices of a Tamil-language newspaper and bring the perpetrators to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The offices of Uthayan have been attacked twice in two weeks.
European Parliament has chance to take on Vietnam
On Thursday, April 18, the European Parliament will discuss Vietnam’s human rights in a plenary session. At the top of the agenda will be freedom of expression. Over the weekend, CPJ’s Brussels-based Senior Adviser Jean-Paul Marthoz blogged about the issues the parliament must confront in Le Soir.
Editor of pro-opposition daily arrested in Bangladesh
New York, April 12, 2013–Amid growing political conflict that threatens even more violence in Bangladesh, an editor of a pro-opposition newspaper in Dhaka has been arrested on accusations of inciting religious tension, according to news reports. The editor faces earlier charges of sedition as well, the reports said.
Tamil journalist will not be forced back to Sri Lanka
A short note to follow up on an alert we posted Wednesday on the threatened deportation of Lohini Rathimohan (also spelled Lokini), a former television journalist and one of 19 Tamil refugees facing deportation from the United Arab Emirates. Earlier reports said the refugees, who reached Dubai illegally, could be deported this week.
Tax story shows investigative reporting alive in Pakistan
Umar Cheema, a CPJ International Press Freedom Award winner in 2011, was a strong runner-up for this year’s Osborn Elliott Prize for Excellence in Journalism on Asia, awarded for the last 10 years by the Asia Society in New York. Umar’s report, Representation Without Taxation, analyzed the tax returns of Pakistani members of parliament for…
UAE may deport refugee Tamil journalist to Sri Lanka
New York, April 10, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by news reports that a Tamil journalist in the United Arab Emirates may be deported to Sri Lanka this week despite her United Nations refugee status, and calls on authorities in the UAE to halt any such deportation measures.