Asia

  
Bangladeshi journalists cover proceedings outside a Dhaka court in May 2016. The country's vaguely worded defamation law is creating a climate of self censorship, local reporters say. (AP/A.M. Ahad)

Bangladesh’s defamation law is ‘avenue to misuse power,’ local journalists say

It started with a Facebook post about a goat and ended in a day in jail for Bangladeshi journalist Abdul Latif Morol, when a fellow journalist filed a defamation complaint against him.

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Journalist shot dead in India’s Uttar Pradesh state

New Delhi, December 6, 2017–Authorities in India’s Uttar Pradesh state must identify the motive in the shooting death of Naveen Gupta, a stringer for the Hindi-language Hindustan newspaper, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Unknown assailants on November 30 shot Gupta dead in the town of Bilhaur in Uttar Pradesh state.

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Prominent blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, left, stood trial on charges of propagandizing against the state. Quynh maintains her innocence and her lawyer said her reporting did not constitute a crime. (Vietnam News Agency/AP)

Vietnam upholds blogger Mother Mushroom’s 10-year jail sentence

Bangkok, November 30, 2017–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned a Vietnamese appeals court’s decision today to uphold a 10-year prison sentence against blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, widely known as “Me Nam” or “Mother Mushroom.”

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A panel at the Sporting Chance Forum in Geneva discusses the obligation of host nations to create a safe environment for the press. (Courtney C. Radsch/CPJ)

CPJ joins coalition to establish sports and human rights center

The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined a coalition of international sport organizations, civil society, and governments that are establishing an independent Centre for Sport and Human Rights. In a statement published today, the Mega-Sporting Events Platform for Human Rights, which CPJ is part of, outlined its commitment to establishing the center in 2018.

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Nguyen Van Hoa, center, was sentenced to seven years in prison on November 27, 2017, after being convicted of spreading anti-state propaganda. (Cong Tuong/Vietnam News Agency/AP)

Vietnamese blogger sentenced to 7 years for anti-state “propaganda”

Bangkok, November 28, 2017–Vietnamese authorities should immediately release the blogger Nguyen Van Hoa who was sentenced on Monday to seven years in prison on charges of disseminating “propaganda against the state,” the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A message of transmission suspension of Pakistani private news channels, displayed on monitors, in Islamabad, Pakistan. Pakistan's media regulator ordered a media blackout on November 25, 2017, following the deployment of troops in the capital Islamabad to quell two weeks of violent protests that have left more than 250 people injured, according to news reports.(AP/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan arrests journalist whose rental car was rigged with bomb

New York, November 27, 2017– The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Pakistani security forces to immediately release journalist Khalil Afridi, who police are holding without charge in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Authorities detained the correspondent for the Khyber News TV channel on November 24 after an explosive device was found under a car…

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People in New Delhi protest the killing of journalists in India in September. An investigative journalist was shot dead on November 21 in Tripura state. (Reuters/Cathal McNaughton)

Investigative journalist shot dead at paramilitary base in India

New Delhi, November 22, 2017–Indian authorities must thoroughly investigate the shooting yesterday of Sudip Dutta Bhaumik, an investigative reporter at the Bengali-language daily Syandan Patrika, and ensure those responsible are held accountable, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen, pictured in November 2017. Two former RFA journalists are detained in Cambodia as the country cracks down on the press ahead of elections. (Reuters/Erik De Castro)

Two former Radio Free Asia journalists detained in Cambodia

Bangkok, November 16, 2017–Two former reporters with the U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Asia were detained in Cambodia on November 14 on suspicion of illegally producing and disseminating news, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Cambodian authorities to immediately release the pair and drop any charges against them.

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Pakistani authorities jail journalist following reports on land disputes

New York, November 15, 2017–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Pakistaniauthorities to release local journalist Hafiz Husnain Raza and drop all charges against him.

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Singaporean journalist Lau Hon Meng, center left, and Malaysian journalist Mok Choy Lin, both accused for allegedly flying drones illegally over parliament buildings, are escorted during their trial at a court Friday, Nov. 10, 2017, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP/Aung Shine Oo)

Journalists jailed for two months in Myanmar over drone use

Bangkok, November 10, 2017–A Myanmar court today sentenced two foreign journalists who were on assignment for Turkey’s state broadcaster, along with their interpreter and driver, to two months in prison on charges of filming with a drone without official permission, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the sentencing and calls on…

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