Asia

A prison official has refused to release a radio commentator in the Philippines jailed for libel in 2007, despite a court order calling for his release on parole, according to the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR). The warden of the Davao Penal Colony (Dapecol) in Davao del Norte refused on May 26 to release radio broadcaster Alexander "Alex" Adonis, despite his having been...

A Tehran revolutionary court's decision to hold Kurdish journalist Mohammad Sadegh Kabovand's trial behind closed doors under article 188 of the criminal code has been condemned by his lawyer, Masomeh Sotoudeh. The trial began on 25 May 2008. "This article can only be used for trials in which the details discussed could offend public morality, such as the trials of rapists," Sotoudeh said. She...

Rehmat Shah Afridi, the editor of Pakistani dailies Frontier Post and Maidan, has been released after nine years in prison on trumped-up drugs charges. He was freed on parole on May 24 on the orders of Punjab’s interior ministry. "Afridi’s release is excellent news for his family and friends and is a first step towards redressing a case that lacked transparency and led to his being given two death...

A newspaper editor was assaulted and another was threatened by Maoist activists annoyed by critical coverage, in separate incidents in Kailali, in far western Nepal, according to the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ). In the first incident, Hemanta Paudel, editor of the Kailali-based newspaper Sudur Sandesh Daily, was threatened by the Maoist party-affiliated Young Communist League (YCL) on...

In a fresh row of violence unidentified assailants Thursday killed Muhammad Ibrahim Khan, a senior TV journalist while he was returning to his home town after interviewing Moulvi Omar, Spokesman of Pakistan Taliban Movement in Pakistan Bajaur Tribal Agency. Muhammad Ibrahim was working for Express TV and Daily Express in Bajaur Agency for the last six years and was a renowned journalist of the...

The Committee to Protect Journalists has expressed concern at delays in the trial of two government officials accused of ordering the 2005 murder of columnist Marlene Garcia-Esperat. The trial has been brought to an indefinite halt because of questions surrounding jurisdiction. The Cebu Court of Appeals issued an injunction last week that bars the Cebu City Regional Trial Court from proceeding...

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has expressed concern over the decision ot Chinese authorities to suspend publication of a magazine and forced the dismissal of its editorial staff over coverage of last week's earthquake in Sichuan province. New Travel Weekly, published in Chongqing, was reportedly suspended from publishing on May 20 after failing to carry mourning messages in the...

Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has condemned the death threats made in a refugee camp in eastern Nepal on May 16 by members of the Communist Party of Bhutan Marxist-Leninist Maoist (CPB-MLM) against journalists working for the Bhutan News Service, www.apfanews.com, a website operated by the Association of Press Freedom Activists (APFA), a Bhutani exile organisation. The incident took place during...

A journalist was beaten up and an editor assaulted and robbed of his valuables in the eastern Sri Lankan town of Kathankudi, in seemingly election-related incidents, according to the Free Media Movement (FMM). Kathankidi has been a scene of election-related violence as well as widespread electoral malpractice in the recently-held eastern provincial council election. Freelance journalist JL...

A court of appeals in the Philippines has issued prohibited the a regional trial court from proceeding with the case against the suspected masterminds in the 2005 murder of journalist Marlene Esperat, according to the Centre for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR). Cebu is a province approximately 562 km south of Manila. In a five-page resolution penned by Associate Justice Francisco Acosta...