Abe administration throttles media independence, journalists and UN say
Late in 2015, the Japanese government asked David Kaye, the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, to reschedule a visit planned for December. At the time, some news outlets speculated that the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, under criticism for rising threats to free expression, was trying to…
Foreign press in China say travel to Tibet remains restricted
While foreign media outlets were granted some limited access to the Tibet Autonomous Region in 2015, China still rejected roughly three-quarters of the reporters who sought permission to visit last year, according to a new survey by the Foreign Correspondents Club of China (FCCC).
In Nepal, critical journalist Kanak Mani Dixit detained in corruption case
New York, April 25, 2016–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in Nepal to immediately release Kanak Mani Dixit, the founding editor of the independent regional news magazine Himal Southasian. The journalist, who has reported critically on the country’s civil war, has been harassed and detained previously by authorities.
CPJ condemns murder of Bangladeshi LGBT journalist
New York, April 25, 2016–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder today of Bangladeshi journalist Xulhaz Mannan. The senior editor at gay rights magazine Roopbaan, who also worked at the U.S. Agency for International Development, was stabbed to death at his home in Dhaka alongside a friend, according to reports. A third person, described…
CPJ joins call for World Bank to adopt human rights policy
The Committee to Protect Journalists has joined Social Justice Connection and other press freedom and human rights groups in calling on the World Bank to adopt a human rights policy at its annual spring meeting in Washington D.C. In a letter to the president of World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, the groups urged the bank…
Journalist for Maldivian television station to stand trial
On April 12, 2016, Adam Zareer, a videographer for the pro-opposition Maldivian television station Raajje TV was served a summons to appear in court on April 24 on charges of obstructing police duties while reporting on an anti-government demonstration in March 2015, according to the Maldives Independent and a fellow Raajje TV journalist writing on…
Journalists for opposition TV station face charges in Maldives
New York, April 11, 2016–Maldivian prosecutors should drop charges against journalists and an executive from a pro-opposition television station, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The charges come amid a mounting crackdown on press freedom in the country.