“With a new president, Sri Lanka has an opportunity to improve press freedom,” said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi. “Police should drop their complaints against journalists Selvakumar Nilanthan and Tharindu Jayawardhana and allow them to work freely.”

On October 20, police in eastern Batticaloa district arrested Nilanthan after he did not attend a court hearing related to a 2019 investigation on multiple allegations, including obstruction of a public officer and defamation over his reporting on alleged government corruption.

Nilanthan told CPJ that neither he nor his lawyer received notice of the September hearing before he was detained in an overcrowded cell in Eravur town with an open defecation area. 

Nilathan was detained together with journalist Kuharasu Subajan, his surety in the case responsible for guaranteeing that the defendant appears for court hearings.

The two were released the next day, when Nilanthan was granted bail after a court denied the police’s request for a 14-day remand. His next hearing is on January 20. 

Separately, on October 9, Induka Silva — head of the police Criminal Investigation Department’s homicide unit — sought an order from the capital’s Colombo Fort Magistrate Court against Jayawardhana, editor-in-chief of the news website MediaLK, over a video in which he commented on allegations of misconduct against Silva and the appointment of Ravi Seneviratne to the Ministry of Public Security.

At the time the video was published, Silva was investigating Seneviratne over the government’s failure to prevent the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed 269 people. Seneviratne was the senior deputy inspector-general of the CID at the time.

On October 12, Silva was transferred to the police headquarters, according to Jayawardhana and a copy of the order reviewed by CPJ.

Silva’s report, reviewed by CPJ, accused Jayawardhana — who has reported extensively on the attacks — of publishing false informationand obstructing the investigation into Seneviratne. The next hearing is scheduled for January 15, Jayawardhana told CPJ, adding that he feared he would be arrested.

Seneviratne told CPJ that Silva’s report against Jayawardhana violated the journalist’s freedom of expression. 

CID Director Mangala Dehideniya and Eravur police officer-in-charge N. Harsha de Silva told CPJ that they were unable to immediately comment and did not respond to CPJ’s subsequent text messages.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

KCPQ television news photographer Mike Harvey was harassed and had a laser shined in his eyes while reporting on a pro-Palestinian protest encampment at the University of Washington in Seattle on May 15, 2024.

Students erected the encampment on the Liberal Arts Quadrangle, the main gathering place on campus, on April 29, The Seattle Times reported, calling for the university to sever all financial ties to the Israeli government and to Boeing, which is a supplier for the Israeli Air Force. The encampment was cleared on May 20 after the students and the university reached an agreement.

Video of the encounter posted by Harvey on social network X shows the journalist filming on steps above the encampment when two individuals approach him holding open umbrellas in front of his camera, chanting, talking loudly and laughing. They also ask him what outlet he works for.

This content originally appeared on U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database and was authored by U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database.

On May 18, the private bodyguards of opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, also known as Bobi Wine, harassed and assaulted the three journalists who were covering the funeral of a prominent businessman in the central region district of Lwengo, according to media reports, a statement by the local press rights group the Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda, and the journalists who separately spoke to CPJ. The attack happened just after Kyagulanyi, who is president of the National Unity Platform (NUP) political party, arrived at the burial grounds and greeted mourners, according to media reports and the journalists. 

“Ugandan journalists must be allowed to work without fear of violence,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Muthoki Mumo, in Nairobi. “Authorities should ensure accountability for the assault and harassment of these three journalists, and NUP opposition party officials must take concrete steps to ensure that their private security personnel do not pose a threat to the media.”

Kayondo, a reporter with the privately owned Radio Simba, told CPJ that she was filming Kyagulanyi’s arrival when two bodyguards attacked her, pushing her to the ground. The journalist said one of bodyguards repeatedly slapped and punched her in the back. Kayondo said she was treated at a local hospital for a nosebleed and general body pain, adding that her mobile phone and sweater were stolen during the attack.    

Namusaazi, a reporter with the privately owned Next Media Services, told CPJ that she witnessed the attack on Kayondo, shouted for the bodyguards to stop, and told them that Kayondo was a journalist. Namusaazi said that the two bodyguards then turned on her, punching her on the knee and breaking her camera. Namusaazi said that she recognized the man who broke her camera as Achileo Kivumbi, a known member of Kyagulanyi’s security detail. Namusaazi did not suffer injuries requiring treatment.

Mutyaba, a reporter with the privately owned Nation Media Group, told CPJ that Kivumbi grabbed her camera and tried to confiscate it but was ordered to return it by Edward Ssebuwufu, the head of Kyagulanyi’s security detail who is also known as Edwward Mutwe. 

On May 20, the Greater Masaka Journalists Association (GREMAJA), a local journalist umbrella body, issued a two-day ultimatum for an apology and compensation from Kyagulanyi’s party and warned they would pursue litigation. Namusaazi and Kayondo filed cases at Kiwangala Police Station, in Lwengo district.

On May 21, Alex Waiswa Mufumbiro, the NUP party deputy spokesperson, told CPJ in a telephone interview that the party has conducted internal investigations and said the accusations by the journalists are baseless. 

In a separate telephone interview on May 21, NUP spokesperson Joel Ssenyonyi told CPJ that the party believes journalism is not a crime, and they are investigating the incident. Ssenyonyi also serves as opposition leader in Parliament, which is a constitutional position appointed by the largest opposition party in Parliament. Ssenyonyi said that he had interviewed some of Kyagulanyi’s private security personnel, who provided an account of events at the funeral that did match the journalists’. Ssenyonyi said the bodyguards accused Namusaazi of insulting them and claimed that she did not have a camera. Ssenyonyi said that once investigations were concluded the party would act in the event of any wrongdoing, including by barring those culpable from future events. 

On May 21, Twaha Kasirye, the Greater Masaka Regional police spokesperson, confirmed to CPJ that Namusaazi and Kayondo had filed cases with police and had been requested to provide additional information, upon which investigating authorities will determine how to proceed.

The incident is the latest of several CPJ documented cases where journalists covering public events in Uganda have been targeted with robberies, detention, and assault.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

"I really never imagined the police would come after me because I migrated along with my entire family," YouTuber Qiqi, who goes by one name, said in a video posted to her channel on April 25. "But now the police have gone and gotten in touch with relatives on my mother's side of the family."

"They couldn't get a hold of me, so they went after my mother instead, which is the same thing," she said, adding that the order to find her relatives had come down from the provincial level of government. "I'm not going to say exactly who because the police are probably watching this."

Qiqi's video comes amid growing concern over Beijing's “long-arm” law enforcement targeting overseas activists and students, as well as YouTubers who post content that is critical of the Chinese Communist Party and its leader Xi Jinping.

"They kept calling my mother in the middle of the night, harassing her, calling again and again," Qiqi said.

She said the police -- who want her to shut down her YouTube channel and delete all of her videos -- needn't bother calling any more.

"A big part of the reason I left China was that I wouldn't be able to speak freely until I got out," she said. "So why do you think I'll listen when you try to pursue me overseas?"

Repeated attempts to contact Qiqi online went unanswered by the time of writing.

Common problem

Veteran U.S.-based journalist and YouTuber Wang Jian said the Chinese authorities often pursue and harass Chinese migrants overseas, or put pressure on their relatives back home.

"Actually, it's not just YouTubers, but journalists, dissidents, human rights lawyers and anyone critical of the Chinese authorities have this problem," Wang said. "But YouTubers are more likely to get to the critical point where someone [in the Chinese government] feels hurt by what they do."

He said the aim in contacting people's relatives was to show them that they aren't free from possible reprisals, even if they live overseas.

"[It means] you have a weakness, so be careful what you say," Wang said. "You can't express your thoughts freely -- the Communist Party has been doing this since it was founded."

One of the videos police wanted Qiqi to take down was a Jan. 14 upload in which she discussed whether President Xi Jinping really would give the order to invade Taiwan.

Complaints from people operating as part of Beijing's United Front overseas influence campaign are believed to have been behind the removal of at least two satirical YouTube channels taking aim at Xi in recent years.

‘Drink tea’

Meanwhile, a group of rights activists who are currently making a small-budget satirical film taking aim at the Chinese government in Los Angeles said police back in China have hauled in a number of their family members back home to "drink tea," a euphemism for questioning or a dressing-down.

Wang Han, who is directing the movie "The Emperor Vs. the Three Evils," said the police had managed to track down family members of all of the crew.

"The police kept on calling the home of [one actor], telling [his parents] not to let him take part in this," Wang said. "The police keep trying to contact me as well."

Wang said freedom of expression should be a universal human right that he and the rest of the crew aren't willing to let go, however.

"People in China should have the right to express themselves freely, but if we can't do that in China, then at least we should get to do that in the United States," he said.

