A young Afghan journalist sentenced to death in northern Afghanistan on charges of blasphemy has been moved to Kabul ahead of an appeal due soon, Agence France-Presse (AFP) has reported. A primary provincial court in the northern town of Mazar-i-Sharif sentenced 23-year-old journalist Sayed Parvez Kambakhsh to death in January in a case that has attracted worldwide condemnation. He had no legal...
A freelance journalist in Vietnam has been handed a five-year prison sentence on charges of “taking advantage of democratic rights to act against the state’s interests” and “receiving money from abroad to support complaints against the state” under article 258 of the criminal code. He has 15 days to appeal. A court in Vinh Thuan in the southern province of Kien Giang imposed the sentence Friday on...
An appeals court has issued a 60-day temporary restraining order on the trial of the suspected masterminds of the killing of a journalist. Osmeña Montañer and Estrella Sabay, accused of ordering the March 24, 2005 killing of journalist Marlene Garcia-Esperat, filed a petition on February 4 2008 for a temporary restraining order to prevent Cebu Regional Trial Court Judge Simeon Dumdum from hearing...
A Chinese TV journalist faces prosecution after he tried to pass off video footage of a circus tiger as evidence that a wild tiger lived in a forest park in southern China. It marked the latest in a series of cases in which China's media have questioned the authenticity of purported images of endangered animals. Wu Hua, a reporter with a local television station in Pingjiang county in southern...
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has expressed serious concern over four Afghan journalists being held in detention. Sayed Parvez Kambakhsh, Ghows Zelmay, Jawed Ahmad and Ali Mohaqiq Nasab have been denied human rights including legal representation, the ability to receive visitors and access to time outdoors. Sayed Parvez Kambakhsh, 23, a journalism student and reporter for the
Tesco Lotus, one of the biggest retailers in Thailand, has filed two staggering defamation cases against a Thai columnist and a former Member of Parliament, sending a strong message to civil society and the press to tread carefully before criticising the retailing giant in Thailand. Tesco Lotus is suing columnist/academic Kamol Kamoltrakul and former Thai National Legislative Assembly (NLA) member...
The Burmese Press Scrutiny and Registration Board has suspended the 7 Days News journal for a week for reporting on a multiple-murder case in its March 13 issue, according to Mizzima News. The report quoted police and covered the funeral of a family of four and their domestic help who were shot dead in broad daylight near the home of imprisoned leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Rangoon on March 3, said...
The Sri Lankan government has appointed a recently retired army Major General to a senior position at the troubled state broadcaster, Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC). The appointment came as authorities released three journalists who had been held without charge for almost two weeks. Two other journalists arrested at the same time remain in custody. According to the Free Media Movement...
With international attention focused on the unfolding violence in Tibet, the Chinese media is confronting massive censorship, leaving the Chinese public largely in the dark. The Chinese government has barred or expelled virtually all international reporters from the region, and the state media presents the government’s perspective, which blames the Dalai Lama for the violence, the New York-based...
The Sri Lankan army took control yesterday of public Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) television. The army and police sealed off all roads leading to the station in the morning, preventing more than 200 staff from getting to work after employees threatened to strike in protest against a series of assaults by men “suspected of acting on behalf of a minister”. The takeover of the television...
