Dear Minister Zhang: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing once again to draw your attention to the unjust imprisonment of South Korean photographer Jae Hyun Seok, whose appeal may be heard later this month. Seok, a well-known free-lance photojournalist who worked regularly for The New York Times and Geo magazine, among other publications, was arrested in January in Shandong Province while documenting the plight of North Korean refugees. On May 22, he was sentenced to two years in prison on charges of human smuggling.
New York, June 23, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the Chinese government’s decision to ban the bimonthly business news magazine Caijing. According to Reuters, the June 20 edition of the influential magazine was barred from newsstands last week. Although the magazine reached subscribers during the weekend, authorities ordered additional copies held at the…
New York, June 20, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the Chinese government’s closure of the weekly newspaper Beijing Xinbao and other restrictions that appear to be part of a wider crackdown against the media in China. Beijing Xinbao, which is run by the national newspaper Workers’ Daily, was closed and its editors were…
New York, May 28, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns today’s sentencing of Internet journalists Xu Wei, Jin Haike, Yang Zili, and Zhang Honghai. This morning, the Beijing Intermediate Court sentenced Xu Wei and Jin Haike to ten years in prison on subversion charges, according to the New York-based advocacy group Human Rights in…
New York, May 22, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the sentencing of South Korean free-lance photojournalist Jae Hyun Seok to two years in prison. Today, a court in Yantai, Shandong Province, sentenced Seok, who works regularly for The New York Times and South Korea’s Geo magazine, to a two-year prison term on charges…
New York, May 21, 2003—On May 17, free-lance journalist Jiang Qisheng was released from prison after completing his four-year prison term. Jiang was arrested on May 18, 1999, after writing a series of essays and petitions marking the 10th anniversary of the June 4, 1989, military crackdown on peaceful protesters in the capital, Beijing. On…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the five-year sentence recently handed down to Internet publisher Huang Qi. The court has long delayed the verdict, which comes nearly three years after Huang’s arrest, compounding a case of grave injustice.
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned by the prolonged detention of writers Yang Zili, Xu Wei, Jin Haike, and Zhang Honghai. On April 21, the Beijing Intermediate Court reopened the trial against the four men, who were arrested in March 2001. No verdict has been announced.
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the prolonged detention of South Korean photojournalist Jae Hyun Seok, who was arrested on January 17. Seok is expected to appear for a court hearing within the next few days, according to his family. Seok was arrested while photographing the exodus of 48 North Korean refugees…
The vicious murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan focused international attention on the dangers faced by journalists covering the U.S. “war on terror,” yet most attacks on journalists in Asia happened far from the eyes of the international press. In countries such as Bangladesh and the Philippines, reporters covering crime and…