Asia

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

CPJ Safety Advisory: Covering Pakistan’s 2018 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…

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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.

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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…

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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The body of journalist Shujaat Bukhari lies inside a police control room in Srinagar on June 14, 2018. Bukhari, the editor of newspaper Rising Kashmir, was shot and killed leaving his office in the city's Press Colony. (AP/Mukhtar Khan)

Rising Kashmir editor Shujaat Bukhari killed in Srinagar

New York, June 14, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today strongly condemned the killing of the editor of the English-language daily newspaper Rising Kashmir, Shujaat Bukhari, in Srinagar, Kashmir. Unknown attackers shot Bukhari today at close range in the city’s Press Colony, according to news reports.

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Guards attend a flag-raising ceremony at Taipei's Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in March 2018. Taiwan's parliament is considering a draft bill to penalize 'fake news.' (Reuters/Tyrone Siu)

Taiwanese lawmakers propose criminalizing spread of fake news

Taipei, June 13, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Taiwan’s parliament, known as the Legislative Yuan, to reject a proposed amendment that would make spreading fake news punishable by imprisonment or a fine.

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