A Thai criminal court decision has sentenced media owner, television commentator, and political activist Sondhi Limthongkul to two years in prison in connection with criminal libel charges filed by a former government minister. Sondhi posted 200,000 baht (US$5,882) bail and told courtroom reporters last thursday that he would appeal the conviction, according to local news reports. The court also...
Official harassment of Malaysiakini, a widely read online news site in Malaysia that has faced persistent threats from government authorities over its 11-year history, has increased in recent times, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has reported. Officials from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) entered Malaysiakini’s offices on September 8 and videotaped its...
A Madrid prosecutor on Monday demanded a three year prison term - and a three year ban on practising journalism - for El Mundo Deputy-Editor Antonio Rubio, who is accused of allegedly "discovering and revealing state secrets." The charges stem from articles published in the Spanish daily on May 31, 2005 detailing confidential reports which an informer codenamed 'Cartagena' supplied to the Spanish...
A group of Afghan journalists has blamed the international coalition for the death of an abducted colleague during the British commando rescue of a New York Times reporter. They have accused the troops of having a "double standard" for Western and Afghan lives, the Associated Press (AP) has reported. The accusation came on Thursday even as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's office said that...
A New York Times reporter held by the Taliban in Afghanistan was freed during a dramatic airborne commando raid on Wednesday in which his Afghan colleague was killed, officials and the newspaper said. Gunmen snatched Stephen Farrell, who is Irish, and Sultan Munadi, on Saturday while they were reporting on the aftermath of a NATO air strike that killed civilians and dozens of insurgents in the...
Vietnam has freed a detained blogger and a journalist who were critical of government policies towards China and involved in a plan to distribute anti-China T-shirts, the blogger and a lawyer said on Sunday, according to Reuters. The releases came ahead of a Sept 6-9 visit by Communist Party chief Nong Duc Manh to Australia and New Zealand, where he is sure to face protests and pressure over human...
At least four journalists have been physically attacked by security guards or police in the past eight days in China. Chinese, Hong Kong and foreign journalists have been the victims of violence and harassment, according to Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF). “The authorities will be hard put to rein in the disturbing rise in cases of violence against the press unless those responsible are dealt with...
Sayed Parvez Kambakhsh, the young Afghan journalist who was sentenced to death and then to 20 years in prison for downloading an article about the rights of women in Islam, was secretly pardoned and released several weeks ago and left the country for fear of reprisals. Kambakhsh’s lawyer confirmed to Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF) on Monday that his client was released several weeks ago after...
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned a police assault on radio reporter Dawa Khan Meenapal at the site of a bomb attack in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, in which at least 40 people were killed and 65 wounded on August 25. According to the Afghan Independent Journalists’ Association (AIJA), an IFJ affiliate, Meenapal was recording witness accounts of the attack in...
Rangoon-based weekly Phoenix has been closed down for an indefinite perdiod by the military government’s censorship board, Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) and the Burma Media Association (BMA) have reported. The weekly is edited by Mar-J, a writer who has been subject to bans in the past for his satirical comments. The authorities have not given any specific reason for Phoenix’s closure. Mizzima...
