New York, August 3, 2004—Rogelio “Roger” Mariano, a commentator for Radyo Natin-Aksyon Radyo, was fatally shot by unidentified gunmen on Saturday, July 31, in Laoag City, the capital of Ilocos Norte Province, Philippines, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is investigating the motives behind his murder to determine whether they were…
New York, July 29, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the sentence handed down today to writer Nguyen Dan Que by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court. Que was sentenced to 30 months in prison on charges of “taking advantage of democratic rights to infringe upon the interests of the state.” Que did…
New York, July 27, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) strongly condemns the conditions under which two journalists covering Vietnamese asylum-seekers in Cambodia were released without charge from a two-day detention today. On Sunday, July 25, Cambodian officials arrested Sok Rathavisal, stringer for the U.S. government–funded Radio Free Asia (RFA), and Kevin Doyle, editor-in-chief of…
New York, July 26, 2004—Journalist Tha Ban, a former editor at Kyemon newspaper and a prominent pro-democracy activist, was released from Insein Prison in the capital, Rangoon, on July 12 after serving more than six years of his seven-year prison sentence. According to the BBC, he was released from prison after signing a pledge not…
New York, July 26, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) today condemned an anti-corruption agency’s weekend raids against at least six newspapers, calling the tactic “unnecessary and heavy-handed.” Officers from the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) launched the raids after the six newspapers reported the name of a witness in a fraud investigation. The ICAC,…
New York, July 20, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) calls for the immediate release of writer Nguyen Dan Que, who spent 16 months in detention without charge. The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court will finally try Que on July 29 on charges of “taking advantage of democratic rights to infringe upon the interests…
New York, July 14, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns today’s conviction of writer and military historian Pham Que Duong. The Hanoi People’s Court sentenced Duong to 19 months in prison on charges of “taking advantage of democratic rights to infringe upon the interests of the state.” The sentence accounts for time already served,…
New York, July 13, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is alarmed by the rapidly growing number of death threats against journalists and writers throughout Bangladesh. Since July 10, at least 24 journalists and writers have received death threats, all apparently from Islamic groups who accuse them of being “enemies of Islam” or “acting against…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is gravely concerned that Thailand’s criminal defamation laws are being used to suppress critical voices. In June, a court ruled that telecommunications giant Shin Corporation could sue media reformer Supinya Klangnarong for criminal libel. On July 5, London Times’ Bangkok correspondent Andrew Drummond was convicted of criminal libel in a separate suit.