Asia

  
Statements
Pakistani journalist Hafiz Husnain Raza (center with garland) was released on bail March 10, 2018. (Hassaan Raza)

Pakistan releases journalist on bail

New York, March 12, 2018 –The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomes the release on bail of Pakistani journalist Hafiz Husnain Raza and calls on Pakistani authorities to drop all remaining charges against him. Authorities released Raza from prison on March 10 after an Anti-Terrorism Court in Punjab province acquitted the journalist on eight charges…

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Statements
Indian policemen stand guard on a road, after Kashmiri separatists called for a day-long strike against the recent killings in Kashmir in March 2018. Kamran Yousuf, a freelancer working in the Jammu and Kashmir region, who contributes to the daily Greater Kashmir, has been in custody since September 5, 2017. (Reuters/Danish Ismail)

Indian court delays photojournalist’s bail hearing

New Delhi, March 8, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Indian authorities to grant photojournalist Kamran Yousuf bail. The bail decision was expected March 7, according to news reports, but has not been handed down yet. Yousuf, a freelancer working in the Jammu and Kashmir region, who contributes to the daily Greater Kashmir, has…

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Features & Analysis
Venus symbols are seen during an event where UN Women and rights groups launched a campaign against violence towards women as International Women's Day approaches, in Mexico City, Mexico in March 2018. CPJ has documented threats faced by women journalists across the globe. (Reuters/Henry Romero)

On International Women’s Day, CPJ looks at threats women journalists face

From imprisonment, sexual violence, cyber harassment, and even death, CPJ has documented threats faced by women journalists across the globe.

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Statements
A mobile phone screen shows that Facebook will not open following a government decision on March 7, 2018, to shut down social messaging networks across the island for 72 hours. (Reuters/Dinuka Liyanawatte)

Sri Lanka’s telecom authority blocks social media sites, messaging apps

New Delhi, March 7, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Sri Lankan authorities to restore access to social media and messaging applications. Citing Cabinet Spokesman Rajitha Senartne, Reuters reported that the government today asked service providers to block the networks amid anti-Muslim riots and violence. Sri Lanka yesterday imposed a state of emergency,…

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Alerts
An honor guard stands at attention in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in April 2015. Plainclothes officials in Hanoi on February 24, 2018, interrogated Pham Doan Trang, an independent blogger and contributor to the Vietnam Right Now independent news website, and effectively put her under house arrest, prompting the blogger to flee, according to news reports. (AP/Dita Alangkara)

Vietnamese journalist threatened with prison goes into hiding

Bangkok, March 5, 2018–Vietnamese authorities should stop threatening and drop any pending charges against journalist Pham Doan Trang, the Committee to Protect Journalists said in a statement today.

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Alerts
A poster in Khom, a village in China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, shows President Xi Jinping chatting with Xinjiang minority people. Authorities have detained several relatives of RFA Uighur service journalists in recent months. (Reuters/Jason Lee)

China detains relatives of RFA Uighur service journalists

Taipei, February 28, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today said it is alarmed by news that Chinese authorities have detained at least nine relatives of four U.S.-based journalists for Radio Free Asia’s Uighur service.

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Alerts
A bird's-eye view of ships along the coast in Singapore in July 2017. Singapore's parliament is considering draft legislation that would prevent journalists from reporting on what was happening terror attacks.(Reuters/Jorge Silva)

Singapore draft law aims to censor reporting on terror attacks

Bangkok, February 28, 2018–Draft anti-terrorism legislation under consideration in Singapore would imperil press freedom by banning journalists from covering terror attacks, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Alerts
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, center, before he addresses Filipino Muslim leaders during a reception at the Presidential Palace to celebrate the end of the Holy Month of Ramadan in June 2017. Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque told local media the government decided to ban Rappler from covering official presidential events because Duterte had

Philippines bans Rappler reporters from presidential palace

Bangkok, February 21, 2018 – The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Philippine government’s decision to ban the news website Rappler from covering official presidential events, and calls for an immediate end to all government harassment of the independent online publication.

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Statements
Photojournalist Kamran Yousuf, pictured, is facing charges after covering unrest in Jammu and Kashmir state. (Younis Khaliq)

Indian authorities say jailed photographer Kamran Yousuf not ‘real journalist’

New York, February 16, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Indian authorities and the National Investigative Agency (NIA) to immediately drop charges against photojournalist Kamran Yousuf and release him.

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Features & Analysis
A man reads a newspaper outside a Dhaka flower stall in 2015. Bangladesh's press say a climate of fear amid legal action, attacks, and threats makes covering sensitive issues difficult. (AP)

Bangladesh’s press say they are losing the courage to report amid threats from all sides

Nazmul Huda pointed his TV camera at garment workers demonstrating for higher wages in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, and at the police firing tear gas and rubber bullets at them. It took a while for police to notice the ETV reporter, and they were furious. After all, they had ordered him to leave…

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