Asia
2017
Myanmar charges reporters with illegally importing drone
Bangkok, October 30, 2017–Myanmar authorities charged two foreign reporters on assignment for Turkish state broadcaster TRT, along with their interpreter and driver, of allegedly violating import-export laws after the journalists flew a drone near the country’s parliament building, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Myanmar authorities to immediately release…
Pakistani journalist attacked in Islamabad; three attacks on media groups in Balochistan
New York, October 27, 2017–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Pakistani authorities to swiftly investigate and bring to justice perpetrators of multiple attacks against journalist and news organizations in the country this week. Journalist Ahmed Noorani was badly beaten in Islamabad, and three different attacks were reported in the southwestern Balochistan province amid…
Indian regional police harass Australian Broadcasting Corporation crew
New Delhi, October 26, 2017–Indian regional police on August 27, 2017 harassed an Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) crew, and compelled the journalists to delete some of their video footage, according to the channel’s economics correspondent Stephen Long, who was part of the crew.
China must allow all media outlets to cover events of public interest
Washington, D.C., October 25, 2017–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the decision by Chinese authorities to bar at least five prominent news organizations from attending today’s press conference introducing the new leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, as described by press reports and a statement on Twitter by the Foreign Correspondents Club of China.…
Indian court bars The Wire from publishing stories on businessman Jay Shah
New Delhi, October 24, 2017– The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned a decision by India’s judiciary to proceed with a criminal defamation complaint against The Wire and issue an injunction preventing the news website from reporting about Jay Shah, the son of the ruling BJP party’s president Amit Shah, while the defamation case is…
Two journalists charged with incitement in Cambodia
Bangkok, October 10, 2017– The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the legal harassment of Aun Pheap and Zsombor Peter, two journalists who worked for the shuttered Cambodia Daily, and calls on Cambodian authorities to drop all charges against the pair.
Pakistani journalist faces terrorism and defamation charges for article critical of regional government
New York, October 4, 2017–Authorities in Pakistan should drop charges against journalist Shabbir Siham, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region summoned Siham for a hearing on October 7 on accusations of fabrication and extorting a regional minister in violation of Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Act, according to news…
Several Indian journalists receive death threats
New Delhi, September 29, 2017–Authorities in India must move quickly to identify those responsible for sending at least five threats to kill journalists for critical coverage of the government and take steps to ensure the journalists’ security, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Chinese journalist Ding Lingjie reportedly jailed
Taipei, September 27, 2017–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Chinese authorities to immediately release journalist Ding Lingjie from state custody. Ding, an editor for the human rights news website Minsheng Guancha (Civil Rights & Livelihood Watch), disappeared from her relative’s apartment in city of Zibo in the eastern Shandong province on September 22, according…