Myanmar obstructs reporters from covering crisis in Rakhine State
Bangkok, November 3, 2016–Security officials in Myanmar should stop obstructing and harassing journalists attempting to report on the conflict in the country’s northern Rakhine State, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The censorship comes amid widespread allegations of military abuses, including allegations of sexual violence, perpetrated as part of an intensified counterinsurgency campaign along…
‘It’s worse this time,’ says photographer shot by police during latest Kashmir unrest
For four months, the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir has been under a curfew imposed after protests broke out when Burhan Wani, a commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, a pro-independence militant organization that advocates for Kashmir’s independence from India, was killed in clashes with the Indian army. Journalists have been caught in the crossfire as…
Getting Away With Murder
CPJ’s 2016 Global Impunity Index spotlights countries where journalists are slain and the killers go free By Elisabeth Witchel, CPJ Impunity Campaign Consultant Published October 27, 2016. Some of the highest rates of impunity in the murders of journalists can be attributed to killings by Islamist militant groups, CPJ found in its latest Global Impunity…
Award-winning Malaysian cartoonist banned from travel
Bangkok, October 18, 2016–Malaysian authorities should immediately lift all restrictions on cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque’s freedom of movement, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. An officer at Kuala Lumpur International Airport yesterday prevented the cartoonist, better known as Zunar, from leaving the country, according to news reports.
Pro-government group harasses journalists in Malaysia
Bangkok, October 17, 2016 – Malaysian authorities should swiftly bring to justice those responsible for harassing three journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Members of a pro-government group threatened journalists covering a confrontation between a group associated with the ruling party and a rival group on October 15, according to press reports.
In India, online campaign seeks to free press from risk of criminal defamation
An online campaign to decriminalize defamation in India is being led by a member of the country’s main opposition party. “Criminal defamation can lead to people being put in jail for something they have said publicly. This law needs to be replaced by a modern, progressive law,” reads the statement on the campaign website.
CPJ calls on Thailand to not censor news during royal transition
New York, October 14, 2016–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Thailand’s military government to lift a blanket censorship order on television news broadcasters imposed in the wake of King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s death yesterday.
Protecting journalists who cover corruption is good for the bottom line
Corruption is one of the most dangerous beats for journalists, and one of the most important for holding those in power to account. There is growing international recognition that corruption is also one of the biggest impediments to poverty reduction and good governance. This is why journalists on this beat must be protected, including by…