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Jenny Tang for RFA Mandarin.

The pro-China activists also waved at least 16 Chinese flags to hide from view Tibetan flags the protesters were holding, and blocked a Tibetan flag hanging on a bridge under which Xi’s motorcade had to pass under to go to a welcome reception.

Hungarian police standing nearby did not intervene, the Tibetan supporters said.

“These guys just came and ripped our banner, and they are still allowed to be here, pushing us further and further out,” Chime Lhamo, campaigns director of Students for Free Tibet, told journalists on the street. “Is this a free country?”

After the street encounter, the protesters were followed by what appeared to be about eight undercover police officers on their way to the Budapest airport, said one of the activists.

“Over the last few days, we were followed, harassed and intimidated by undercover Hungarian police, as well as Chinese people and police everywhere in the city,” Tenzin Yangzom from the International Tibet Network, told Radio Free Asia. “Everywhere in the city is swarmed by them.”

“We had come here to peacefully protest Xi’s genocidal policies in Tibet, East Turkistan, Hong Kong and beyond and the treatment of Tibetans, Hong Kongers, Uyghurs and Chinese people,” she said.

Paris protests

Xi arrived in the Hungarian capital of Budapest late Wednesday for the final leg of his five-day European tour that started in Paris and continued in Serbia.

His arrival in Paris on May 5 was met with protests, with Tibetan activists unfurling a large white banner on a bridge that said “Free Tibet. Dictator Xi Jinping, your time is up!” as his motorcade passed under it.

In Budapest,Tibetan protesters tried to hoist another such banner with the same message, this time in black, along with the Tibetan flag, on the Elizabeth Bridge, under which Xi's motorcade would have had to pass on its way to the presidential palace in Budapest on Thursday morning. But the Chinese activists disrupted them again.

Hungarian police headquarters in Budapest did not immediately respond to RFA’s request for comments and confirmation.

Ahead of Xi's arrival, Tibetans had gathered in central Budapest to protest his visit to Hungary and call for an end to human rights abuses in Tibet, which China annexed in 1951.

But Xi’s motorcade managed to avoid the Tibetan protesters in Budapest by taking an alternate route from the airport into Budapest.

“It is very difficult to stage protests here because there are many Chinese spies and police officials who are here,” Lhamo told Radio Free Asia.

Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban, one of Europe’s staunchest admirers of the Chinese Communist Party, has persistently opposed any criticism in the European Union of China’s human rights violations against Tibetans, Uyghurs and Inner Mongolians, as well as its policies in Hong Kong.

Additional reporting by Tenzin Dickyi for RFA Tibetan. Edited by Tenzin Pema for RFA Tibetan, and by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Tashi Wangchuk for RFA Tibetan.

On Sunday, March 17, Police officers in Istanbul harassed at least three reporters in two separate incidents while they were covering a mass arrest during Newroz celebrations calling for Kurdish rights in Yenikapı Square. Officers took Agence France-Presse reporter Eylül Deniz Yaşar into custody and detained Tuğçe Yılmaz and Ali Dinç, reporters with independent news website Bianet. Yılmaz and Dinç were ordered to lay on the ground, handcuffed, and allegedly beaten.

“Reporters Tuğçe Yılmaz, Ali Dinç, and Eylül Deniz Yaşar were simply doing their jobs by reporting on a Newroz celebration, an event of public interest, when police harassed them,” said Özgür Öğret, CPJ’s Turkey representative. “Turkish authorities must investigate this harassment and make sure reporters in the field face no obstacles to their work.”

All three reporters will file criminal complaints with the police, according to the reports above and Yılmaz and Yaşar, who spoke to CPJ separately via messaging app.

Police officers tried to prevent other reporters from capturing video as Yılmaz and Dinç were forced to lay on the ground and surrounded by several officers. The two journalists were documenting celebration attendees being taken into custody by the police.

Separately, police did not allow Yaşar to pass a security checkpoint with her camera despite her presenting her press card. They then took her into custody for approximately six hours during which she was threatened and insulted, according to news reports.

CPJ emailed the Turkish Interior Ministry, which oversees the police, for comment, but did not immediately receive any reply.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

On March 12, armed men dressed in red and white shirts with Clarkhills Properties Corporation verbally barred Manabat and Quejada from entering an area under land dispute in Anunas village, Angeles City, in the northwest Pampanga province, according to multiple news reports.

The men later grabbed Manabat and Quejada’s belongings and threatened to shoot the journalists when they saw them filming a dispute between local residents and Clarkhills’ armed demolition team, according to reports.

Several demolitions have occurred in the disputed 73-hectare area, sparking violent encounters, Rappler reported. Manabat left the site and took refuge in a nearby house after the men made the shooting threat, according to a Rappler report.

Quejada was accosted, questioned, and held at gunpoint by the men before also taking refuge in a nearby home, according to news reports and a statement on the incident released by Angeles City Mayor Carmelo Lazatin Jr. Additionally, she was temporarily reported missing, reports said.

“Filipino authorities should leave no stone unturned in identifying and prosecuting those responsible for the harassment and shooting threat made against reporters Joann Manabat and Rowena Quejada,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s Senior Southeast Asia Representative. “This type of unchecked thuggery is precisely what makes the Philippines such a perilous place to be a reporter. It should stop under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s democratic rule.”

Several people suffered gunshot wounds in Tuesday’s melee and were taken to the local Rafael Lazatin Memorial Medical Center for treatment, news reports said. Both reporters safely left the area after the violence subsided, the reports said.

The Angeles City Police Department and Clarkhills Properties did not immediately respond to CPJ’s emailed request for comment.

The local Commission on Human Rights indicated it would conduct a probe into the threats against Manabat and Quejada, news reports said.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

On Saturday, Senegalese President Macky Sall announced that the presidential election originally scheduled for February 25 would be indefinitely postponed, citing a dispute over the candidate list. On Monday, as Senegalese lawmakers began debating the duration of the postponement, protesters took to the streets, and police responded with arrests and tear gas.

“Senegalese authorities must immediately lift the mobile internet suspension, reverse the decision to permanently withdraw Walf TV’s broadcasting license, and ensure journalists are not restricted or harassed while covering ongoing protests,” said Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa program. “As Senegal grapples with the postponement of elections, journalists play a vital role in helping the public understand what is happening. Their ability to report, including via mobile internet, must be protected, not censored.”

On Sunday, Senegal’s Ministry of Communication, Telecommunications, and Digital Economy (MCTPEN) announced it had “temporarily” suspended access to mobile internet due to “hateful and subversive” messages on social media, without indicating the duration of the cutoff.

Internet users began to notice disruption to their mobile connectivity on Monday, according to CPJ’s review of service in the country. Mobile internet accounts for 97% of user connections, according to a September 2023 report by Senegal’s Telecommunications and Postal Regulatory Authority, which regulates the sector.

Also on Sunday, Senegalese authorities permanently withdrew the broadcasting license of Walf TV, the television broadcast service of the privately owned media group Wal Fadjri and one of the country’s major broadcasters, according to CPJ’s review of access to the channel in the country and a copy of the MCTPEN’s decision. The ministry cited Wal Fadjri’s “state of recidivism,” the broadcasting of violent images exposing teenagers, and “subversive, hateful, and dangerous language that undermines state security.”

Walf TV’s broadcasts on Sunday focused on the escalating protests, according to CPJ’s review, which did not identify any calls to violence in that coverage.

The same day, officers with Senegal’s gendarmerie in Dakar, the capital, harassed and briefly detained reporters Sokhna Ndack Mbacké, with the privately owned online news site Agora TV, and Khadija Ndate Diouf, with the privately owned television channel Itv, before releasing them without charge, Mbacké and Diouf told CPJ. Mbacké told CPJ that the officers snatched her phone, insulted both of them, and that one officer threatened her with imprisonment if he saw her again.

Separately, a different group of gendarmerie officers harassed Hadiya Talla, editor-in-chief of the privately owned news site La Vallée Info, interrupting his live broadcast from the protests in Dakar, according to Talla, who spoke to CPJ. First, an officer grabbed Talla’s phone and insulted him before returning it, and then later an officer interrupted his live coverage and ordered him to stop reporting, before letting Talla continue.

The same day, a group of gendarmes twice threw tear gas in the direction of Clément Bonnerot, correspondent for the French-language global broadcaster TV5 Monde, as he stood alone in a Dakar street, filming the security forces, according to Bonnerot and CPJ’s review of a video he shared of the scene. Bonnerot told CPJ that another gendarme later accused him of “following him” and warned not to “provoke him.”

CPJ’s calls to Ibrahima Ndiaye, spokesperson for the gendarmerie, went unanswered.

