Authorities crack down on business news Web site
New York, September 17, 2007— The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned about the ongoing Vietnamese government harassment of Peter Leech, the owner and publisher of the popular business news Web site Intellasia. On September 12 Vietnam’s political police unit, known as PA25, and the Culture Ministry ordered the Australia-registered and Hanoi-based news service…
Ailing Vietnamese journalist released from prison
New York, June 11, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes as “long overdue” the release of Nguyen Vu Binh, a journalist imprisoned since 2002 for criticizing the government and freed less than two weeks before Vietnam’s president is due to meet with President Bush. “For nearly five years, Nguyen Vu Binh and family have suffered…
Prominent Internet writer detained in Vietnam
New York, April 25, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists journalist is gravely concerned about the recent arrest of Tran Khai Thanh Thuy, an award-winning journalist and writer. Thuy was taken into custody Saturday at her residence, where she was already being held under house arrest, according to news reports. She was charged with violating Article…
Government crackdown targets press freedom advocates in Vietnam
New York, March 6, 2007—Police arrested press freedom and democracy advocate Nguyen Van Dai and another human rights lawyer at their homes in Hanoi today for investigation under a criminal law that bans “propaganda against the government,” according to international news reports. The arrests of Dai and his law partner Le Thi Cong Nhan are…
In Vietnam, a jailed journalist’s health seriously deteriorates
New York, February 20, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the severe deterioration in the health of independent journalist Nguyen Vu Binh, 39, who has been imprisoned since 2002. When Binh’s family visited him in Nam Ha prison on February 15, he was so thin and weak that he could not hold a…
Attacks on the Press 2006: Countries That Have Jailed Journalists
ALGERIA: 2 Djamel Eddine Fahassi, Alger Chaîne III IMPRISONED: May 6, 1995 Fahassi, a reporter for the state-run radio station Alger Chaîne III and a contributor to several Algerian newspapers, including the now-banned weekly of the Islamic Salvation Front, Al-Forqane, was abducted near his home in the al-Harrache suburb of the capital, Algiers, by four…
Attacks on the Press 2006: Vietnam
VIETNAM As Vietnam continued a period of impressive economic growth, two milestones marked its increased presence on the world stage. In November, Hanoi hosted its most important international event, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which brought together U.S. President George W. Bush, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and other major…
Attacks on the Press 2006: Countries That Have Jailed Journalists
ALGERIA: 2 Djamel Eddine Fahassi, Alger Chaîne III IMPRISONED: May 6, 1995 Fahassi, a reporter for the state-run radio station Alger Chaîne III and a contributor to several Algerian newspapers, including the now-banned weekly of the Islamic Salvation Front, Al-Forqane, was abducted near his home in the al-Harrache suburb of the capital, Algiers, by four…
Vietnam: Writer released from prison continues to be harassed
New York, November 27, 2006—Writer Pham Hong Son, who was freed from prison on August 30 in a presidential amnesty apparently intended to clear the way for Vietnam’s accession to the World Trade Organization, says he continues to be harassed and kept under virtual house arrest in Hanoi. In an e-mail to Vietnamese dissident exile…