Vietnam: Internet writer and activist released, sent back to U.S.
New York, September 22, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of Cong Thanh Do, a Vietnamese political activist and pro-democracy advocate who writes on the Internet under the pen name Tran Nam. Cong was detained August 14 while on vacation with his family in Phan Thiet on the central Vietnam coast, 125 miles…
Pakistan:Musharraf government ignores promises to protect journalists
New York, September 21, 2006—As violence against journalists and violations of press freedom grow in Pakistan, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the government to keep its promise to reveal all information it holds on media deaths and disappearances. CPJ research shows that nine journalists have died for their work since 2002, and there…
In Thailand, moves by military junta threaten press freedom
New York, September 21, 2006—As Thailand’s new ruling military junta imposed restrictions on the media, the Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the transitional authority to uphold the press freedom guarantees enshrined in the recently dissolved 1997 constitution. The ruling Council for Democratic Reform under Constitutional Monarchy (CDRM) called a meeting today with senior…
China: Founder of popular Aegean Sea Web site arrested
New York, September 20, 2006— The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the arrest in China of the founder of Aegean Sea, the popular Web site closed down March 9. Zhang Jianhong was detained September 6 on allegations of “inciting subversion” through his online political essays, according to news reports and CPJ sources. Zhang’s…
Pakistan: Police attack TV crews covering religious rally in Lahore
New York, September 18, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the police beating of television crews covering a religious rally in Pakistan. Journalists said police officers attacked two journalists from Pakistan’s ATV terrestrial network who were covering a meeting of the Sunni Tehrik (Sunni Movement) religious organization in the eastern city of Lahore on Saturday…
Pakistan: Reporter killed by masked gunmen
New York, September 15, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists called today on Pakistani authorities to conduct a thorough and timely investigation into the shooting death of journalist Maqbool Hussain Sail. Two masked gunmen on a motorcycle shot Sail late Thursday in Dera Ismail Khan, 175 miles (280 kilometers) southwest of Islamabad, according to the Rural…
Singapore: Leaders again resort to lawsuits to muzzle press critics
New York, September 14, 2006— The Committee to Protect Journalists denounces the defamation suit brought by the Singapore leadership against the publisher and editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review over an article about an opposition politician in the tightly controlled city-state. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his father, former premier turned Minister Mentor,…