Also in June 2023, Senegalese authorities in June 2023 suspended Walf TV for a month over its coverage of demonstrations following Sonko’s arrest and threatened to withdraw its broadcasting license in the event of a repeat offense.

Previously, in June, July, and August 2023, the Senegalese government disrupted access to the internet and social media platforms amid protests over the arrest and prosecution of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko. TikTok has remained blocked in the country. Similar blocks of social media platforms were reported in 2021.

Around the world, CPJ has repeatedly documented how internet shutdowns threaten press freedom and journalists’ safety. CPJ offers guidance for journalists on how to prepare for and respond to internet shutdowns.

At least five journalists—Daouda Sow, Maniane Sène Lô, Ndèye Astou Bâ, Papa El Hadji Omar Yally, and Ndèye Maty Niang, who is also known as Maty Sarr Niang—have remained jailed in Senegal since last year in connection with their work.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

It was supposed to be a peaceful march to urge the government to raise taxes on plastic bags and charge customers more for using them, in a bid to protect Cambodia’s environment.

But plainclothes officers blocked the way of the 20 marchers, pushed them, snatched their phones, and attempted to confiscate their banners.

“They didn’t listen to us. We are holding banners to request the government to listen to our two requests,” Ream SreyMech Rathana, one of the marchers, told Radio Free Asia. 

“Where is democracy? [We are] people [just] walking on the streets who speak their mind but they outlaw us and the authorities are resorting to violence and unethical behavior,” said Ream SreyMech Rathana.

The authorities choose violence as their response, regardless of what the activists are asking for, said Hum Sok Keang, another activist.

“We have observed that authorities don’t allow us to work freely even though our work is beneficial to the country but they think we are polluting the society,” Hum Sok Keang said.

After the encounter, a representative from the Ministry of Environment accepted their petition.

To combat plastic pollution, the Ministry of Environment in 2016 issued a sub decree ordering provincial, city and district authorities to properly handle trash. But critics say authorities have failed to resolve the trash issues, forcing the people to pick up plastic litter from public places.  

RFA attempted to reach the ministry’s spokesperson Phai Bun Chhoeun and the Phnom Penh police spokesperson Sam Vicheaca, but neither could be reached for comment.

Plastic pollution pollutes the environment and will discourage tourists from visiting Cambodia, said Chhin Chorvin, another activist.

“Plastic affects humans and animals and pollutes water,” he said. “When we use too much plastic, we burn it and it pollutes the atmosphere.”

Translated by Samean Yun. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster. 

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Khmer.

Zhang Jinrui, a law student at Washington’s Georgetown University, said his family in China received an unexpected visit in June from state security police, who interrogated his father about Zhang’s level of patriotism and questioned him about his activities in the United States.

“The state security police knocked on our door and took my father away for lengthy questioning,” Zhang told Radio Free Asia in a recent interview. “[They asked him] ‘Does this child of yours take part in pro-democracy activities? Do they usually love their country and the [ruling Chinese Communist] Party?’”

“If not, you have to teach him to love his country and the party better,” the police said. “It’s not OK that he’s doing this, and it won’t do any good.”

Zhang’s experience comes amid growing concern over Beijing’s “long-arm” law enforcement targeting overseas activists and students, who had expected to enjoy greater freedom of speech and association while living or studying in a democratic country.

Zhang said the questioning of his father came after he took part in protests in support of the “white paper” protest movement in November 2022, and against Beijing’s hosting of the Winter Olympics in February.

Yet he wasn’t contacted at the time by police, who sometimes contact overseas Chinese nationals via social media platforms to get their message across. 

“On the evening of June 29, I suddenly received a WeChat message from my sister saying ‘Contact me urgently, something happened,’” Zhang said. “The people from the police station had called my sister and asked about her [relative] in Washington, wanting to know if they took part in the Torch on the Potomac group, saying I was a key member.”

Fear and self-censorship

Torch on the Potomac was set up by students at the George Washington University in April, to provide a safe space for dissident activities by Chinese students.

But Zhang was nonplussed by the accusation, saying that the group has yet to organize any activities, and that police have also been harassing the families of Chinese students who haven’t taken part in any activism at all.

Calls to the Wusan police station, which is close to Zhang’s family home in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang, rang unanswered during office hours on Sept. 19.

Several other Chinese students declined to be interviewed when contacted by Radio Free Asia.

Sarah McLaughlin, senior scholar at The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, said speaking to the foreign media could bring down further trouble on the heads of students who may already have seen their families hauled in for questioning.

“I know that that’s something that international students have run into before,” she said. “They’ve gotten in trouble when they returned home for things they’ve said online while in the United States.”

McLaughlin said the harassment of their families in China will have a chilling effect on students’ speech, even overseas.

“There are definitely some real fears among these students, and there’s definitely self censorship,” she said.

Classroom informants

And the police aren’t the only source of such anxiety – there is also the risk of being reported by fellow students from China, who are encouraged via the Chinese Students and Scholars Associations to keep an eye on each other.

A Georgetown University faculty member who asked to remain anonymous said the problem is becoming more and more serious, with Chinese students feeling unable to speak freely in class, for fear of being informed on by their Chinese classmates.

Last year, when students at George Washington University put up posters on campus opposing China’s hosting of the 2023 Winter Olympics, the Chinese Embassy sent members of the campus branch of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association to tear them down again and put up posters denouncing their actions.

“They even got in touch with the school, saying that the Chinese students who support democracy and oppose zero-COVID are racist,” Zhang said. “That’s why they set up the Torch on the Potomac, because a lot of their activities weren’t getting the support of the school.”

George Washington University President Mark Wrighton admitted in a Feb. 8 statement that the removal of the posters was a mistake, and the university administration should have waited until they better understood the situation before acting.

“We began to receive a number of concerns through official university reporting channels that cited bias and racism against the Chinese community,” Wrighton said. “I also received an email directly from a student who expressed concerns.”

“I have since learned from our university’s scholars that the posters were designed by a Chinese-Australian artist, Badiucao, and they are a critique of China’s policies,” he said. “Upon full understanding, I do not view these posters as racist; they are political statements.”

Neither Georgetown University nor George Washington University had responded to requests for comment on the renewed harassment of Chinese students in the United States by Sept. 19.

Close contact with embassies

Zhang said he has also been personally harassed by members of the Georgetown branch of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association.

“One person came over and harangued me, calling me a traitor and accusing me of getting money from the U.S. government,” he said of one encounter as he put up posters in support of the “white paper” movement in late 2022.

“I said I wasn’t, and that I just didn’t like the policy, and wasn’t it normal to speak out about it?” he said. “He pointed his camera at me to broadcast my face to his friends back in China, telling them to report me to the police as someone who opposes the government as soon as possible.”

According to multiple interviews with students and former students, the Chinese Students and Scholars Associations have branches on university campuses all around the world, and maintain close contact with Chinese embassies and consulates wherever they are.

McLaughlin called on U.S. universities to better support international students.

“I think, one interesting tactic that universities should consider is, you know, holding events and training sessions for students, especially international students, to teach them what their rights are in the United States ...and also consider teaching students the benefits of protecting their privacy and data and anonymity while speaking online,” she said.

She also called for improved reporting mechanisms for transnational censorship on U.S. campuses.

“Another thing that they can do is offer students a way to report when they’re experiencing harassment,” McLaughlin said. “It would be good if universities made sure students knew that harassment and threats aren’t acceptable and that the university would act on it.”

She said universities should also scrutinize their own levels of involvement with authoritarian regimes, and consider how that might affect their ability to support students from those countries.

‘Weaponizing the language of social justice’

George Washington University Law School professor Donald Clarke said U.S. universities shouldn’t assume that Chinese Students and Scholars Associations (CSSAs) are broadly representative of all Chinese students on their campuses.

“[Universities should] understand that on the one hand, the voice of the Chinese government is amplified through CSSAs, while on the other hand the voice of those who are critics of the government is suppressed through fear of repercussions,” Clarke said in comments emailed to Radio Free Asia.

“CSSAs have become expert at weaponizing the language of social justice and anti-racism to attack critics of the Chinese government,” he said, citing the tearing down of the posters at George Washington University as an example.

“University administrators must understand that due to the Chinese government’s obsession with control, almost everything related to China becomes political,” Clarke said.

Zhang, however, remains undeterred.

“The right thing is still the right thing, regardless of whether the Chinese Communist Party knows about me or not, and it still needs to be done for the benefit of everyone,” he said.

“I won’t stop speaking out for a better political system with a mechanism to solve problems,” he said. “I will always insist on it.”

Translated by Luisetta Mudie.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Jenny Tang for RFA Mandarin.

A China Coast Guard ship, with bow number CCG 21616, was the first to arrive on scene some 10 nautical miles (18.5 km) from the shoal located in South China Sea waters within the Philippines exclusive economic zone. 

