Thailand

At least 42 journalists are killed in 2010 as two trends emerge. Suicide attacks and violent street protests cause an unusually high proportion of deaths. And online journalists are increasingly prominent among the victims. A CPJ special report

• Wikileaks hit by denial-of-service attack, turns to Amazon hosting...
• ...but Amazon drops the site following pressure from a U.S. senator.
• Google extends its https encryption to YouTube, making video blocking harder.
• Censorship of the Net directly related to how authoritarian a regime is, claims a study.
• Venezuala's telecom regulator proposes stronger takedown powers over Internet content.
• Thailand's technology minister says "blacklisting [websites] doesn't work."
• UK police seek powers to suspend web domains if there are "reasonable grounds to believe they are being used to commit a crime," even before a warrant or trial.

• Microsoft allows users to turn on https by default in Hotmail, but it's still couched in warnings.
• Meanwhile, Access starts its own global campaign for https to be turned on for the most visited websites.
• Thai censorship, originally aimed at a few hundred domains, now covers over 250,000 websites.
• China "unpublishes" previously approved online articles about a Party official's private life.
• Burma's entire internal network is knocked offline in a denial-of-service attack...
• ... while Digital Democracy reports on the domestic state of commmunications technology in the country.

• A powerful advocate for press and Internet freedom, Persephone Miel sadly passed away in June. The Pulitzer Center, in partnership with Internews, has launched a memorial fellowship in her name.
• How the Great Firewall of China breaks the global Internet: stories of Chinese re-routing and censorship affecting services in Chile, the US, and even the American military.
• Thai crisis fuels social media boom: Thai authorities have shut down a number of Web sites in recent years, leading to wider use of uncensored social networking sites.
• A move toward secure hosts for botnets. As sites like Google's Gmail encrypt and secure their communications, malware botnets begin using them for their secure messaging.
• News of new Internet censorship measures in Tajikistan. (Rough Google translation only.)

• CPJ protested the arrest of Bahrain blogger Ali Abdel Imam back in September -- The Wall Street Journal has a story on his continuing detainment.
• Activism around the imprisonment of Canadian-Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan continues: PEN Canada is  focusing on his case and Canada and France's foreign ministers have urged his release.
• Local Thai ISPs are being called in by the government to help block the country's rapidly expanding website blacklist. The authorities want them to respond 24/7 to censorship requests.
• The Journal of Democracy has published Ron Deibert and Rafai Rohozinski's overview of the pros and cons of new technology in authoritarian societies. It's available here in PDF format.
• The New York Times has more info on US law enforcement's request to broaden its Internet interception powers.
• Jared Cohen, the US State Department's advocate for high-tech diplomacy, has moved to Google. Foreign Policy interviews him on his new job.

Bangkok, September 24, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the arrest today of Chiranuch Premchaiporn, editor of the popular Thailand news website Prachatai, on charges of insulting the royal family. 

The Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT) hosted a memorial Thursday to mark the 25^th anniversary of the deaths of NBC cameraman correspondent Neil Davis and soundman Bill Latch. The two journalists were killed by military fire on September 9, 1985, while covering a failed coup attempt in the Thai capital. 

Two days before Italian photographer Fabio Polenghi was fatally shot while covering widespread civil unrest in the streets of Bangkok, he posted a short message to his Facebook page: “Every day is a gift, so do your best,” he wrote in a message made more poignant by his death on May 19. 

More than two months later, however, it’s not clear that Thai authorities are doing their best to solve the case and bring the perpetrators to justice. 

Two journalists died and several others were injured during the country’s political unrest. A CPJ investigation has found that both security forces and protesters engaged in reckless behavior—and in the aftermath, the government has done little to bring anyone to account. A CPJ special report by Shawn W. Crispin

Reuters produced this video shortly after its cameraman Hiro Muramoto was killed while covering unrest in Bangkok on April 10. The video includes Muramoto's last footage, taken just before he was shot.

Read CPJ's special report on the death of Muramoto and other press casualties, "In Thailand unrest, journalists under fire."

Thailand's Washington-based embassy issued an official reply to CPJ's June 7 letter addressed to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva in which we expressed our concerns about the country's deteriorating security situation for journalists. CPJ's letter highlighted in particular our concerns about two journalists—Reuters cameraman Hiro Muramoto and freelance photographer Fabio Polenghi—who were killed while covering recent clashes between anti-government protestors and security forces.

New York, May 20, 2010—As details of violence emerge, the Committee to Protect Journalists called on the Thai government today to investigate the deaths of two journalists who were killed while covering the violence that has wracked Bangkok and other parts of Thailand for three months. It is the government’s duty to instruct military forces to be aware of the presence of journalists in a battle area and ensure their safety, CPJ said.

Firsthand accounts from journalists covering street protests in Bangkok illustrate the severity of the crisis and the danger to the front-line press. At least eight journalists have been shot, two of them fatally, while covering the unrest in the Thai capital, CPJ research shows. On Wednesday, police entered the Buddhist temple Wat Patum, where antigovernment protesters had gathered. The troops opened fire with live ammunition, according to local and foreign media reports. Andrew Buncombe in London-based The Independent picks it up from there:

New York, May 19, 2010—Freelance Italian photojournalist Fabio Polenghi was killed and three international journalists were among dozens of people injured today during clashes in Bangkok, according to international news reports. The fighting followed a military operation to clear an area occupied for six weeks by anti-government protesters. Demonstrators attacked and threatened local media outlets for perceived government bias in the ensuing disorder, while officials ordered that TV stations air only government-issued news bulletins, the reports said.

Following news that Italian freelance photojournalist Fabio Polenghi was fatally shot, and at least two other international journalists wounded today as security forces stormed a makeshift camp of “Red Shirt” protesters in Bangkok, we issued this statement:

New York, May 14, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned about the deteriorating security situation for reporters in Thailand as government forces and anti-government protesters exchange fire in the national capital. Three journalists were shot and injured on Friday when security forces and protesters exchanged fire that resulted in at least seven deaths and more than 100 injuries, according to local and international news reports.

New York Times reporter Thomas Fuller was literally in the line of fire on Thursday when a dissident Thai soldier he was interviewing was shot in the head and severely wounded mid-conversation.

As part of its declaration of emergency, the Thai government last week radically broadened existing Internet censorship powers to prohibit a wide range of speech, including independent commentary and newsgathering. In doing so, it has exacerbated an already fragile political situation and may have permanently weakened Thailand's constitutional protections for press freedom.

New York, April 12, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is saddened and outraged by the fatal shooting of Reuters cameraman Hiro Muramoto during armed exchanges between government soldiers and antigovernment protestors on Saturday. Muramoto, left, a Japanese national, was shot in the chest while filming an early-afternoon confrontation and was pronounced dead at a Bangkok hospital, according to local and international news reports.

New York, April 9, 2010—The Thai government should restore access to news outlets censored after a state of emergency was declared Wednesday in response to antigovernment protests, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Journalists reporting on the unrest are increasingly vulnerable to physical assault as clashes between protesters and authorities escalate. 

New York, March 29, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns and calls for a thorough investigation into grenade attacks launched against two state-owned television news stations in Thailand. The attacks—one against army-run Channel 5, the other against the National Broadcasting Services of Thailand (NBT)—took place Saturday night in the capital, Bangkok. 

Top Developments
• Amid partisan conflict, media owner is target of failed assassination.
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