Blogger sentenced amid clampdown in Vietnam
Bangkok, March 31, 2016 – In a mounting clampdown on dissent, Vietnam sentenced a prominent blogger on Wednesday to four years in prison on charges of disseminating “propaganda against the state,” according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the sentence and calls for the immediate release of all journalists wrongfully held behind…
Singapore court sentences online editor for sedition
Bangkok, March 24, 2016 – The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Singaporean court’s sentencing Wednesday of an Australian editor of a now-defunct independent Singaporean news website, and calls on authorities to stop jailing journalists and censoring websites.
Closure of news site underscores Malaysia’s press freedom crisis amid 1MDB scandal
On March 14, The Malaysian Insider abruptly closed its editorial operations less than a month after the state media regulator, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, blocked local access to its news site.
Australian journalists harassed and threatened in Malaysia
Bangkok, March 14, 2016 – Authorities should immediately lift restrictions imposed on the freedom of movement of two Australian journalists in Malaysia and drop all legal threats against them, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Thailand aims to hollow out foreign press with new visa restrictions
Senior Southeast Asia representative Shawn Crispin this week presented CPJ’s concerns about new media visa restrictions for foreign reporters based in Thailand to a group of Bangkok-based ambassadors. The controversial measures, announced last month by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, are scheduled to come into force on March 21. The text of Crispin’s speech follows:
Journalist faces criminal defamation threat in East Timor
Bangkok, February 29, 2016 – The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on East Timor’s prime minister, Rui Maria de Araujo, to drop the criminal defamation complaint he is pursuing against freelance journalist Raimundos Oki. Oki faces up to three years in prison if convicted of defamation for a report for the Timor Post newspaper alleging…
Thailand tightens visa requirements for foreign reporters
Bangkok, February 19, 2016 – The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned about new visa restrictions imposed on foreign reporters in Thailand that if fully implemented could restrict coverage of the country. The new guidelines, outlined in a Ministry of Foreign Affairs press statement released on Thursday, come amid reports that foreign journalists have…
Indonesia denies media visa for France 24 reporter
Bangkok, January 12, 2016 – The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Indonesia’s refusal to issue a media visa to French journalist Cyril Payen. The Bangkok-based senior reporter for France 24 television received notice of the denial from Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs without explanation on Friday, he told CPJ.