New York, May 22, 2007—A freelance photographer on assignment for Time magazine in insurgency-hit southern Thailand was injured in a bomb blast today, according to news reports. Australian Philip Blenkinsop was among seven people injured by the improvised explosive device, which detonated in Yala province. The bomb was planted near the body of a man…
New York, May 21, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the harassment of three community radio stations in Thailand, including Confidante Radio FM 87.75, Taxi Driver Community Radio FM 92.75, and the Internet-based Saturday Voice Against Dictatorship. Officials from the prime minister’s public relations department (PRD) entered Confidante’s offices in Nonthaburi province on Thursday and…
New York, May 14, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned that new legislation in Thailand will further weaken press freedom guarantees. On Thursday, the military-appointed National Legislative Assembly (NLA) passed legislation granting the government the power to censor critical online news reports. The bill, which will become law after it receives approval from King…
New York, May 2, 2007–Three nations in sub-Saharan Africa are among the places worldwide where press freedom has deteriorated the most over the last five years, a new analysis by the Committee to Protect Journalists has found. Ethiopia, where the government launched a massive crackdown on the private press by shutting newspapers and jailing editors,…
New York, April 13, 2007—The prison terms handed down to two Bangkok talk show hosts emphasizes the need to decriminalize defamation, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Bangkok’s Southern Criminal Court made the ruling on Thursday in relation to allegations television political commentators Samak Sundaravej and Dusit Siriwan made during their talk shows on…
APRIL 4, 2007 Posted April 24, 2007 YouTube CENSORED Thailand’s Ministry of Information and Communications Technology ordered the Communications Authority of Thailand, which controls Thailand’s Internet gateway, to block access to the video-sharing Web site YouTube because of content it deemed offensive to the Thai monarchy. The entire site was blocked rather than the individual…
New York, March 30, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the two year prison term on criminal defamation charges handed down to firebrand and Manager Media Group founder Sondhi Limthongkul, who is appealing the sentence and remains free on bail. A Bangkok criminal court on Thursday sentenced Sondhi in relation to comments he…