Thailand / Asia

New York, February 23, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release from a Thai detention facility of Australian writer Harry Nicolaides but calls upon authorities to reform the draconian lese majeste laws under which he was sentenced.  

China’s media-control model s being embraced in Southeast Asian nations as diverse as communist-led Vietnam, military-run Burma, ostensibly democratic Thailand, and predominantly Muslim Malaysia. By Bob Dietz and Shawn W. Crispin

A coalition government led by the People Power Party crumbled in December in the face of intense months-long street protests. As demonstrations reached a crescendo in late November, violence spread across the capital, Bangkok, and protesters laid siege to domestic and international airports. Media outlets were targeted by both pro- and antigovernment protesters.

New York, February 9, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns the increasing use of draconian lese majeste charges to harass journalists and commentators and stifle free expression in Thailand; at least one writer has gone into exile because of the charges.

Thailand’s Internet–once open and free–is fast morphing into one of Asia’s more censored cyberspaces. But a new group of concerned Thai citizens, known as the Thai Netizen Network (TNN), is bidding to turn back the tide of government censorship through advocacy and monitoring. 

New York, January 30, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned about mounting government threats to media and Internet freedom in Thailand, including legal action against community radio stations and censoring thousands of Web sites.

CPJ wrote to the prime minister of Thailand today to express our grave concern about the country’s fast-deteriorating media climate and to call on him to decisively reaffirm Thailand’s commitment to a free press and open Internet.

The news that BBC reporter Jonathan Head could face jail time in Thailand for alledgely insulting the Thai monarchy has recieved significant coverage over the holidays. Our alert on the incident from Wendesday has been cited in a number of outlets including The Associated Press, the UK-based Press Association, and the Irish Examiner. All three quoted CPJ’s…

New York, December 24, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the ongoing legal harassment of BBC correspondent Jonathan Head. Police Lt. Col. Wattanasak Mungkandee filed a third criminal complaint this year against Head on December 23, alleging he had insulted the Thai monarchy in his reporting. 

New York, December 18, 2008—For the sixth consecutive year, Iraq was the deadliest country in the world for the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists found in its end-of-year analysis. The 11 deaths recorded in Iraq in 2008, while a sharp drop from prior years, remained among the highest annual tolls in CPJ history.