New York, January 31, 2006— The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the ongoing harassment of journalists and assault on freedom of expression in Nepal one year after King Gyanendra seized absolute power. “In the past 12 months the authorities in Nepal have detained more than 275 journalists and stripped the independent press of many of…
New York. January 30, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists deplores the January 20 arrest of Internet writer Yang Tongyan (known by his pen name Yang Tianshui) on suspicion of “subversion of state authority.” Relatives received formal notice of the arrest from the Zhenjiang city public security bureau last week, according to CPJ sources. Authorities have…
Bangkok, Thailand, January 27, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Thai government’s recent moves to disrupt the signal of the satellite-based television news station Asian Satellite TV (ASTV) and to block access to a popular news Web site. Both actions appeared to be aimed in part at veteran journalist and media owner Sondhi Limthongkul,…
New York, January 26, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of freelance Internet journalist Nguyen Khac Toan but deplores the continued imprisonment of two other online reporters in Vietnam. Authorities in Hanoi freed Toan on Tuesday, according to Doan Viet Hoat, a prominent U.S.-based dissident, and international news reports. Toan had been sentenced…
New York, January 25, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a continuing crackdown on free expression in China. The Communist Party management of the Beijing-based China Youth Daily scrapped the paper’s influential supplement, Bing Dian (Freezing Point), on Tuesday amid a dispute with editors known for challenging free-expression boundaries. And the U.S.-based Internet…
New York, January 25, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the three-year jail sentence given to Chinese journalist Li Changqing on Tuesday. The Gulou district court in southern China’s Fuzhou city convicted Li of “spreading false and alarmist information,” defense lawyer Mo Shaoping told CPJ. The charge was linked to an article published on the…
New York, January 24, 2006— The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed the decision by Prime Minister Hun Sen Tuesday to drop criminal defamation charges against journalists Mom Sonando, Kem Sokha, and Pa Guon Tieng. The three were released on bail on January 18 after being jailed for criticizing a new border treaty with Vietnam. Similar…
New York, January 24, 2006—An unidentified gunman killed Tamil journalist Subramaniyam Sugitharajah as the reporter was on his way to work this morning in the eastern port town of Trincomalee. Colleagues believe he was killed for his journalism. The Committee to Protect Journalists, which is investigating the motive for the attack, called on Norwegian peace…
New York, January 23, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the detention on Sunday of Khem Bhandari, editor and publisher of the daily newspaper Abhiyan in the western city of Mahendranagar. The government gave no reason for Bhandari’s arrest. Shyam Shrestha, editor of the monthly magazine Mulyankan who was detained last Wednesday in Kathmandu, remained…