Pravit Rojanaphruk, CPJ honoree, accused of sedition in Thailand
New York, August 3, 2017–Authorities in Thailand should cease harassing Pravit Rojanaphruk and should drop any criminal proceedings against him for his writing, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Pravit, a columnist at Khaosod English who will be honored with CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award this year, told CPJ that he learned late on…
Bangladeshi journalist arrested for reporting death of goat
New York, August 1, 2017–Bangladeshi authorities should drop all charges against Abdul Latif Morol and should release him without delay, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police in Dumaria, roughly 200 kilometers (124 miles) southwest of Dhaka, yesterday arrested the journalist on defamation charges after he wrote on Facebook that a goat had died.
Myanmar journalist arrested at airport ahead of criminal defamation trial
Bangkok, July 31, 2017–Myanmar authorities should drop all charges against Swe Win, the editor of the news website Myanmar Now, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police at Yangon’s international airport yesterday arrested the journalist on charges of attempting to flee the country before his trial next month on criminal defamation charges, news reports…
Journalists detained covering Maldives protest
New York, July 27, 2017–Police in the Maldives should cease detaining journalists covering events of significant public interest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police yesterday briefly detained seven journalists from the private television channels Sangu TV and Raajje TV as they covered an opposition party protest, according to police and media reports.
Vietnamese blogger sentenced to nine years in prison
Bangkok, July 25, 2017–A Vietnamese court today sentenced blogger Tran Thi Nga to nine years in prison and five years’ probation on charges of “spreading propaganda against the state,” according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the verdict and called on Vietnamese authorities to cease jailing journalists.
Pakistani security officials assault and briefly detain journalists
New York, July 24, 2017–Pakistani police should launch a thorough investigation into allegations that Federal Investigation Agency officials assaulted and briefly detained journalists in Islamabad last week, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Q&A: Indian editor explains how threat of legal action is used to silence journalists
On July 5, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, editor of the Economic and Political Weekly, and his colleagues Advait Rao Palepu and Shinzani Jain, received a notice from Thaker and co., a law firm representing Adani Power Ltd, that threatened legal action over a story published the month before.
Online defamation law amendments fall short in Myanmar
Bangkok, July 17, 2017–A ministerial proposal to amend Myanmar’s 2013 Telecommunications Law falls short of the changes needed to guarantee press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The statute has been repeatedly abused to stifle online speech and jail journalists, CPJ has found.
It’s too late for Liu Xiaobo but China could show a little kindness to other jailed journalists
I have no pity for Chinese President Xi Jinping, who dug himself into a deep public relations hole with the unnecessarily cruel treatment of China’s Nobel Laureate and political dissident, who died this week. Liu died of liver cancer in a Chinese hospital, after receiving medical parole in June from prison, where he was diagnosed…