Asia Archives - Page 13 of 20 - Committee to Protect Journalists

Police officers are seen in Mumbai, India, on March 23, 2020. Several journalists were recently detained or attacked amid the coronavirus lockdown in India. (AP/Rafiq Maqbool)

Journalists detained, assaulted in India during COVID-19 lockdown

April 28, 2020 1:00 PM EDT

On April 11, 2020, police in the Bandipora district of Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir state arrested Mushtaq Ganaie, a reporter with the English-language privately held daily Kashmir Observer, on allegations of obstructing police, violating the COVID-19 lockdown, and spreading the virus, according to Ganaie, who spoke to CPJ via phone, and a report by his…

CPJ, 73 media and rights groups urge Asian heads of state to release jailed journalists

April 27, 2020 1:51 PM EDT

Given that a staggering number of imprisoned journalists are held in jails across the Asian continent, CPJ and other groups call on leaders of these countries to release them at this time of grave public health concern.

Police are seen in Beijing, China, on April 27, 2020. Police recently arrested two media workers in Beijing, and a third is missing. (AFP/Greg Baker)

Chinese police detain 2 volunteers who collect and share censored news, 1 more missing

April 27, 2020 1:00 PM EDT

Taipei, April 27, 2020 — Chinese authorities should immediately release and drop all charges against the two media workers arrested for sharing censored news articles, and disclose if a third is in government custody, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Police are seen in Chennai, Tamil Nadu state, India, on April 5, 2020. Tamil Nadu police recently arrested journalist Andrew Sam Raja Pandian. (AFP/Arun Sankar)

Police in India’s Tamil Nadu state arrest journalist over COVID-19 coverage

April 24, 2020 11:15 AM EDT

New Delhi, April 24, 2020 — Authorities in India’s Tamil Nadu state must immediately release journalist Andrew Sam Raja Pandian and drop their investigation into his outlet’s coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Akash Yadav, center, a Varanasi-based journalist with Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar spoke to CPJ India Correspondent Kunal Majumder about being a victim of both local police and a private hospital lobby. (Somi Das)

Mission Journal: Journalists in India’s Uttar Pradesh say threat of attack or prosecution looms large

April 23, 2020 12:30 PM EDT

Also available in हिंदी में On March 26, two days after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a national lockdown to control the spreading of COVID-19, Hindi-language daily Jansandesh Times reported that a tribe in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh state, didn’t have enough to eat due to the sudden announcement and that children were eating grass.…

AFP photographer Diptendu Dutta works during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19 in Siliguri, India, on April 10, 2020. Freelance journalists have faced risks to their lives and livelihoods amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (AFP)

Freelance journalists risk lives and livelihoods amid COVID-19 pandemic

April 23, 2020 11:15 AM EDT

Johannesburg-based freelance journalist Yeshiel Panchia was on his way to cover a story about a local developer who had found a way to keep his wage laborers employed during South Africa’s coronavirus lockdown by letting them live on the construction site so that they didn’t have to leave “home” in contravention of strict rules.

Police officers are seen Srinagar, Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir state, on March 31, 2020. Jammu and Kashmir police recently launched an investigation into journalist Gowhar Geelani. (AFP/Tauseef Mustafa)

Jammu and Kashmir police launch investigation into journalist Gowhar Geelani

April 22, 2020 2:00 PM EDT

New Delhi, April 22, 2020 — Authorities in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir should stop harassing journalists with police investigations, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Security forces are seen in San Juan, the Philippines, on March 2, 2020. Police recently arrested journalist Frenchiemae Cumpio on firearms charges. (Reuters/Eloisa Lopez)

Philippine journalist Frenchiemae Cumpio detained since February on firearms charges

April 22, 2020 10:30 AM EDT

Philippine journalist Frenchiemae Cumpio has been held in detention since February 7, 2020, on “illegal firearms possession” charges, according to news reports and a statement by the National Union of the Journalists of the Philippines, a local press freedom group.

Kashimiri photojournalist Masrat Zahra. (Masrat Zahra)

Jammu and Kashmir police launch investigations into 2 journalists

April 20, 2020 1:30 PM EDT

New Delhi, April 20, 2020 — Authorities in Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir must immediately stop harassing journalists Masrat Zahra and Peerzada Ashiq, and let them report freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, center, who founded local newspaper Apple Daily, is arrested by police officers at his home in Hong Kong, Saturday, April 18, 2020. Hong Kong police arrested at least 14 pro-democracy lawmakers and activists on Saturday on charges of joining unlawful protests last year calling for reforms. (AP/Vincent Yu)

Hong Kong police arrest Next Digital founder Jimmy Lai

April 18, 2020 11:04 AM EDT

Taipei, April 18, 2020–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Hong Kong authorities to drop all charges against Jimmy Lai, founder and chair of Next Digital, following his arrest this afternoon alongside other pro-democracy advocates on suspicion of participating in an illegal assembly. Lai’s media properties, including the Apple Daily, have actively and sympathetically covered…