Asia

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) joined 58 organizations on Friday in calling on Sri Lankan Minister for Public Security Tiran Alles to withdraw the proposed Online Safety Bill and conduct sustained multi-stakeholder consultations, including with civil society and human rights experts. The latest version of the bill empowers a five-member commission appointed by the…

Taipei, January 12, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the 15-year prison sentence issued to Chinese journalist Shangguan Yunkai and calls on the authorities to release him immediately. A district court in the central city of Ezhou handed down the sentence on January 5 after Shangguan was convicted for selling fake medicine, picking quarrels and…

Bangkok, January 5, 2023—Vietnamese authorities should immediately release journalist Le Huu Minh Tuan from jail on humanitarian grounds, amid reports that his health has deteriorated, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. Tuan, who is serving an 11-year sentence for “opposing the state” under Article 117 of the criminal code, told his family during a…

New York, January 5, 2024 —The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Bangladesh authorities and all political parties to respect the right of journalists to report freely and safely ahead of Sunday’s upcoming national election. CPJ has documented a number of attacks on journalists in the run-up to the January 7 polls, and on Thursday…

Giant portraits of President Emomali Rahmon adorn even the most nondescript buildings in Tajikistan’s capital of Dushanbe. Throughout the country, his sayings are featured on posters and billboards. Their ubiquitous presence underscores the consolidation of power by Rahmon – officially described as “Founder of Peace and Unity, Leader of the Nation” – since he emerged…

Bangkok, December 18, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the recent arrest of two journalists with Myanmar news outlet Dawei Watch and calls on the country’s military regime to release them immediately and unconditionally. The journalists, Aung San Oo and Myo Myint Oo, were arrested at their homes in the coastal town of Myeik around…

New York, December 15, 2023 – The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Hong Kong authorities to release publisher Jimmy Lai ahead of the scheduled start of his national security trial on December 18. The 76-year-old Lai could be jailed for life if convicted. Lai, a British citizen and founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper…

New York, December 13, 2023—Taliban authorities must immediately release Afghan journalist Sultan Ali Jawadi, drop all charges against him, and stop imprisoning members of the press for their work in Afghanistan, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Sunday, December 10, a Taliban court in the city of Nili, in central Daikundi Province, sentenced…

New York, December 12, 2023—The Taliban must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Abdul Rahim Mohammadi and stop detaining and intimidating members of the press in Afghanistan, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On December 4, Mohammadi, a reporter for the independent broadcaster Tamadon TV, responded to a summons by Taliban provincial intelligence officers in…

New York, December 8, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on South Korean authorities to cease harassing journalists at the investigative outlet Newstapa after a December 6 raid on the residence of its editor-in-chief Kim Yong Jin over a 2022 report that officials claimed defamed President Yoon Suk Yeol. Newstapa’s office in the capital, Seoul,…