Journalist Duong Van Thai arrested in Vietnam after disappearing in Thailand
Manila, April 18, 2023—Vietnamese authorities should immediately release journalist Duong Van Thai and stop all efforts to harass and detain members of the press living in exile, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On April 13, Thai, an independent journalist who posts political commentary on YouTube and has about 119,000 followers, went missing in…
Vietnam sentences journalist Nguyen Lan Thang to 6 years in prison
Bangkok, April 13, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Thursday condemned the sentencing of imprisoned Vietnamese journalist Nguyen Lan Thang to six years in prison on anti-state charges in relation to his reporting on human rights issues in the country. “The harsh sentence handed to journalist Nguyen Lan Thang is an outrage and must be immediately and…
CPJ calls on Maldives authorities to swiftly investigate threats against 2 Dhauru journalists
New York, April 11, 2023–Maldives authorities must swiftly and impartially investigate the recent threats of violence and death sent to journalists Ahmed Naaif and Ahmed Zahir and ensure their safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Beginning on April 7, four unidentified numbers messaged threats to Naaif following the publication of an article by…
Bangladeshi journalist Ayub Meahzi attacked, thrown off building
New York, April 11, 2023—Bangladeshi authorities must swiftly and impartially investigate the attack of freelance journalist Ayub Meahzi, hold all perpetrators to account, and ensure the journalist’s safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On the afternoon of Tuesday, April 4, a group of around 10 men associated with a local criminal group beat…
‘Living in fear’: Exiled Afghan journalists face arrest, hunger in Pakistan
Stuck with no income for more than a year after fleeing Afghanistan for Pakistan, Samiullah Jahesh was ready to sell his kidney to put food on the table for his family. “I had no other option, I had no money or food at home,” Jahesh, a former journalist with Afghanistan’s independent Ariana News TV channel,…
Jailed Vietnamese journalist Nguyen Lan Thang faces anti-state charges
Bangkok, April 10, 2023 – Vietnamese authorities must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Nguyen Lan Thang and drop all charges pending against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. Thang, a political activist and contributor to U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Asia who also posted reporting on his personal social media accounts, was arrested on…
Bangladesh authorities open investigation into exiled journalist Abdur Rab Bhuttow, harass family members
On January 11, 2023, the Chawkbazar police station in Bangladesh’s southern Chattogram district opened a Digital Security Act investigation into U.K.-based Bangladeshi journalist Abdur Rab Bhuttow and the privately owned digital news platform London Bangla Channel, where Bhuttow serves as editor, according to news reports and the journalist, who spoke with CPJ by phone. Police…
Taliban shut down women-run broadcaster Radio Sada e Banowan, seal office
New York, March 31, 2023—Taliban authorities must stop their crackdown on local media in Afghanistan and allow the independent women-run Radio Sada e Banowan broadcaster to continue its work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Thursday, March 30, authorities in the city of Faizabad, in Badakhshan province, shuttered the broadcaster’s operations and sealed…
CPJ calls on Bangladesh authorities to cease harassing staff of Prothom Alo newspaper
New York, March 30, 2023—Bangladesh authorities must immediately drop all investigations into the staff of the Prothom Alo newspaper in retaliation for its work and allow its employees to do their jobs freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. In the early morning of Wednesday, March 29, authorities arrested Prothom Alo correspondent Shamsuzzaman Shams…
Chinese blogger Ruan Xiaohuan sentenced to 7 years in prison
Taipei, March 30, 2023—Chinese authorities must immediately and unconditionally release blogger Ruan Xiaohuan and cease jailing journalists on trumped-up anti-state charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On February 10, a court in Shanghai sentenced Ruan to seven years in prison for allegedly inciting the subversion of state power, according to multiple news reports…