Asia

  
A street in Hanoi, Vietnam in September 2013. Police on July 5, 2018, detained Le Anh Hung, a regular contributor to U.S. Congress-funded Voice of America (VOA) and a prominent independent blogger, on suspicion of

Independent journalist detained on anti-state charges in Vietnam

Bangkok, July 9, 2018–Vietnamese authorities should immediately release and stop harassing journalist Le Anh Hung, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police on July 5 detained Hung, a regular contributor to U.S. Congress-funded Voice of America (VOA) and a prominent independent blogger, on suspicion of “abusing democratic freedoms” to infringe on the interests of…

Read More ›

Detained Reuters journalist Kyaw Soe Oo is escorted by police while leaving Insein court in Yangon, Myanmar on July 9, 2018. (Reuters/Ann Wang)

Myanmar court charges Reuters reporters under official secrets act

Bangkok, July 9, 2018 – A Myanmar court charged today two Reuters reporters, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, under the Official Secrets Act, the news agency reported. The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemned the criminal charges and called on authorities to drop the landmark case, which has major press freedom implications.

Read More ›

Posters of political parties for Pakistan's July 25 elections are prepared in Quetta. (AFP/Banaras Khan)

CPJ Safety Advisory: Covering Pakistan’s election

Pakistan’s general elections are scheduled for July 25. Journalists covering the election may face intimidation or physical aggression, especially when covering political rallies and protests, and the possibility of terrorist attacks. In May, the Pakistan-based media watchdog Freedom Network documented 23 violations against the media. Journalists are also at risk of abduction or increased online…

Read More ›

A rally calling for greater press freedom in Manila in January 2018. Philippine journalists say President Rodrigo Duterte is trying to intimidate the media. (AFP/Ted Aljibe)

Mission Journal: Duterte leads tri-pronged attack on press amid condemnation of controversial policies

Pia Randa is in Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte’s crosshairs. At presidential press conferences, Duterte has repeatedly singled out the reporter by name and referred to Rappler, the news site where she works, as “fake news” and her reporting as “corrupt” and “biased” against his administration.

Read More ›

In this screenshot from Groundviews' YouTube channel, an opposition politician shows a photo of journalist Dharisha Bastians to a press conference.

Sri Lankan politicians try to intimidate journalists over New York Times report

Washington, D.C., July 3, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on opposition politicians in Sri Lanka to stop trying to intimidate local journalists by publicly leveling accusations against them. At a press conference yesterday evening, associates of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa accused two journalists for The New York Times of being tools of the…

Read More ›

Prominent blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, left, stands trial in Vietnam, on June 29, 2017. She was convicted on charges of distributing propoganda against the state, according to reports. (Vietnam News Agency/AP)

CPJ awardee ‘Mother Mushroom’ faces threats, poor prison conditions

Bangkok, July 3, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today strongly condemned the recent harassment of jailed Vietnamese blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, known by her pen name “Mother Mushroom,” and called again for her immediate and unconditional release.

Read More ›

CPJ calls on Pakistan’s PM to protect press freedom ahead of elections

CPJ expresses concern that recent events in Pakistan signal that the media is not free to report on the upcoming elections, and urges the government to take necessary measures to guarantee journalists’ ability to work without fear of intimidation or reprisal.

Read More ›

Rush hour in Manila on June 21, 2016. Unidentified assassins on June 23, 2018, gunned down Manuel Lacsamana, a contributor to the local monthly The Media Messenger and chairperson of the Central Luzon Media Association press group, in Cabanatuan City, in the Nueva Ecija province on the island of Luzon, according to reports. (Reuters/Erik De Castro)

Newspaper reporter gunned down in the Philippines

New York, June 26, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the killing of Manuel Lacsamana, a contributor to the local monthly The Media Messenger and chairperson of the Central Luzon Media Association press group, and called on authorities in the Philippines to identify the killers and swiftly bring them to justice.

Read More ›

A motorcyclist rides down an alley in Jakarta in June. An Indonesian journalist died while in custody in South Kalimantan. (AFP/Adek Berry)

CPJ calls on Indonesia to investigate death of detained journalist

New York, June 26, 2018–Indonesian authorities must conduct a thorough investigation into the death of journalist Muhammad Yusuf and consider the possibility that he was killed in retribution for his reporting, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Read More ›

The police bodyguard of journalist Shujaat Bukhari is carried away after an attack in Srinagar, in Indian-controlled Kashmir, on June 14, 2018. Bukhari and two bodyguards were fatally shot as he left his office. (AP Photo)

Indian authorities must bring killers of Shujaat Bukhari to justice

New Delhi, June 14, 2018–Indian authorities must ensure that there is a thorough and credible investigation into the murder of Shujaat Bukhari, founder and editor of the English-language daily Rising Kashmir, and bring the killers to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Read More ›