Thailand / Asia

  

CPJ, partners urge Indian police to probe threats against journalist Rana Ayyub and her father

The Committee to Protect Journalists and nine partner organizations on November 19 urged Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner Milind Bharambe to investigate death threats made against Indian journalist and Washington Post columnist Rana Ayyub and her father, and to provide immediate protection for both. In a joint letter, the signatories welcomed the police’s swift registration of…

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Australian journalist Murray Hunter

Thailand indicts journalist Murray Hunter on criminal defamation charges at Malaysia’s request

Bangkok, November 20, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in Thailand to immediately drop criminal defamation charges against Australian journalist Murray Hunter, return his passport, and stop the country’s courts from serving as vehicles for transnational legal intimidation. Hunter, a Thailand-based journalist who has contributed to various international news publications, was indicted on…

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ASEAN

CPJ, Southeast Asian lawmakers call on ASEAN to protect journalists, media freedom

The Committee to Protect Journalists and a group of Southeast Asian lawmakers have called for the “active engagement” of the regional bloc ASEAN in protecting press freedom and the formation of an inter-parliamentary alliance to safeguard media rights in the region, which includes some of the worst offenders of press freedom. As governments escalate efforts…

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Vietnamese blogger handed 12-year prison sentence for anti-state propaganda

Bangkok, October 31–A court in Hanoi sentenced Duong Van Thai, an independent Vietnamese blogger who went missing in Thailand and was later in Vietnamese custody in April 2023, to 12 years in prison and three years’ probation on Wednesday on charges of anti-state propaganda. “Vietnam’s harsh sentencing of blogger Duong Van Thai is grotesque and an outrage, particularly amid allegations he…

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Thai reporter Nattaphol Meksobhon (left) and photographer Nattaphon Phanphongsanon are seen after receiving bail in Bangkok, Thailand, on February 13, 2024.

Thailand charges 2 journalists for reporting on anti-royal vandalism

Bangkok, February 14, 2023—Thai authorities should drop all charges pending against journalist Nutthaphol Meksobhon and photographer Natthapon Phanphongsanon and stop harassing the press for reporting on issues related to the nation’s monarchy, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Wednesday. Nutthaphol, a reporter with the local independent Prachatai news website, and Natthapon, a freelance photographer,…

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Journalist Duong Van Thai arrested in Vietnam after disappearing in Thailand

Manila, April 18, 2023—Vietnamese authorities should immediately release journalist Duong Van Thai and stop all efforts to harass and detain members of the press living in exile, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On April 13, Thai, an independent journalist who posts political commentary on YouTube and has about 119,000 followers, went missing in…

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CPJ calls on Thailand not to deport detained Democratic Voice of Burma reporters to Myanmar

Bangkok, May 10, 2021 – Thai authorities should refrain from deporting three Democratic Voice of Burma reporters who were arrested yesterday, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. “Thai authorities should uphold the country’s proud history as a sanctuary for journalists fleeing military repression in Myanmar, and on humanitarian grounds should not deport three Democratic…

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Thailand issues emergency decree, nationwide restrictions on press

Bangkok, October 15, 2020 — The Thai government should immediately drop its emergency decree restricting the ability of the press to cover protests, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At 4 a.m. today, the Thai government issued a decree limiting public assembly and instituting a nationwide ban on publishing and broadcasting news that could…

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Police officers are seen in Bangkok, Thailand, on March 26, 2020. The Thai government has imposed a state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, and has restricted the press. (AP/Sakchai Lalit)

Thailand declares state of emergency, imposes press restrictions

Bangkok, March 26, 2020 — Thailand should uphold press freedom and refrain from harassing and restricting reporters while emergency rule is imposed to contain the coronavirus outbreak, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A police officer is seen in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 2, 2019. A Thai court recently sentenced journalist Suchanee Cloitre to two years in jail for criminal defamation. (Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun)

Thai court sentences journalist Suchanee Cloitre to 2 years in jail for defamation

Bangkok, January 3, 2020 — Thai authorities should not contest the appeal of journalist Suchanee Cloitre, and should stop charging reporters with criminal defamation, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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