A BenarNews correspondent and other reporters, who were given special permission to travel aboard the Cabra and another coast guard ship for the resupply mission, witnessed the tense moments at sea. 

Similar scenes where Chinese ships acted aggressively had played out lately during previous Philippine missions to deliver supplies to the BRP Sierra Madre, a rusty old navy ship that serves as Manila’s military outpost at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal.

“Philippine vessel, you are approaching the waters of China. To avoid miscalculation and misunderstanding, please inform your intention,” the China Coast Guard ship radioed to the BRP Cabra at around 6:30 a.m.

The Cabra radioed back, saying it was “conducting lawful routine maritime patrol within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone in accordance with international and Philippine laws.”

“Request to stay clear from our passage in accordance with collision regulations,” the radio operator said from the Cabra’s bridge.

About 30 minutes later, at least three other CCG ships and vessels from China’s maritime militia fleet joined the fray. 

The Chinese ships then executed maneuvers to try to impede the civilian boats’ passage that Philippine Coast Guard officials described as dangerously close. 

A CCG vessel, with bow number 21551, repeatedly tried to cut the Cabra’s path to separate it from one of the supply boats.

After failing to overtake the Cabra from the right side, CCG 21551 then sped up to overtake it from the left side. As the Chinese ship executed this maneuver, it sailed toward the Cabra and then abruptly stopped only three to five meters (9.8 to 16.4 feet) from the Philippine ship, PCG officials said. 

During the standoff, at least a dozen more radio exchanges as well as challenges and counter-challenges ensued between the Philippine and Chinese ships. 

“Your behavior has infringed upon [the] authority, security, and interest of China. I warn you, please leave the area immediately. Any consequences will be borne by you,” a voice from CCG 5305, the largest of the China Coast Guard ships present, warned the Cabra’s crew.

After being separated from their PCG escort ships, as the Chinese ships had intended, the Filipino civilian boats managed to sail on, reach the Sierra Madre, pick up Philippine Navy personnel and deliver food and other supplies. 

The coast guard rated the latest mission a success, despite the tense encounter with the Chinese vessels.   

“The routine RoRe [rotational and resupply] mission was again subjected to dangerous maneuvers, jeopardizing the crew members’ safety aboard the PCG vessels and Philippine supply boats,” Commodore Jay Tarriela, the Philippine Coast Guard spokesman on the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), said in a statement to media.

During Friday’s incident, the PCG said it had recorded 10 instances of dangerous maneuvers carried out by four CCG ships and four Chinese maritime militia ships toward the BRP Cabra and another Philippine Coast Guard ship, the BRP Sindangan. 

Two Chinese warships from the People’s Liberation Army Navy were also spotted monitoring the area.

At one point, CCG 5305 blew its horn three times while crossing the bow of BRP Sindangan at a distance of approximately 50 to 60 yards. 

The BRP Cabra, for its part, was corralled by five Chinese ships: three maritime militia vessels and a CCG ship in front, and another CCG ship behind.

Overnight journey

The crews of the Cabra and Sindangan, 44-meter-long (144.3-feet-long) coast guard multi-purpose response vessels, and the journalists aboard them had left the Philippine island of Palawan at around 9 a.m. on Thursday.

The coast guard ships were deployed to escort two small supply boats, the Unaizah May 1 and Unaizah May 2, which the Philippine Navy had commissioned for its routine rotational and resupply mission.

The wooden boats were transporting food, supplies, and a new batch of sailors headed to the Sierra Madre, a decrepit World War II-era ship. In 1999, the Philippines deliberately ran it aground in Ayungin Shoal, which lies in the contested Spratly Islands, in response to China’s occupation of nearby Mischief Reef. 

The two Unaizah May boats and the PCG vessels met up near Sabina Shoal late Thursday night, with the two smaller ships sailing between the coast guard ships. 

“That was the instruction to us, protect the Unaizah May boats,” Emmanuel Dangate, the commander of the Cabra, told the reporters aboard his ship.

View from the bridge 

During Friday’s standoff, the atmosphere on the bridge of the Cabra was quiet and sober as the Chinese ships closed in on the PCG ship. Some of the crew were even smiling and joking around.

Dangate, the Cabra’s skipper, remained calm as he gazed ahead from the bridge and gave orders to his crew. 

“During this kind of mission, it ignites our patriotism and dedication,” the commanding officer told the select group of reporters, who had been allowed to travel to get a rare first-hand view of one of the Philippine resupply missions. 

From time to time, he would look through his binoculars and ask brief questions to his team. 

“Does that ship have an AIS [automatic identification system]?” he asked, pointing to a distant vessel that appeared to be a Chinese militia ship.

“None, sir,” a junior crew member replied. This meant that some of the Chinese vessels were turning off their automatic identification systems so as to conceal their positions and technical information from other vessels in the area.

As the standoff unfolded, a P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance plane from the United States Navy, Manila’s main defense ally, repeatedly overflew the area during and after the incident. An unidentified Black Hawk helicopter, according to PCG officials, tried to reach the wooden boats. An unidentified white aircraft was also spotted.

The maritime militia vessels and the CCG ships continued to closely guard the PCG vessels for hours as the Philippine ships waited for the supply boats to return from Ayungin Shoal. The Chinese vessels finally dispersed when the Philippine ships set sail at around 3 p.m. on Friday for their return trip to Palawan.

Philippine authorities pointed out that unlike in past resupply missions, China has now deployed its smaller CCG vessels, which are more quick to maneuver to block Philippine vessels.

During the previous resupply mission, on Aug. 22, the two PCG ships were able to escort the civilian boats a bit closer to the shoal despite China’s moves. But this time, they were able to reach only 10 nautical miles from the shoal, with Tarriela citing the use of smaller and faster CCG vessels as a possible reason.

Noticeable, too, was the more active participation of maritime militia vessels in harassing Philippine vessels during recent resupply missions, officials said.

A dispute with China over the Spratly chain was at the heart of Manila’s decision in 2012 to bring an international lawsuit against Beijing in 2012.  

The Philippine case was considered groundbreaking because it no country had previously challenged China in a world court over its territorial claims in the waterway.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines in a landmark verdict that invalidated Beijing’s sweeping territorial claims in the South China Sea, an important gateway for global trade.

Beijing, however, has refused to acknowledge the award, citing history by insisting that the islands are part of its territory.

BenarNews is an online news outlet affiliated with Radio Free Asia.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Camille Elemia.

On May 13, the Chittagong Cyber Tribunal, which adjudicates alleged cybercrime offenses in southeast Bangladesh, registered a complaint under the Digital Security Act against Yasmin and her source in relation to the RTV broadcast reporter’s April 30 video investigation exposing alleged crimes by the conversative Islamic organization Rajarbagh Darbar Sharif and one of its leaders, Shakerul Kabir, according to news reports and a person familiar with the case, who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisal.

Kabir filed the complaint accusing her of violating three sections of the Digital Security Act, according to CPJ’s review of the document. In her investigation, Yasmin reported that Kabir has been accused of extortion, land grabbing, and violence against women.  

The Digital Security Act, which criminalizes several forms of speech online, has frequently been used to target critical journalists in Bangladesh since its enactment in 2018. In March 2023, Bangladesh authorities arrested a Prothom Alo reporter and opened multiple investigations under the act into the leading newspaper’s leadership and staff, prompting United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk to reiterate his call on authorities to impose an immediate moratorium on the law.

 CPJ and other rights groups also have called for the suspension of the law.

“It is appalling that Bangladeshi journalist Adhara Yasmin has been targeted under the draconian Digital Security Act for her investigative reporting,” said Carlos Martinez de la Serna, CPJ’s program director. “Authorities must immediately drop their investigation, stop using the act against journalists, and ensure Yasmin is not subjected to further retaliation for her work.”

Yasmin found out about the complaint on July 8, in a call from a local police station. The next day, she learned she had been summoned for questioning on July 14 at the police Criminal Investigation Department in Chittagong’s Noakhali sub-district, about 173 kilometers (107 miles) from her home in the capital city Dhaka, according to the person who spoke to CPJ.

Yasmin’s source, who appeared in her video investigation, is named as an accused in the complaint. Rajarbagh Darbar Sharif, led by Pir Dillur Rahman, has previously been accused of filing fabricated criminal complaints to facilitate land grabbing.

CPJ called and messaged Kabir and Muhammad Rafiqul Islam, the investigating officer in the case, but did not receive any replies.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Arlene Getz/CPJ Editorial Director.

Authorities shuttered Sengdruk Taktse School, in Tibetan-populated Dharlag, or Dali in Chinese, in Golog county, or Guoluo, in Qinghai’s Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, amid a wider clampdown on schools promoting Tibetan culture and offering instruction in the Tibetan language. 

