Thailand / Asia

  

BBC reporter charged with insulting the king

New York, December 24, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the ongoing legal harassment of BBC correspondent Jonathan Head. Police Lt. Col. Wattanasak Mungkandee filed a third criminal complaint this year against Head on December 23, alleging he had insulted the Thai monarchy in his reporting. 

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For sixth straight year, Iraq deadliest nation for press

New York, December 18, 2008—For the sixth consecutive year, Iraq was the deadliest country in the world for the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists found in its end-of-year analysis. The 11 deaths recorded in Iraq in 2008, while a sharp drop from prior years, remained among the highest annual tolls in CPJ history.

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Media under fire as political conflict intensifies

New York, December 1, 2008–As Thailand’s political crisis deepens, the Committee to Protect Journalists urgently calls on both sides of the conflict to end their attacks on reporters and media outlets and allow all journalists to report freely on breaking news. 

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Newspaper journalist shot and killed

New York, September 30, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Thai authorities to launch an immediate investigation into the shooting death of Jaruek Rangcharoen, a journalist with the daily Thai-language newspaper Matichon.

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Protesters seize Thai state television station

New York, August 26, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns an attack led by anti-government protesters against state-run National Broadcasting Service of Thailand (NBT) television news station. The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protest group ambushed and seized control of the station’s headquarters in Bangkok early this morning as part of several ambush-style attacks…

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Thai journalist killed in bomb attack

Chalee was killed by a car bomb that apparently targeted people arriving at the scene of a blast that occurred minutes earlier in the town of Sungai Kolok on the Malaysian border, according to local and international news reports. At least 30 people were injured in the second explosion, which occurred 20 minutes after a…

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CPJ calls for investigation into murdered journalist

THAILAND: New York, August 6, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Thailand’s government to launch an independent investigation into the recent shooting death of Athiwat Chaiyanurat, a reporter with the Thai-language daily newspaper Matichon and a stringer for the army-owned Channel 7 television station. A local press freedom group said he had been threatened…

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Thai prime minister urged to halt harassment

Dear Prime Minister Samak, The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned by recent government moves that represent a clear and present danger to press freedom and media reform in Thailand.

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BBC reporter faces legal harassment in Thailand

New York, June 6, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the legal harassment of BBC correspondent Jonathan Head in Thailand. A high-ranking police official, Lt. Col. Wattanasak Mungkandee, has filed two separate criminal complaints alleging that the journalist insulted the monarchy—charges that Head and the BBC have called unfounded. Thai law allows any…

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Tesco hits Thai journalists with heavy libel suits

Dear Mr. Darmp, The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about libel lawsuits Tesco Lotus has initiated against journalists who reported and wrote opinion pieces on your company’s growing operations in Thailand. While we recognize the right of corporations to take civil legal action to protect their reputation, we view the complaints and the monetary damages Tesco Lotus is seeking in these cases as punitive and a direct threat to press freedom and free public commentary.

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