Released writer tweets about life in a Chinese prison
Siweiluozi’s Blog, an anonymous blog that covers various Chinese legal issues and current affairs, has translated a series of updates by Chinese writer Yang Zili, who was arrested in 2001 and later convicted of subversion against the state for online articles. Released last year after serving eight years, Yang joined Twitter and has been describing…
TV coverage guidelines drawn in Pakistan as violence rises
In November 2009, I received this e-mail message from a few people in Pakistan:TOP NEWS MANAGERS AGREE ON TV COVERAGE GUIDELINESISLAMABAD—Top news managers from Pakistan’s eight television channels have evolved a first-of-its-kind voluntary framework to standardize professional guidelines governing terrorism coverage. [A PDF of November’s message is here.]Since then there hasn’t been much more news about the issue,…
After election, will Sri Lanka improve press record?
Sri Lanka’s Department of Elections today declared incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa the winner of the presidential election with almost 58 percent of the vote. The situation is still tense as his opponent, former Gen. Sarath Fonseka, threatens a lawsuit to challenge the entire process, from voter access to irregularities in computer counting, to name just two…
Report: Why haven’t Maguindanao gunmen been arrested?
International press freedom groups, including CPJ, have released a new, in-depth report into the November massacre of 30 journalists and two media support workers in Maguindanao province, Philippines. The 32-page document questions why roughly 100 gunmen believed to be involved in the election-related killings have yet to be arrested, and it emphasizes the need for…
Journalist death toll rises in Philippines massacre
The identification this week of photographer Jepon Cadagdagon as another victim in the Nov. 23 Maguindanao massacre has raised the death toll of journalists and media workers to 32. Even before accounting for Cadagdagon, CPJ had characterized the massacre, allegedly carried out by a ruling political clan in the area, as the deadliest event for…
Will impunity in media attacks ever end in Sri Lanka?
On Tuesday, I revisited three cases CPJ had investigated last year, dating from January 2009: the attack on Sirasa TV; the murder of newspaper editor Lasanatha Wickramatunga, and the violent attack on another editor, Upali Tennakoon and his wife, Dhammika. Last year’s report was called Failure to Investigate. Today, I’ll take a look at the implications of the…
One freed, but what about the others silenced in Sri Lanka?
With Monday’s release of J. S. Tissainayagam on bail, maybe things are looking up for the media in Sri Lanka. CPJ welcomed Tissainayagam’s release from a sentence of 20 years’ “rigorous imprisonment,” but called on President Mahinda Rajapaksa to extend him a full pardon, as it is within his presidential powers to do. For now,…
Nepalese journalist defiant after razor slashing
Tika Bista heard the word “journalist” for the first time while she was still at school in Rukum, in western Nepal. She saw journalists from Kathmandu taking pictures on their way to the village. It was love at first sight. She entered the world of journalism and began her career five years ago. Then last month, the love…
One year later in Sri Lanka, little has changed
Even by Sri Lanka’s standards, January 2009 was a brutal month for journalists. On January 6, on a quiet road on the outskirts of Colombo, the country’s main independently owned TV station, Sirasa TV, was raided at 2:05 a.m. by 15 to 20 masked armed men working with military precision. At 2:35:31 they detonated an…