At the time, the students there were told to enroll in Chinese government-affiliated schools in the region that offer a Chinese curriculum, Radio Free Asia reported. 

Meanwhile, authorities have been surveilling and hounding the school’s cofounder, Khenpo Jigmey Kunga Gyaltsen, and teachers who taught there, said the two sources who declined to be identified for safety reasons.  

“Ever since the Chinese government shut down the Sengdruk Taktse School in 2021, the site has been kept unused,” said a Tibetan from inside Tibet. “All the teachers and affiliated staff from the school are constantly being summoned to the police station for interrogation and kept under tight scrutiny. They are also being monitored for who they meet with.” 

A Tibetan living in exile who has knowledge of the situation said most of the school’s former students are enrolled in Chinese government-run schools.

“Initially, when the government forcefully closed down the Sengdruk Taktse School, they said they were still going to use the school premises for education purposes under the supervision of the Chinese government, but it’s been almost two years, and the school remains idle,” the source said. 

The Chinese government closed down many private schools in Tibet between 2020 and 2021 and forbade the students from paying for outside instruction in the Tibetan language and Buddhist studies. 

About three weeks after authorities closed the school, they detained Rinchen Kyi, who had taught second- and third-graders, and took her to a hospital, citing an alleged mental illness. She was later charged with inciting separatism and arrested at her home, but eventually released in August 2022, RFA reported earlier.

Chinese authorities frequently use the charge of separatism against Tibetans who promote the preservation of Tibet’s language and culture in the face of domination by China’s majority Han population.

The forced shutdown of private Tibetan schools adds to decades-long concerns of shrinking space for Tibetans to exercise their freedom to learn their own language and practice their religion. 

Language rights have become a particular focus for Tibetan efforts to assert national identity in recent years, with informally organized language courses in the monasteries and towns deemed “illegal associations” and teachers subject to detention and arrest, sources say.

Translated by Tenzin Dickyi for RFA Tibetan. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Sangyal Kunchok for RFA Tibetan.

Police filed the first information report opening the investigation following a complaint by Masud Rana, a businessman who alleged Bhuttow had defamed Hasan Mahmud, Bangladesh’s information and broadcasting minister and joint general secretary of the ruling Awami League party, in a London Bangla Channel video published on January 4, according to a copy of the report reviewed by CPJ.

In that video, Bhuttow alleged that Mahmud had purchased a residential property in the United Arab Emirates using laundered money.

The complaint accuses Bhuttow and London Bangla Channel of violating five sections of the Digital Security Act: transmission or publication of offensive, false, or threatening information; unauthorized collection or use of identity information; publication or transmission of defamatory information; publication or transmission of information that deteriorates law and order; and abetment, according to the first information report.

Each of the first four offenses can carry a prison sentence of three to 10 years, and a fine of 300,000 to 1,000,000 taka (US$2,849 to $9,496), according to the law, which says that abetment can carry the same punishment as committing an offense itself.

Bhuttow said he did not know if any court hearings had been held in the case.

CPJ called and messaged Rana, Mahmud, and Manjur Quader Majumder, officer-in-charge of the Chawkbazar police station, but did not receive any replies. Mahmud’s personal assistant told New Age that the minister did not ask Rana to file the DSA case.

Earlier, in September 2022, Bangladesh authorities arrested Abdul Muktadir Manu, Bhuttow’s brother and a member of a local administrative unit with the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

Bhuttow told CPJ that he believed authorities arrested his brother in retaliation for his journalism. Prior to the arrest, Bhuttow had published two interviews with retired Lieutenant Colonel Hasinur Rahman, who received international attention for his allegations that Bangladesh’s military intelligence secretly detained him in 2011 and 2018.

Since his brother’s arrest, Bhuttow has received threatening calls and text messages from anonymous numbers, warning him to stop his reporting or face further investigations in Bangladesh, according to Bhuttow and copies of the messages reviewed by CPJ.

A first information report on Manu’s case accused him of working with Bhuttow to spread rumors and attempting to remove Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from power. Authorities also accuse Bhuttow of encouraging his brother to attack police officers in 2021, during clashes between BNP factions in the town of Moulvibazar.

Bhuttow told CPJ that Manu was not involved in that incident, and he believed authorities sought to prolong Manu’s arbitrary detention and intimidate Bhuttow over his work. Manu was released on interim bail on September 21, 2022, and has to frequently appear in local courts for proceedings in the two cases, Bhuttow said.

Mohammad Zakaria, superintendent of the Moulvibazar district police, acknowledged receipt of CPJ’s request for comment sent via messaging app, but did not provide further information by the time of publication.

Since August 2022, police officers and officials with National Security Intelligence, Bangladesh’s civil intelligence agency, have repeatedly visited the homes Bhuttow’s family members, including his brother Abdul Hamid, a businessman in the capital city of Dhaka, and questioned them about their relationship with the journalist and his work, Bhuttow told CPJ.

CPJ called and messaged Roy Niyati, a Dhaka metropolitan police spokesperson, and National Security Intelligence Director-General Major General T.M. Jobair, but did not receive any replies.

CPJ has documented other instances of retaliation against the family members of foreign-based Bangladeshi journalists, including the March 2023 assault of the brother of U.K.-based journalist Zulkarnain Saer Khan, as well as the September 2022 arrest of U.K.-based journalist Shamsul Alam Liton’s brother and the October 2021 arrest of U.S.-based journalist Kanak Sarwar’s sister. Those journalists’ siblings have been released on bail, the journalists told CPJ via messaging app.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.

On February 16, members of the Presidency of Religious Affairs, a Turkish government body that oversees religious issues, confiscated and damaged equipment from three Greek freelance journalists while they were in the eastern city of Antakya covering the aftermath of an earthquake that struck the area earlier that month, according to a report published March 20 by the Media and Law Studies Association nongovernmental organization, MLSA co-chair Veysel Ok, who spoke with CPJ via messaging app, and one of those journalists.

“Turkish authorities must conduct a swift and through investigation regarding the complaints of Greek journalists Kyriakos Finas, Victoras Antonopoulos, and Konstantinos Zilos who had their equipment confiscated and smashed as they were documenting the recent earthquake in eastern Turkey,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in New York. “These journalists should be compensated for their equipment and their lost footage, and authorities should ensure that such incidents are not repeated.”

Journalists Kyriakos Finas, Victoras Antonopoulos, and Konstantinos Zilos were covering a mass funeral after the earthquake when members of the Presidency of Religious Affairs, accompanied by military police, ordered them to stop recording the procession, according to Ok and Finas, who spoke to CPJ by phone.

Finas and Antonopoulos heard that order and stopped filming, but Zilos was further from the scene and continued working. Police then took all three journalists to a building owned by the religious affairs office where they confiscated their cameras and phones, Finas and Ok said.

Authorities returned their equipment the following day, but all of it was smashed and broken. Finas told CPJ that they lost all the footage they took in Turkey, and that the loss of their phones and cameras were a significant financial hardship for each journalist.

After the journalists returned to Greece, the Turkish Embassy in Athens contacted them and promised to give them new equipment, Finas said, adding that they had not received any new gear by Monday, March 21.

Ok, who is also a lawyer representing the journalists, told CPJ that he plans to file suit this week seeking damages over the incident.

CPJ emailed the Turkish Interior Ministry, the Presidency of Religious Affairs, and the Turkish Embassy in Athens for comment but did not receive any replies.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.

“During this critical time for Brazilian democracy, journalists have a crucial role to play in informing the public. The numerous reports of violence and intimidation against journalists covering Sunday’s riots in the capital are extremely concerning,” said Renata Neder, CPJ’s Brazil representative. “Authorities must swiftly and thoroughly investigate all attacks on the press and ensure journalists can report safely and without fear of harassment.”

At about 3 p.m. Sunday, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters raided the government facilities in a violent riot, according to multiple news reports. At least 12 journalists covering the riots, including a reporter working for The Washington Post, reported being threatened, punched, kicked, and having their equipment broken or stolen, according to multiple news reports and statements by Brazilian journalist organizations.

On Sunday night, the country’s federal government ordered an intervention in the federal district to reestablish order. A Supreme Court judge temporarily removed the federal district governor from office. Authorities have detained more than 1,000 people since the riots began, according to news reports. 

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.

On August 22, a group of four men confronted de-Planoise, a reporter for privately owned local news website Kawa TV, as he was leaving a courthouse in the eastern French city of Besançon, according to a Libération newspaper report, video of the incident taken by de-Planoise, who gave the footage to journalist Emma Audrey, who then posted it on Twitter, and the journalist, who communicated with CPJ via email and shared with CPJ a copy of a criminal complaint about the incident that he shared with authorities. (De-Planoise is the journalist’s pseudonym, he told CPJ, saying he uses it for security reasons.)

