Afghan TV station owner Aref Noori detained by Taliban-affiliated militia
New York, December 27, 2021— Taliban authorities should immediately and unconditionally release Aref Noori and ensure that members of the press are able to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, dozens of armed men who identified themselves as members of a militia affiliated with the Taliban-controlled Police District 4 in Kabul…
After a harrowing escape, a family of Afghan journalists prepares for a new life in the US
The day Kabul fell to the Taliban, was the “end of the line for us as journalists,” said Shiraz Noorani. That day, August 15, 2021, was when the Nooranis, a family of five current and former Afghan journalists, decided to flee the country. Four months later, four of the Nooranis — siblings Shiraz, Ghazal, and…
Photographer Faysal Mujeeb beaten, detained by Pakistan Rangers while covering political party event
Washington, D.C., December 20, 2021 – Pakistan authorities must conduct an immediate and impartial investigation into the beating and detention of Faysal Mujeeb and ensure law enforcement agencies allow journalists to operate freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On the evening of December 9, officers with the Pakistan Rangers, a paramilitary…
Afghan journalist Jawed Yusufi beaten, stabbed in Kabul
New York, December 20, 2021 – The Taliban must thoroughly investigate the recent attack on journalist Jawed Yusufi, hold those responsible to account, and ensure the safety of Afghan reporters, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At about 5 p.m. yesterday, four unidentified men followed Yusufi, a reporter with the independent online Ufuq News…
Myanmar photographer Soe Naing reportedly dies in army detention
Bangkok, December 15, 2021 – Myanmar authorities must immediately disclose the status of freelance photographer Soe Naing amid reports he died in detention, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Soldiers took Soe Naing into custody on December 10 after he photographed a protest in Yangon against the country’s military junta government, according to reports…
Nine-year sentence for prominent journalist Pham Doan Trang reaffirms Vietnam’s ‘abysmal’ press freedom record
Bangkok, December 15, 2021 – Vietnamese authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Pham Doan Trang, and stop imprisoning independent news reporters for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In a one-day trial yesterday, Hanoi’s People’s Court sentenced Trang to nine years in prison under Article 117 of the penal code, a…
Taliban official and bodyguards beat, detain journalist Sayed Rashed Kashefi
New York, December 14, 2021—The Taliban must immediately and thoroughly investigate the beating and detention of journalist Sayed Rashed Kashefi and ensure that members of the press can operate freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On December 11, the director of the Taliban-controlled Kabul Directorate of Refugee Affairs, Abdul Matin Rahimzai,…
DVB reporter Aung San Lin arrested in Myanmar
Bangkok, December 14, 2021 – Myanmar authorities must immediately release Democratic Voice of Burma reporter Aung San Lin and drop any charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At around midnight on December 11, about 20 soldiers raided Aung San Lin’s home in the village of Pin Zin, in the northwestern region…
CPJ’s Steven Butler: China’s sentencing of Jimmy Lai over Tiananmen Square vigil is ‘despicable’
Taipei, December 13, 2021 — In response to a Hong Kong court’s decision today to sentence Jimmy Lai, founder of the Next Digital media company and the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, to 13 months imprisonment over his alleged connection to a 2020 vigil marking the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, the Committee to Protect…
Myanmar authorities sentence Kanbawza Tai News journalists to 3 years in prison
Bangkok, December 13, 2021 – Myanmar authorities should release three Kanbawza Tai News journalists recently sentenced to prison for their work and drop all charges against them, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On December 10, a court at the Nyaung Shwe Taung Lay Lone Prison, in Shan state, sentenced editor Nang Nang Tai,…