CPJ condemns ‘unjustified’ block on journalist Rana Ayyub leaving India
New Delhi, March 30, 2022 – Indian authorities should immediately reverse their decision to block journalist Rana Ayyub from traveling outside India, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Tuesday, immigration officials at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in the western city of Mumbai stopped Ayyub, an investigative journalist and a Washington Post commentator…
Pakistani journalist Zahid Shareef Rana attacked in Punjab province
New York, March 30, 2022 – Pakistani authorities must conduct an immediate and impartial investigation into the attack on journalist Zahid Shareef Rana and hold the perpetrators to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Sunday, March 27, a group of around 10 men assaulted Rana, a reporter for the privately owned newspaper…
Taliban detain and release at least 7 journalists and media workers; ban broadcasts from BBC, VOA, DW
New York, March 28, 2022 — The Taliban must cease detaining journalists for their work and lift all bans on news outlets’ operations, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. Since Saturday, March 26, Taliban forces have detained and then released at least seven journalists and media workers, and have ordered local outlets to stop…
Myanmar Herald journalist Ye Yint Tun sentenced to 2 years in prison
Bangkok, March 28, 2022 – Myanmar authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Ye Yint Tun and stop imprisoning members of the press for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On March 23, a special court in the city of Pathein sentenced Ye Yint Tun to two years in prison for allegedly violating…
Myanmar sentences journalists Hanthar Nyein and Than Htike Aung to 2 years in prison
Bangkok, March 24, 2022 – Myanmar authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalists Hanthar Nyein and Than Htike Aung, and stop sentencing members of the press to prison for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Monday, March 21, a military court in Yangon’s Insein Prison convicted Hanthar, co-founder of the local…
Vietnamese journalist Le Van Dung sentenced to 5 years in prison
Bangkok, March 23, 2022 – Vietnamese authorities should release journalist Le Van Dung immediately and stop imprisoning members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. The People’s Court of Hanoi convicted Dung in a two-hour trial on Wednesday, March 23, under Article 117 of the penal code, an anti-state provision that bans…
Taliban intelligence agents detain TOLOnews journalists, legal adviser in Kabul
New York, March 17, 2022 — The Taliban must immediately release journalist Bahram Aman, a news presenter at independent broadcaster TOLOnews, and stop detaining and intimidating members of the Afghanistan press corps, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Thursday, March 17, Taliban agents from the General Directorate of Intelligence detained Aman as well…
Pakistani journalist Asad Ali Toor targeted in criminal investigation of protest
On March 3, 2022, police in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, opened an investigation into Asad Ali Toor for allegedly leading an unauthorized protest earlier that week, according to news reports and Toor, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview. On March 4, the Islamabad High Court ordered police not to arrest anyone named in the…
Indian authorities arrest journalist Nilesh Sharma, re-arrest Fahad Shah
New Delhi, March 9, 2022 – Authorities in Chhattisgarh state and the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir region must immediately release journalists Nilesh Sharma and Fahad Shah and drop all investigations launched based on their journalistic work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On March 2, police in Chhattisgarh’s capital Raipur arrested Sharma, editor of…
Sri Lankan police harass, question journalists Selvakumar Nilanthan, Punniyamoorthy Sasikaran
On February 9, 2022, officers with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), a branch of the Sri Lanka police, questioned Selvakumar Nilanthan, a freelance Tamil journalist and secretary of the Batticaloa District Tamil Journalists Association, for two hours at a police station in the town of Eravur in the eastern Batticaloa district, according to Tamil Guardian,…