According to those sources, two men of the group insulted and shouted at de-Planoise, telling him that they knew who he was, and that they were waiting for him. The pair then approached the journalist; one asked him to stop filming them and the other hit him on the wrist, knocking his camera to the ground. De-Planoise told CPJ that he was not injured but his camera screen was cracked. He then left the scene.

De-Planoise identified the men as supporters of local far-right activists whom the journalist knows from his previous news coverage.

“French authorities must conduct a quick and thorough investigation into the harassment of reporter Toufik-de-Planoise, bring those responsible to justice, and ensure the journalist’s safety,” said CPJ’s Europe representative, Attila Mong. “Journalists covering far-right groups must be able to do their jobs safely without fear of reprisal, and police must take their responsibility to protect the press seriously.”

De-Planoise told CPJ that the incident occurred while he was covering a trial of far-right activists who in March stormed and disrupted an electoral campaign meeting of a far-left party in Besançon. De-Planoise regularly covers activities of local far-right groups in Besançon, according CPJ’s review of Kawa TV’s site.

De-Planoise said that for months, he had been regularly targeted by far-right activists on- and offline, and “filed six criminal complaints in less than six months” for harassments and threats, including threats of physical violence when he covers far-right demonstrations.

“This attack is, unfortunately, only the umpteenth demonstration of its kind,” the journalist told CPJ. “When you report on the extreme right, it is often the price to pay.”

He added that “not a week goes by” when he does not receive threats. De-Planoise said that although he filed his criminal complaints to police officials and provided them with evidence, such as video footage, screenshots, and testimonials, “absolutely nothing is happening.”

CPJ contacted one of the men who confronted de-Planoise on his Instagram account, emailed questions to the Central Directorate of Public Security at the French national police in Besançon, which is in charge of the investigation, but received no reply.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

In 2019, the United Nations designated August 22 as an international memorial day for victims of persecution because of their religion or belief.

The day is special for independent religious communities in Vietnam who have fought hard to remain independent of government control.

Cao Dai crackdown

On Saturday, police from Binh Khanh ward in An Giang province’s Long Xuyen city visited the Cao Dai Binh Khanh religious pilgrimage group, forcing members gathered at the house of the group leader, Nguyen Thi Thu Cuc, to disperse.

A clergyman of the independent Cao Dai sect, Nguyen Trong Tieng, said fellow believers met at Cuc's house to mark the memorial day after morning worship.

At 8 a.m., when the group was hanging banners, a group of four people led by a local policeman arrived and told them to cancel the memorial, staying until 5 p.m.

“As soon as people took out banners for hanging, the police came to stop them and took records” Tieng said.

“Ms. Cuc's family had to inform her fellows not to come... The followers and policemen argued and finally Ms. Cuc agreed to sign a written commitment not to hold this memorial ceremony."

Tieng said he decided not to attend the memorial when he heard about the police harassment. Even so police met with Tieng on the afternoon of Aug. 22 to interrogate him about the event.

Police asked Cuc to sign the document on his behalf but she refused.

RFA contacted Cuc's family but they declined to provide any more information.

The reporter also contacted the People's Committee of Binh Khanh ward, using the number on the ward's website, but could not get through. RFA emailed the office but received no response.

Two years earlier the Cao Dai community in An Giang held a memorial ceremony without incident.

Other Cao Dai communities under police scrutiny

Nguyen Ngoc Dien, deputy administrator of another Cao Dai community in Long Xuyen city, said this year his group was allowed to commemorate the event under the eye of local police who did not intervene.

1926 Cao Dai is a separate group from 1997 Cao Dai which was formed under government pressure to show loyalty to the Vietnamese Communist Party. It has suffered years of persecution from authorities and the other Cao Dai group, which has tried to pressure members into switching sect.

Protestants questioned by police

Some Protestant communities in the Central Highlands also faced police harassment this year. Religious activist Y Quynh Buon Dap, who is currently a refugee in Thailand, told RFA: “The police came to threaten [people in] several places, and said they would summon some for interrogation. At Ako Dung village in Dak Lak the police summoned six people for short interrogations."

Some religious communities abandon commemoration attempts

Cao Dai community head Nguyen Bach Phung in Vinh Long province said that there was no memorial service where she lives because the local government constantly monitors them.

The abbot of the Phuoc Buu Pagoda of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam in Xuyen Moc, Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, told RFA that he knew about the memorial day. However, Thich Vinh Phuoc said his temple had no human resources for organizing the event as a consequence of long-term religious persecution.

In the southern coastal province, there are two pagodas, Phuoc Buu and Thien Quang, belonging to the Buddhist Church and built before 1975 when the Vietnam war ended.

Both were pressured by local authorities to join the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha – a member of the government aligned Vietnam Fatherland Front.

Phuoc said local authorities sought to intimidate Buddhists by installing cameras on the way to the Phuoc Buu temple and trying to build ditches to narrow the temple entrance.

Government pressure is even stronger at Thien Quang Pagoda.

Recently authorities used the pretext of building a ditch to block the entrance to the temple and occupy a large part of its land.

“There are three factors for the local government’s pressure on that pagoda,” Phuoc said.

“The first is that its head Thich Thien Thuan is my disciple. The second one is that his temple is independent of the Vietnamese Buddhist Church. And third, the pagoda has hosted thousands of traditional Buddhists on many occasions."

Vietnam Interfaith Council lists victims of religious persecution

Thich Khong Tanh, co-chair of the Vietnam Interfaith Council, said that over the weekend the council had a meeting about the memorial day. It decided to issue a statement listing religious crackdowns and a specific list of victims of religious persecution in the past year.

Unified Church also under pressure

The abbot of Ho Chi Minh City’s Lien Tri Pagoda in District 2, which was demolished by the local government in 2016, said the national government is putting pressure on two establishments of the Unified Church of Vietnam, Son Linh Pagoda in Kon Tum and Thien Quang in Ba Ria-Vung Tau. Thich Khong Tanh said the government aimed to force them to give up their independence and agree to be managed by the Buddhist Church of Vietnam.

“On the last Vu Lan [wandering spirits] festival, Son Linh Pagoda held a gratitude ceremony, but the police and local authorities entered and harassed monks and Buddhists," the abbot said.

He said other religions such as traditional Cao Dai, Hoa Hao Pure Buddhism, or Protestantism were also persecuted and harassed.

Overseas groups monitor religious freedom in Vietnam

U.S. NGO Boat People SOS, specializes in monitoring the situation of religious freedom in Vietnam.

According to the Facebook page of general director Nguyen Dinh Thang, in the past week dozens of religious communities in Vietnam, including churches in the Central region, Central Highlands, and South have successfully organized memorials for victims of religious persecution. He said the groups included pure Hoa Hao, traditional Cao Dai, Protestant, and Catholic communities.

Thang said his organization would monitor and report to any harassment by Vietnamese authorities at memorials to the international community.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Vietnamese.

On August 5 and August 6, Asayish security forces in several locations in Iraqi Kurdistan interfered with the work of at least 20 journalists and media workers with detentions, harassment, raids, and the closure of at least one media outlet, according to multiple news reports, local press freedom groups Kurdistan Journalists’ Syndicate, the Metro Center for Journalists Rights and Advocacy, and the Press Freedom Advocacy Association in Iraq, and several journalists affected who spoke to CPJ. 

All of the journalists were covering or preparing to cover demonstrations on August 6 by the opposition party New Generation Movement over taxes, fuel prices, and employment opportunities, according to those sources. 

“Authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan have reached a new low with their detention and harassment of reporters and media workers seeking to cover civil unrest,” said CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator Sherif Mansour, in Washington, D.C. “Iraqi Kurdistan was once a haven for the free press in the Middle East but now the region is a prime perpetrator of press freedom violations.” 

On Friday, August 5, the day before the demonstrations, security forces detained Taif Goran and Biryar Nerwayi, reporters at privately owned television broadcaster NRT, in front of the channel’s office in the city of Duhok in western Iraqi Kurdistan, according to the broadcaster’s report, and Goran, who spoke to CPJ on the phone. Goran told CPJ that “the security forces didn’t tell us any legal reason behind our arrest” and that the two were released without charge on bail after 27 hours in custody. Goran said that the forces also confiscated equipment from the office including five cameras, two livestream boxes, five microphones, and two tripods, which were all returned when the journalists were released.

NRT is owned by the Kurdish businessman Shaswar Abdulwahid, the leader of the New Generation Movement, who called for the protests.

