Asia

Bangkok, August 7, 2017–A Filipino journalist was shot and killed today while riding a motorcycle in the town of President Quirino, on the southern island of Mindanao, news reports said. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the killing and called on Philippine authorities to identify the assailants and swiftly bring them to justice.

Washington, D.C., August 4, 2017–A Chinese court’s sentencing of journalist Lu Yuyu to four years in prison is a further heavy blow to press freedom in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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…

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.

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…

Bangkok, July 28, 2017–Philippine authorities should thoroughly investigate the shooting of radio commentator Julito Orillaneda, which left the journalist seriously wounded, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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.

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.

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.

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.