Sri Lankan journalist Keerthi Ratnayake detained under anti-terror act

Police in Sri Lanka should immediately release journalist Keerthi Ratnayake and halt further investigations into him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Ratnayake, a former army intelligence officer and regular freelance contributor to the London-based, Sri Lanka-focused news website Lanka-e-News, was summoned to the Kollupitiya Police Station in Colombo in western Sri Lanka on August 14 to answer questions about information he had provided to the Indian embassy in Colombo concerning a possible terrorist attack on the embassy, according to Lanka-e-News and news reports After reporting to the police station, Ratnayake, who covers defense and politics,…Read more

Sri Lanka police repeatedly interrogate journalist

Police in Batticaloa, in eastern Sri Lanka, should stop harassing journalist Punniyamoorthy Sasikaran and let him work without interference, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 23, officers from the Batticaloa police superintendent’s Special Crime Branch interrogated Sasikaran, a freelance Tamil journalist who is also the treasurer of the Batticaloa District Tamil Journalists Union, at a police station, according to news reports and the journalist, who communicated with CPJ by messaging app. The officers accused Sasikaran of organizing a ceremony in January that paid tribute to Indian fishermen who died at sea in…Read more

Indian journalist Manish Kumar Singh found dead in Bihar state

Authorities in India’s eastern Bihar state must fully investigate the death of journalist Manish Kumar Singh, determine whether he was killed in relation to his work, and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Singh, a reporter with the Hindi-language privately owned news channel Sudarshan TV, went missing in Bihar’s East Champaran district on August 8, and villagers found his body on August 10, according to local news reports and Sanjay Singh, the journalist’s father, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview. Police arrested three people suspected to…Read more

Pakistan authorities detain, investigate journalists Amir Mir and Imran Shafqat

Pakistan authorities should immediately drop their investigations into journalists Amir Mir and Imran Shafqat, and cease harassing members of the press in retaliation for their coverage of public institutions, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 7, officers with the Federal Investigation Agency arrested Mir, CEO of the privately owned news agency Googly News TV, and Shafqat, who hosts the YouTube news commentary channel Tellings with Imran Shafqat, according to news reports and both journalists, who spoke with CPJ in phone interviews. Googly News TV publishes on a website and YouTube channel, which has about 360,000 subscribers;…Read more

Indian journalist stabbed to death in Andhra Pradesh

 Authorities in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh must thoroughly investigate the death of journalist Chennakeshavalu and ensure that those responsible are held to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, in the Kurnool district of the southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh, a local police officer and his brother stabbed Chennakeshavalu, a reporter with the privately owned news channel EV5, according to news reports. Chennakeshavalu, who uses one name, died later that day of his injuries, according to those reports, which said that police have arrested the officer, Venkata Subbaiah, and his brother,…Read more

Bangladesh authorities harass, threaten two Rohingya journalists

Bangladesh authorities should immediately cease harassing brothers and colleagues Sayful Arkane, a reporter, and Mohammad Aziz Arkane, a camera operator, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 2, the brothers, who cover Rohingya refugees for the YouTube channel of Rohingya news website The Arakan Times, participated in a meeting between Rohingya refugees, U.N. officials, and officials with the office of Bangladesh’s Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner in Nayapara refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar in southeast Bangladesh, to discuss changes to food ration cards following protests over the issue, according to Mohammad Aziz Arkane and…Read more

Malta government bears responsibility for journalist’s murder, inquiry finds

An independent inquiry in Malta into the murder of the anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has found that the state had to bear responsibility after creating a “culture of impunity”. The 437-page report, conducted by a team of judges and released on Thursday, said the state “failed to recognise the real and immediate risks” to the investigative journalist’s life and “failed to take reasonable steps to avoid them”. Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb as she drove away from her home on 16 October 2017. Her death was met with outrage across Europe, and embroiled Malta’s…Read more

Zambian opposition supporters assault reporter from state media

Zambian authorities must thoroughly and quickly investigate the brutal attack by supporters of opposition party United Party for National Development (UPND) on Victor Mwila, a reporter with the state-owned Zambia News and Information Services, and ensure that those responsible are held to full account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 23, about 20 UPND supporters in the central business area of Ikelenge district, in northwest Zambia, kicked and hit Mwila using their fists and unknown objects, and grabbed his camera, his mobile phone, and 1,000 kwacha (US$52) in cash, according…Read more

UK: Sun, Mail and Rusbridger align as industry unites against Official Secrets Act reforms

Press Gazette: Former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger has argued reforms to the Official Secrets Act would mean a future Edward Snowden-style whistleblower would be forced to avoid mainstream UK publications to spill secrets. Instead they would avoid fears of stricter sentences for publication in the public interest by sharing information with a foreign title or website or putting it online themselves, he said in his submission to Government. His stance puts him in rare agreement with the likes of the The Sun as the industry unites against the proposed reforms in fear they…Read more

UK journalists could be jailed like spies under proposed Official Secrets Act changes

Press Gazette: Journalists could be treated like spies for reporting on matters of public interest under planned reforms to the UK’s Official Secrets Act. The move has caused alarm at a time when press freedom is seen as being under attack in the UK following the raid by the Information Commissioner to find The Sun’s Matt Hancock-scoop source. Yesterday, it was revealed that foreign governments are targeting UK journalists with mobile phone spyware. The Government said the reform was needed as the existing acts, with the last update in 1989, are no longer enough to…Read more