On Saturday August 6, Asayish forces raided the privately owned website and TV outlet Rast Media office in the city of Duhok and shut it down without giving any reasons, according to the outlet’s Facebook post and Omed Baroshky, director of Rast News, who spoke to CPJ on the phone. Baroshky told CPJ that “we have completed all the legal procedures to work freely as a media outlet, but they asked us to shut it down and go home anyway.” As of August 9, the office has remained closed. 

On the same day at 10:00 a.m. in Erbil, the regional capital, five plainclothes security officers raided the home of Ayub Ali Warty, a reporter at broadcaster Kurdish News Network, which is affiliated with the opposition Gorran party, and detained the journalist, according to Warty, who spoke to CPJ over the phone and posted about the incident on Facebook. The officers escorted him to Asayish headquarters for investigation before releasing him at midnight, he said. Warty said he was verbally abused, but did not provide details of the insults. 

“During the investigation, I was told that if I want to live as a critical journalist, Erbil is not the right place,” he said. He said that he was forced to sign a blank paper without knowing the reason, and was told the paper “could put me in jail for 300 years.” When he was released without charge, Warty said the officers told him he was arrested “by mistake.” 

Also on Saturday in Erbil, NRT reporters Rizgar Kochar, Omed Chomani, and Hersh Qadir were detained by officers in plain clothes, according to two videos posted on Facebook by the broadcaster and Qadir, who told CPJ via phone that the officers also raided his home. Qadir said they were arrested in front of their office, and when they asked about the officers’ identity “they stressed that they are Asayish forces and we have to go with them.” He said the officers turned the journalists over to armed security forces who placed them in hoods and took them to the Asayish headquarters in Erbil. He said he believes that “the only reason was to prevent us from covering the demonstrations.” Qadir said the three were released without charge after six hours and after they were forced to sign documents without being allowed to read them. 

Also on Saturday, NRT reporters Diyar Mohammed and Soran Mohammed and NRT cameraman Mahmoud Razgar were arrested by security forces while covering a protest in the town of Chamchamal, in Sulaymaniyah governorate in eastern Iraqi Kurdistan, according to a Facebook post by the broadcaster and Soran Mohammed, who spoke to CPJ on the phone. Soran Mohammed told CPJ that security forces blocked the crew’s camera, ordered the journalists to go with them to their headquarters in the city, and seized their equipment including two cameras, one tripod, and two microphones. The officers told the journalists that they would remain in custody until the demonstrations were dispersed, he said. The three were released without charge three hours later, but the officers kept their equipment until Sunday, he said. 

On the same day in the city of Sulaymaniyah, a crew with independent news website Westga News, made up of chief editor and owner Sirwan Gharib, photographer Zanyar Mariwan, and editors Hevar Hiwa and Arkan Jabar, was arrested by security forces while covering demonstrations, according to a Westga News statement and Gharib, who spoke to CPJ via phone call. In the statement, Westga News said “the team was there to cover the demonstrations in an impartial and professional manner, and their arrest is against the laws and freedom of the press.” Gharib said the crew was detained for almost four hours before it was released without charge. 

In the same city on Saturday, Zhilya Ali, reporter for the privately owned internet television channel and news website Diplomatic, was detained with the outlet’s cameraman Azhi Abdulqadir the moment they stepped out of a taxi when they arrived to cover a protest, Ali told CPJ via phone. In a Facebook post, Ali said the two were arrested and brought to Asayish headquarters in order “to be prevented from covering the demonstrations.” Ali told CPJ that the security forces confiscated her phone, which they returned after she and the cameraman were released without charge two hours later. 

Also on Saturday, Hardi Osman, reporter for the independent website Peregraph was detained for five hours while he was trying to cover the protests in Sulaymaniyah city, according to a tweet by his employer and the reporter who spoke to CPJ over the phone. He said that the forces took him to Asayish headquarters before transferring him to a section of Kani Goma prison. 

He said that the forces also seized his equipment, including his phone, his microphone, and a voice recorder, and forced him to fill out a form asking “very personal questions” — details of which he did not provide to CPJ — before he was released without charge and without the equipment. He said he retrieved the equipment from Asayish headquarters on Tuesday.

Also in Sulaymaniyah city on Saturday, Awder Omer, video reporter for news website NasKurd, was covering a protest live on the website’s Facebook page when two members of the Asayish forces seized his phone and confiscated and broke his mobile internet modem, he told CPJ via phone. “They told me to leave and not cover the protests,” he said. 

On the same day in the city of Kalar, in Sulaymaniyah governorate Mohammed Mahmood, reporter for the independent broadcaster Radio Deng, was detained by security forces while covering a protest and held for five hours before he was released without charge, according to a Facebook post by the radio station and Mahmood, who spoke to CPJ via phone. 

Mahmood said that security forces interrupted his reporting on Facebook Live for Radio Deng and asked him to delete his footage. When he refused, he said they beat him on his legs and arms and took him to Asayish headquarters, where they asked him to sign a paper which they would not allow him to read. When he refused again, he said they beat him again. 

On Saturday also in Sulaymaniyah, journalist Snur Karim and camera operator Mohammed Azad Majeed of the U.S.-Congress funded Voice of America Kurdish were detained by Asayish security forces for two hours while covering a protest on Facebook Live for the outlet, according to an email from Voice of America public relations officer Anna Morris and a VOA statement provided to CPJ. 

In the statement, VOA said the team had received permission from local authorities to report there but was detained for “several hours.” Their mobile phones and microphone were seized and later returned, Morris said. 

Morris told CPJ the two were taken to a prison where Karim was forced to sign a “pledge” without being allowed to read it and was asked personal questions about her family, car, lifestyle, and political views. 

When contacted by CPJ via messaging app for comment on the arrests, raids, closures, and alleged beatings, Sulaymaniyah governorate Asayish security forces spokesperson Yasin Sami directed CPJ to a Facebook post by the Sulaymaniyah security directorate, a committee representing local government, police, and Asayish forces, denying the arrests. CPJ called Duhok Asayish director Zeravan Baroshku who said security forces were acting on a “court order” but would not comment further. CPJ also contacted Erbil Asayish spokesperson Ashti Majeed for comment via messaging app and phone call, but didn’t receive any response.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

Since March 7, authorities have detained at least seven journalists with Sota.Vision, including two who were sentenced to multiple days in prison, and also fined and harassed employees of the outlet, according to media reports and Sota.Vision editor Aleksey Obukhov, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app.

“Russian authorities must stop their repeated harassment and detentions of journalists with Sota.Vision and other independent outlets,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in New York. “With independent Russian journalists fleeing abroad in droves to avoid being jailed for factual reporting on the war against Ukraine, the few that remain must be allowed to provide crucial information to the Russian people.”

On March 7, authorities fined Sota.Vision correspondent Gleb Sokolov 20,000 rubles (US$200) for allegedly violating the establishes procedure for rallies after he covered an anti-war protest in Moscow on February 25, the outlet wrote on its Telegram channel.

On March 17, law enforcement searched the home of Sota.Vision journalist Elena Izotova in the southwest city of Kazan and seized her technical equipment, according to Sota.Vision and Obukhov, who said that authorities have labeled her as a witness to an investigation into incitement to mass disorder, which he believed was a pretext to harass her.

On March 18, authorities detained Sota.Vision journalists Pavel Ivanov, Ruslan Terekhov, Artyom Kriger, Nika Samusik, and Aleksandr Filippov in Moscow and St. Petersburg ahead of planned rallies in those cities supporting the Russian military, according to news reports and Obukhov.

Kriger, Samusik, and Filippov were released later that day without charge, and Ivanov and Terekhov were charged and convicted of disobeying authorities, according to those sources, which said that Ivanov was sentenced to three days of administrative detention and Terekhov to 10 days.

The Second Special Regiment, a special police unit designed to disperse rallies, alleged that Terekhov refused to show his camera cases for inspection to determine whether they contained explosives, according to Sota.Vision, which said he had appealed the conviction.

On March 19, a police officer visited the home of Sota.Vision journalist Pyotr Ivanov in St. Petersburg in connection with the journalist’s detention at an unsanctioned rally on March 6, according to his outlet and Obukhov.

“The visit was most likely an attempt to intimidate him” before he covered an anti-war rally, Obukhov told CPJ, saying that such a visit “makes you understand that you are ‘on the hook’ and will be detained if you show up at the rally, despite your press card, editorial assignment, [press] vest, and so on.”

On March 23, Russian Investigative Committee operatives searched the home of Sota.Vision editor Darya Poryadina in the northwestern city of Arkhangelsk, according to multiple posts on Sota.Vision’s Telegram channel and media reports.

After the search, authorities held Poryadina for more than 12 hours at the Investigative Committee’s Arkhangelsk office, and released her after she signed a non-disclosure agreement, according to those reports.

