Asia

AUGUST 3, 2005 Posted: August 18, 2005 ETTV-S CENSORED The Taiwanese government halted the broadcasts of cable television news station ETTV-S and revoked its license, citing “irresponsible” reporting. The Government Information Office, the official agency tasked with monitoring the media, accused the station of abusing broadcast guidelines with sensational coverage of sex scandals and crime,…

New York, August 3, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by intimidating remarks made by President Chandrika Kumaratunga against senior defense correspondent Iqbal Athas last week. Speaking to a closed meeting of 1,000 top military and police officials in Colombo on July 26, the president accused Athas of publishing sensitive information harmful to Sri…

JULY 25, 2005 Posted: August 3, 2005 Munshi Abu Tayeb, Dainik LokshamajTHREATENED The Khulna bureau chief for the Dainik Lokshamaj, a daily newspaper based in the southwestern district of Jessore, received death threats from members of the underground Islamic militant Jihadi Party.

AUGUST 2, 2005 Posted: August 9, 2005 Glenda M. Gloria, Newsbreak THREATENED A funeral wreath was delivered to the residence of Gloria’s mother on the night of August 2, according to a statement released by the Manila-based news magazine. The flowers came with the message, “Condolence from your loving friends.” The delivery person identified the…

New York, August 2, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the five-year prison sentence, followed by four years of deprivation of political rights, handed to freelance Internet journalist Zhang Lin on charges of inciting subversion. Zhang Lin’s family and lawyer Mo Shaoping received notice this morning that the Intermediate People’s Court of Bengbu in central…

AUGUST 1, 2005 Posted: August 2, 2005 Harihar Singh Rathour, Kantipur and Kathmandu PostPushkar Thapa, Annapurna Post Kamal Neupane, Nepal Samacharpatra HARASSED Security forces in Nepal’s mid-western Dailekh district harassed the three journalists in retaliation for their reports alleging that the Royal Nepalese Army recruited children to work as informants.

New York, July 29, 2005—As many as eight journalists were injured today in Srinagar, the major city of Indian Kashmir, after a grenade attack triggered gunfire between militants and security forces in the area, according to international news reports and local reporters. At least one journalist, Muzzafar Ahmad Bhat, a cameraman for the Indian news…

Bangkok, Thailand, July 28, 2005—A Thai company with ties to a former government official has filed criminal defamation complaints seeking massive damages from two daily newspapers owned by the Matichon media company. The Committee to Protect Journalists said today it is deeply concerned about the cases, part of a troubling trend toward litigation against the…