Asia

  

Malaysian blogger jailed for two years under security act

New York, September 23, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the two-year jail term handed down to Malaysian blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin by the country’s home minister today. Police arrested Raja Petra, who founded and edits the Malaysia Today Web site, on September 12 under the strict Internal Security Act, which allows for prolonged detention…

Read More ›

U Win Tin, Burma’s longest held journalist, released

New York, September 23, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of U Win Tin, the longest serving political prisoner in Burma, and one of the world’s longest-jailed journalists. The 79-year-old former editor had at least two heart attacks and suffered from high blood pressure, a degenerative spine condition, and diabetes since his 1989…

Read More ›

U.S. military frees Afghan journalist from Bagram

New York, September 22, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the U.S. military’s release of imprisoned journalist Jawed Ahmad from Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan on Sunday, 11 months after he was first detained. But CPJ calls again on the U.S. military to end its practice of holding journalists without charge on an open-ended basis.…

Read More ›

CPJ to honor five international journalists

IPFA Awards 2008 To Attend the Awards Dinner (PDF) Bilal Hussein Danish Karokhel and Farida Nekzad Andrew Mwenda Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez Beatrice Mtetwa New York, September 16, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists will honor courageous journalists from Iraq, Afghanistan, Uganda, and Cuba with its 2008 International Press Freedom Awards at a ceremony in November. Bilal…

Read More ›

Danish Karokhel and Farida Nekzad, Director and Deputy Director, Pajhwok Afghan News

To Attend the Benefit Dinner (PDF) | Awards 2008 |Announcement of the Awardees | Bilal Hussein| Andrew Mwenda |  Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez  |  Beatrice Mtetwa Karokhel and Nekzad are journalists and media rights activists in one of the world’s most dangerous countries for the press. Karokhel is director and Nekzad is managing editor and deputy director of…

Read More ›

Police detain, beat Associated Press reporter in Vietnam

New York, September 19, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the actions of Vietnamese police who assaulted Associated Press reporter Ben Stocking, after detaining him in Hanoi today. Police detained Stocking, AP’s Hanoi bureau chief, while he was covering a Catholic protest.

Read More ›

Critics of Singapore’s judiciary face reprisal

New York, September 19, 2008–A court in Singapore sentenced a blogger to three months in jail on Thursday, one week after the nation’s attorney general sought contempt proceedings against The Wall Street Journal Asia. Both actions come in response to critical analysis of Singapore’s judiciary in connection with a prominent defamation suit.

Read More ›

Press Freedom Awardees draw attention

We announced the 2008 International Press Freedom Award recipients on Tuesday, and the news has been well-received worldwide. Bilal Hussein of Iraq, Danish Karokhel and Farida Nekzad of Afghanistan, Andrew Mwenda of Uganda, and Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez of Cuba will all be honored by CPJ on November 25 for their courageous work. Beatrice Mtetewa, of Zimbabwe will…

Read More ›

Tainted formula story crawls out of China

Watch carefully as the Chinese media report on the explosive story of tainted baby formula. The most recent break came from Central China Television (CCTV), the government’s official, flagship broadcaster. CCTV reported that an industrial chemical, melamine, has been discovered in milk products–everything from yogurt to ice cream as well as baby formula–from 22 companies…

Read More ›

Amid arrests and threats, Malaysia cracks down on media

New York, September 12, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns the arrests today of Raja Petra Kamarudin, founder and editor of the influential Malaysia Today Web site and blog, and Sin Chew Daily reporter Tan Hoon Cheng. Three newspapers, including Sin Chew Daily, have also been officially threatened with suspension today, according to news…

Read More ›