During her detention, authorities interrogated Poryadina as a witness in a criminal case over opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s creation of an alleged “extremist community,” according to those reports. During the search, authorities seized her equipment and press card, as well as about 100,000 rubles in savings, according to Obukhov.

“Darya had never been affiliated with any of Navalny’s organizations, but had covered protests in Arkhangelsk, including the January 21 return and arrest of Navalny,” Obukhov said.

And on Friday, March 25, police briefly detained Sota.Vision freelance contributor Aleksandr Peskov, and released him after designating him as a suspect in an investigation for allegedly insulting law enforcement, according to Sota.Vision and Obukhov. If charged and convicted under Article 319 of the criminal code, he could face a fine of up to 40,000 rubles (US$400) or up to one year of corrective labor.

CPJ was unable to contact the Russian Interior Ministry or Investigative Committee for comment, as their websites did not load.

[Editors’ note: This article has been changed in its second paragraph to correct Obukhov’s title.]

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.

This week, Russian forces in Ukraine have detained dozens of journalists and attempted to force Ukrainian journalists to produce pro-Russian propaganda. In Russia, authorities have detained at least 14 journalists who covered anti-war protests, and have expanded legislation that can restrict the press.

“Whether through the detention of journalists, direct threats to their physical well-being, or the introduction of new legislation restricting media freedom, Russian authorities are using all means at their disposal to establish an official narrative of their invasion of Ukraine,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in New York. “We call on the Russian authorities to stop making press freedom yet another casualty of their war.”

Russian harassment of journalists in Ukraine

On Tuesday, March 8, Viktoria Roshchina, a journalist for the independent Ukrainian television channel Hromadske, wrote on Facebook that Russian soldiers had recently fired on her vehicle in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporozhye region.

The journalist wrote that she and her driver came across a column of Russian tanks, and soldiers opened fire on their vehicle; after the pair escaped unharmed to a nearby house, they saw Russian troops open their car, which had a “Press” sticker on it, and steal Roshchina’s laptop and camera. CPJ messaged Roshchina for comment, but she did not reply.

Separately on Tuesday, in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Berdyansk, Russian forces detained a group of about 50 journalists in an office belonging to the local media company PRO100, and tried to persuade them to broadcast Russian propaganda, according to multiple news reports.

The soldiers detained the journalists and asked them to collaborate with the Russian army and produce propaganda, according to those reports and a statement by Sergiy Tomilenko, head of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, which said the journalists refused and were eventually allowed to leave.

CPJ emailed the Zaporozhye regional military administration and the Russian Ministry of Defense for comment, but did not receive any replies.

Detentions at Russian anti-war protests

On Sunday, March 6, authorities detained at least 14 journalists who covered anti-war protests across Russia. At least five still face charges.

That day, authorities detained at least seven employees of the news website Sota.Vision, according to news reports and Sota.Vision editor Alexei Obukhov, who communicated with CPJ by messaging app. Those journalists include:

• Nika Samusik, who was briefly detained in St. Petersburg and charged with illegally participating in a protest
• Pyotr Ivanov, who was also detained in St. Petersburg and released without charge
• Viktoria Arefeva, also detained in St. Petersburg and released without charge
• Vasiliy Vorona, who was detained in Moscow and released after being charged with violating the established procedure for rallies
• Fiodor Orlov, who was detained in the central city of Voronezh and released after being charged under a new law restricting participation in anti-war rallies
• Polina Ulanovskaya, who was detained in the southern city of Krasnodar and released without charge
• Mikhail Julin, who was detained in the western city of Nizhny Novgorod and released without charge

Also on March 6, authorities detained:

• Viktor Bobrovnikov, a journalist for the website NGS.ru, who was detained in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk and released without charge after five hours, according to news reports and Bobrovnikov, who communicated with CPJ via email
• Andrei Okun, a journalist for the website Zaks.ru, who was briefly detained in St. Petersburg and released without charge, according to news reports
• Elena Lukianova, a reporter for the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, who was detained and released without charge in St. Petersburg, according to news reports
• Nina Petlyanova, also a Novaya Gazeta reporter, who was also briefly detained in St. Petersburg and released without charge, according to those reports
• Arden Arkman, a photographer for Novaya Gazeta, who was detained by law enforcement in Moscow and released without charge after six hours, according to Novaya Gazeta’s Telegram channel
• Pavel Nikulin, editor for the independent online magazine Moloko Plus, who was detained in Moscow and released after being charged with violating the established procedure for rallies, according to Nikulin, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app
• Artem Dratchev, a photographer for Moloko Plus, who was also detained in Moscow and released under the same charge, Nikulin said

If those journalists are convicted of illegally participating in a protest, under Part 1, Article 20.2.2 of the administrative code, they could face a fine of 10,000 to 20,000 rubles (US$75 to $150 as of March 10), compulsory work for up to 40 hours, or administrative detention for up to 15 days.

If convicted of violating the established procedure for rallies, under Part 5, Article 20.2 of that code, they could face the same fines and compulsory work, but not the detention.

If convicted under the new law barring participation in unsanctioned anti-war rallies, Part 2, Article 20.3.3 of the code, they could face a fine of 50,000 to 100,000 rubles (US$375 to $749).

CPJ had previously reported that dozens of journalists were detained at anti-war protests in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. CPJ was unable to contact the Russian Interior Ministry for comment, as its website did not load.

New Russian legislation on ‘foreign agents’

On Thursday, March 10, Russia’s State Duma, the lower house of parliament, approved the creation of a unified registry of individuals labeled as “foreign agents,” according to multiple news reports.

Previously, the Ministry of Justice kept two “foreign agent” registers: one for public associations and the other for mass media groups. The new legislation would create a third registry that could include current and former employees of foreign media outlets, their funders, and employees of domestic groups that receive foreign funding. The bill will be enacted if approved by the upper house of parliament and signed into law by the president.

To date, about 400 people, media outlets, and organizations have been declared “foreign agents’” in Russia, according to tracking by the independent civil society group Inoteka. CPJ has documented how inclusion on the foreign agents registries can harm news outlets’ abilities to function freely.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.

Two CID officers had visited Nilanthan’s home on February 7 and February 8 and demanded that he appear at the Eravur police station for questioning, according to those sources. Nilanthan told CPJ that he believes authorities have subjected him to repeated harassment in retaliation for his journalism and his association with the Batticaloa District Tamil Journalists Association.

During the questioning, three officers asked Nilanthan about his biographical history; connections to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a banned group in Sri Lanka; his relationship with diaspora news organizations; and his work with the Batticaloa District Tamil Journalists Association, according to those sources.

Nilanthan was questioned about similar topics on July 12, 2021, when officers with the Batticaloa District’s Terrorism Investigation Division, another branch of the Sri Lanka police, demanded the login details of his Facebook, WhatsApp, email, and bank accounts, as CPJ documented at the time.

Separately, at around 6 a.m. on February 4, 2022, police visited the home of freelance Tamil journalist Punniyamoorthy Sasikaran in Batticaloa city and presented a court order banning an non-existent protest march, according to a report by Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka, a copy of the order, and the journalist, who spoke to CPJ by phone.

Police told his parents, who had opened the door, that the journalist could be arrested without providing further details, in what Sasikaran told CPJ he believed to be an intimidation tactic. Sasikaran also serves as treasurer of the Batticaloa District Tamil Journalists Association.

According to the copy of the order, which was issued by the Batticaloa magistrate court, police received “credible intelligence” that Tamil political parties and local organizations would hold a protest march opposing the celebration of the national Independence Day.

Sasikaran said that he told the police that no such protest would occur and asked why he was receiving the order, as he is a journalist. The officers said that the information was based on “credible intelligence,” and that the head of the Batticaloa police had requested the order, according to Sasikaran.

Previously, police visited Sasikaran’s home on February 1 and 2, 2021, and served him a court order restraining organizers from moving forward with a Tamil-led protest march, which he said he planned to cover as a reporter, as CPJ documented.

On August 23, 2021, officers from the Batticaloa police’s Special Crime Branch questioned Sasikaran and accused him of organizing a January 2021 ceremony that paid tribute to Indian fishermen who died in Sri Lanka waters, which he said he merely covered as a journalist, as CPJ documented at the time.

In January 2020, unidentified people circulated leaflets in Batticaloa that said Nilanthan, Sasikaran, and five other journalists would be “given death punishment” for writing critically about the Sri Lankan government, according to Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka. Nilanthan and Sasikaran told CPJ that police did not take steps to protect their safety, and failed to identify who was behind the threats.

Sri Lanka police spokesperson Nihal Thalduwa did not respond to CPJ’s request for comment sent via messaging app.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.