Asia

2015

  

CPJ welcomes convictions in 2013 murder of Bangladeshi blogger

New York, December 31, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes today’s convictions in the case of Ahmed Rajib Haider, a blogger hacked to death in Bangladesh in February 2013. A Dhaka court sentenced two students to death for murder, including Rezwanul Azad Rana, a fugitive who was charged in absentia and who was described by…

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Syria, France most deadly countries for the press

Of 69 journalists killed for their work in 2015, 40 percent died at the hands of Islamic militant groups such as Al-Qaeda and Islamic State. More than two-thirds of the total killed were singled out for murder. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser

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CPJ Newsletter: A year in review

Over the past year, CPJ has documented anti-press violations all over the world, cases of journalists killed, imprisoned, abducted, or threatened in relation to their work. You can see all of our coverage at our website, www.cpj.org. But here at CPJ Impact we also highlight those times when CPJ has stepped in and advocated for…

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China delays visa renewal for critical French journalist

New York, December 24, 2015–A French journalist based in Beijing told the Committee to Protect Journalists she may be forced to leave China by January 1 because her journalist visa has not been renewed.

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Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, President Widodo's right-hand man, discusses conditions for journalists with the press freedom delegation in Jakarta. (Sumit Galhotra/CPJ)

One year on, challenges remain for press in Indonesia

“Change does not come overnight,” President Joko Widodo’s right-hand man, Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, told an international delegation of 10 media and freedom of expression groups that visited Indonesia last month.

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China, Egypt imprison record numbers of journalists

Egypt is second only to China as the world’s worst jailer of journalists in 2015. Worldwide, the number of journalists behind bars for their work declined moderately during the year, but a handful of countries continue to use systematic imprisonment to silence criticism. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser

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Slideshow: Journalists freed

While just under 200 journalists are behind bars, CPJ witnessed several memorable releases in 2015, including in Vietnam, Ethiopia, and even secretive Eritrea. Some of the journalists had spent years behind bars; they endured isolation and several say they were tortured. This year, CPJ’s advocacy contributed to the release of at least 31 journalists. Some…

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Exile the price of freedom for Vietnamese blogger Ta Phong Tan

Nearly two months after her early release from a decade-long prison sentence, Vietnamese blogger Ta Phong Tan is settling into life in exile in the U.S. Hers was the latest in a series of U.S. State Department-negotiated releases of political prisoners held on anti-state charges on condition they promptly leave Vietnam, removed from their families,…

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Journalist covering sensitive rural issues in India jailed

Plainclothes police arrested Somaru Nag on July 16, 2015, at his family’s mobile phone shop on the outskirts of Darbha town, according his brother, Sonaru, who was cited by the South Asian media watchdog group The Hoot. The family was told of his arrest three days later.

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Journalist injured as gunmen open fire on press vehicle in Bangladesh

On November 22, 2015 Rajib Sen Prince, the Chittagong district correspondent for the privately owned broadcaster Mohona TV, was injured when unidentified assailants opened fire on the press vehicle he was in. Sen had been covering the burial of Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, an opposition leader executed for war crimes, including the murder of scores of…

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2015