Thailand / Asia

  

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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CPJ calls on Thai prime minister to restore press freedom

CPJ wrote to Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, urging him to restore freedom the press in Thailand.

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Voice TV station staff work in the newsroom in Bangkok, Thailand, on February 13, 2019. The TV station saw its broadcast license suspended by regulators in the run-up to the country's elections in March. (Sakchai Lalit/AP)

CPJ condemns 15-day ban on Thai TV news station

Bangkok, February 13, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the decision by a Thai media regulator to suspend the broadcasting license of Voice TV for 15 days and called on the country’s military government to allow all media to report freely on the nation’s politics.

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Blogger Truong Duy Nhat stands trial in Vietnam on March 4, 2014. He recently disappeared from Thailand and has resurfaced in a Vietnamese prison. (Vietnam News Agency via AFP)

CPJ calls on Thailand to account for missing Vietnamese blogger

Bangkok, February 6, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Thai authorities to investigate the disappearance of Vietnamese blogger Truong Duy Nhat, publicly report on that investigation’s findings, and take all measures to ensure that the journalist has not been illegally abducted or detained.

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