Bangladesh authorities open investigation into exiled journalist Abdur Rab Bhuttow, harass family members
On January 11, 2023, the Chawkbazar police station in Bangladesh’s southern Chattogram district opened a Digital Security Act investigation into U.K.-based Bangladeshi journalist Abdur Rab Bhuttow and the privately owned digital news platform London Bangla Channel, where Bhuttow serves as editor, according to news reports and the journalist, who spoke with CPJ by phone. Police…
Taliban shut down women-run broadcaster Radio Sada e Banowan, seal office
New York, March 31, 2023—Taliban authorities must stop their crackdown on local media in Afghanistan and allow the independent women-run Radio Sada e Banowan broadcaster to continue its work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Thursday, March 30, authorities in the city of Faizabad, in Badakhshan province, shuttered the broadcaster’s operations and sealed…
CPJ calls on Bangladesh authorities to cease harassing staff of Prothom Alo newspaper
New York, March 30, 2023—Bangladesh authorities must immediately drop all investigations into the staff of the Prothom Alo newspaper in retaliation for its work and allow its employees to do their jobs freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. In the early morning of Wednesday, March 29, authorities arrested Prothom Alo correspondent Shamsuzzaman Shams…
Chinese blogger Ruan Xiaohuan sentenced to 7 years in prison
Taipei, March 30, 2023—Chinese authorities must immediately and unconditionally release blogger Ruan Xiaohuan and cease jailing journalists on trumped-up anti-state charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On February 10, a court in Shanghai sentenced Ruan to seven years in prison for allegedly inciting the subversion of state power, according to multiple news reports…
Police assault at least 9 Bangladeshi journalists covering Supreme Court Bar Association elections
New York, March 29, 2023 – Bangladeshi authorities must conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the police attacks on at least nine journalists covering recent elections held by the Supreme Court Bar Association and hold the perpetrators accountable, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On March 15, police assaulted at least nine journalists…
Bangladeshi journalist Shamsuzzaman Shams arrested under Digital Security Act
New York, March 29, 2023—Bangladesh authorities must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Shamsuzzaman Shams, drop any investigation into his work, and ensure the staff of the Prothom Alo newspaper can report without interference or fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. At around 4 a.m. on Wednesday, March 29, a group of…
CPJ submits evidence on Hong Kong media freedom to UK parliamentary group
Hong Kong has seen a dramatic decline in media freedom since Beijing implemented a national security law on June 30, 2020, with a significant impact on the city’s freedom of expression and media pluralism, which saw journalists arrested, jailed, and threatened, according to evidence CPJ submitted earlier this month to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG)…
Indian journalist Jaspal Singh arrested in Haryana
On March 18, 2023, police in the Indian state of Haryana arrested Jaspal Singh, a TV journalist who reports part-time for the local broadcaster News18 Haryana, from his home in the city of Ratia, according to news reports and Rajesh Kundu, editor of the news website The Ink, who is familiar with the case and…
Unidentified men attack brother of exiled Bangladeshi journalist Zulkarnain Saer Khan
New York, March 24, 2023—Bangladesh authorities must conduct an immediate and impartial investigation into the recent attack on Mahinur Khan, the brother of exiled journalist Zulkarnain Saer Khan, and ensure the safety of Zulkarnain Saer Khan’s family, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On the evening of March 17, in the capital city of…
Bangladeshi journalist Mamunur Rashid Nomani faces hearing over Digital Security Act charges
New York, March 22, 2023–Police in Bangladesh’s southern city of Barisal should immediately drop all charges against journalist Mamunur Rashid Nomani and allow him to report without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Nomani, chief news editor of the privately owned newspaper The Daily Shahnama and editor of the Barisal Khabar…