Obama should address media rights in Southeast Asia
Dear President Obama: We are pleased that you will begin your second term as U.S. president with a trip to Southeast Asia. As you visit Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand from November 17 through 20 while attending the 21st Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit and related meetings in Phnom Penh, we hope that your commitment to human rights and the fundamental right to free expression remains an important aspect of your agenda.
China obstructs, censors foreign media before congress
New York, October 29, 2012–Officials from China’s Communist Party should stop censoring and obstructing foreign journalists in the lead-up to the Party Congress scheduled for November 8, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Information security is notoriously tight before the five-yearly congress, which is expected to usher in high-level leadership change in 2012.
Baluchistan latest epicenter of attacks on Pakistani press
It is one step forward and two steps back in Pakistan’s restive Baluchistan province. The nation’s highest court has acknowledged the dangerous climate journalists face in Baluchistan, but it has also affirmed a directive that only adds to the pressure cooker conditions that journalists work under.
Equatorial Guinea indefinitely suspends radio program
New York, October 23, 2012–Authorities in Equatorial Guinea indefinitely suspended a radio program on a government-controlled outlet during a broadcast on Friday that included criticism of the president of the Supreme Court, according to local journalists and news reports.
Sedition dropped, but Indian cartoonist faces other charges
After intense public pressure, the Maharashtra state government last week dropped the charge of sedition against Indian cartoonist Aseem Trivedi. However, Trivedi still faces other charges as his case resumes tomorrow at the Bombay High court. The 25-year old cartoonist, who was arrested on September 8, could have been sentenced to life imprisonment if convicted of sedition.…
Q&A: Yavuz Baydar on Turkey’s press freedom climate
For the past several months, CPJ staff has been researching pervasive press freedom problems in Turkey, including the criminal prosecution of journalists, the use of governmental pressure to engender self-censorship, and the presence of a repressive legal structure. This month, CPJ will release an in-depth report on Turkey’s press freedom crisis. In advance of our…
Puntland authorities close down radio and website
Nairobi, October 9, 2012–Security agents in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland shuttered private broadcaster Horseed FM on Saturday morning and ordered Internet service providers in the region to block the station’s website, according to local journalists.
Judicial intimidation of editor and newspaper in Chad
Lagos, Nigeria, October 5, 2012–Chadian authorities are abusing the judicial and law enforcement systems to silence news coverage critical of the government’s performance, censoring publications and targeting one editor with an unjust criminal conviction. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the government to immediately halt its actions.
Iran steps up its campaign against the press
New York, October 3, 2012–In a flurry of new anti-press actions in Iran, a jury has voted to convict a Reuters bureau chief on anti-state charges while authorities have jailed the head of the state’s official news agency, blocked Google services, and shut one reformist newspaper.