Bangladesh: CPJ urges court to dismiss sedition charges against journalist
New York, April 4, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Bangladeshi authorities to dismiss sedition charges against journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury whose trial begins April 5 in Dhaka’s Additional Metropolitan Session Court. Sedition carries the death penalty. Choudhury, editor of the Bangladesh tabloid weekly Blitz, was originally charged with passport violations after he…
Burma: Two journalists arrested and summarily tried for filming
New York, April 4, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the arrest and summary trial of two journalists accused of filming the countryside from a public bus outside Burma’s controversial new capital. Ko Thar Cho, a photojournalist, and Ko Kyaw Thwin, a columnist at the Burmese-language magazine Dhamah Yate, were arrested on March 27 while…
China: Reporter detained after alleging local corruption
New York, April 4, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the continuing detention of Hunan-based newspaper reporter Yang Xiaoqing who wrote about corruption in the sale of a state-owned company. Yang’s wife, Gong Jie, told CPJ that he was under threat for months before his arrest in January, and had gone into hiding…
Philipines: CPJ calls for probe of killing of journalist
New York, April 4, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for an immediate and full investigation into the shooting death today of part-time newspaper editor and columnist Orlando Tapios Mendoza. Philippine media reports and the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) said Mendoza was shot several times by unidentified men as he was returning…
Thailand: Police ban edition of political journal after articles on king
New York, April 4, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a ban on an edition of Thai-language political quarterly Fah Diew Kan. On March 30, national police chief Gen. Kowit Wattana sent a notice to the journal’s editor Thanapol Eawsakul informing him of a decision to ban further distribution of the publication’s October-December 2005 edition.…
Hong Kong complaint targets Yahoo for role in jailed journalist case
New York, March 31, 2006—A Hong Kong legislator and a representative for the family of jailed Chinese journalist Shi Tao filed a privacy complaint Thursday against U.S. Internet giant Yahoo for its role in the imprisonment, according to news reports. The family is also considering legal action against the company in Hong Kong or the…
Thai newspaper menaced by pro-government protestors
Bangkok, March 31, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the harassment and intimidation by pro-government protestors of the Thai-language daily newspaper Kom Chad Luek. As many as 3,000 pro-government protestors staged demonstrations beginning Tuesday in front of the newspaper’s offices, demanding that the newspaper’s editors apologize for an article that made what they considered to…
China: CPJ supports effort to release filmmaker and blogger Wu Hao
New York, March 30, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists supports calls by Wu Na for the release of her brother Wu Hao, a documentary filmmaker and blogger detained by police in Beijing on February 22. Nina Wu, as she is also known, did not publicize the detention until March 22, when her family became convinced…
Maldives: CPJ urges fair, transparent trial for journalist
New York, March 28, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about Maldivian authorities’ criminal prosecution of Abdullah Saeed, a reporter with the opposition Minivan Daily newspaper. The journalist, also known as Fahala, was sentenced on Sunday to two months in jail for refusing a urine test when he was arrested last October. Saeed still…
Thai prime minister files defamation cases against four papers
New York, March 27, 2006 – The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s decision to file criminal defamation charges against four Thai newspapers related to their news coverage of recent rallies staged against his government. Thaksin’s personal lawyer filed criminal complaints Thursday against the Manager Daily, Krungthep Tooragit, Post Today, and the…