Asia

Journalists in Thailand have been caught in the crossfire in the anti-government protests. Paris-based Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) condemned a shooting and grenade attack in Bangkok on November 28 on the satellite station ASTV in Bangkok, owned by Sondhi Limthongkul, a leader of the opposition Popular Alliance for Democracy (PAD). A pro-government radio station in Bangkok was also attacked and...

Singapore's High Court has found the Wall Street Journal Asia in contempt of court for a commentary it published about the city-state in June and July. The court fined Dow Jones Publishing Co (Asia), a subsidiary of News Corp's Dow Jones & Co unit and publisher of the Wall Street Journal's Asian edition, 25,000 Singapore dollars (US$16,573)—the highest amount ever levied for such a case in...

Afghan authorities have released two local employees of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Kabul who were arrested a few hours after CBC reporter Mellissa Fung’s abduction on October 12. Fung was freed four weeks later, but the two brothers—Shokoor Feroz, a fixer, and Qaem Feroz, a driver—were detained by the National Directorate of Security (NDS) till Monday. Fung, a correspondent with the...

Tamil radio presenter and director of privately-owned radio Vettri FM, ARV Loshan, has been released by Sri Lanka's Terrorist Investigations Department after being held for eight days. His mother told Paris-based Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) he was not hurt during his imprisonment. The police have for the time being held on to his mobile phones but they will supposedly be returned to him in the...

A Burmese court sentenced entertainer, blogger, and activist Maung Thura—known by his stage name, "Zarganar"—to 45 years in prison on November 20 for violations of the Electronics Act, according to Burmese rights groups and international news reports. Sports journalist Zaw Thet Htwe, and two other defendants were also sentenced to at least 15 years each in the same trial. All four still face...

A court in China's southwestern Sichuan province sentenced Chen Daojun, a writer critical of the government, to three years in prison on charges of inciting subversion of state power. His wife Zeng Qirong told the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) that she was present in the courtroom in the provincial capital, Chengdu, when her husband was sentenced after 30-minute trial...

Press freedom groups have called for the release of two local employees of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Kabul who were arrested a few hours after CBC reporter Mellissa Fung’s abduction on October 12. Fung was freed four weeks later but the two are still detained by the National Directorate of Security (NDS). “If there is evidence against Shokoor Feroz, a fixer, and Qaem Feroz, a driver...

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has urged Taiwan's National Police Agency (NPA) to stop asking media personnel for information about protesters at a recent public demonstration. According to the Association of Taiwan Journalists (ATJ), an IFJ affiliate, members of the Taiwan police have reportedly asked media workers to provide photographs of demonstrators who participated in the...

Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has called calls on Nepalese authorities to carry out thorough and rapid investigations into recent attacks by violent groups on independent media and journalists. One the latest was on November 16 in capital Kathmandu and targeted the Himal Media group. "All the Nepalese media deserve the same level of safety and freedom, and it is up to the government to guarantee...

Two publications in Pakistan's Sindh province, the daily Islam and the weekly Zarb-e-Momin, have been banned for the alleged offence of spreading "anti-state feelings". Although the order was made by the Sindh provincial government under an article of the Criminal Procedure Code dealing with forfeiture for spreading "anti-state feeling", the action appears to have been initiated by the Federal...