The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) and the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) denounce in the strongest terms the Malaysian and Saudi authorities’ blatant disregard for due process and international norms in the secret rendition of Saudi journalist Hamza Kashgari. Kashgari, wanted by the Saudi authorities for tweets which allegedly insulted Islam and Prophet Muhammad, was deported by the Malaysian authorities on 12 February 2012.

Cyberattacks, politically motivated censorship, and government control over internet infrastructure are among the diverse and growing threats to internet freedom, according to Freedom on the Net 2011: A Global Assessment of Internet and Digital Media,a new study released today by Freedom House.

A report by the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) released on 4 February, highlighting cases and trends in media freedom in the region over the past year and what to expect this year.

The following is a joint statement signed by IFEX members, including CIJ, calling, among others, for access for media and election monitors to elections in Burma, and freedom of information for the voters-to-be.

Independent candidates faced formidable limitations on campaigning for the coming election in Burma, held after a lapse of 20 years. The election is widely expected to be far from free and fair.

Burmese exiled media Mizzima exposed that a tribunal convicted an editor for charges under three laws in Burma. Lawyers claimed that the prosecutions was flawed.

A second grenade exploded in Bangkok within a week, this time at the National Broadcasting Services of Thailand, further undermining the safety of Thai journalists.

Indonesian journalists in Sumatra held protests over a legislator’s indecent behavior to a reporter on duty.

The Modern Times journal this week became the fourth publication in six weeks to be suspended by Burmese state censors, according to a journal editor. The suspension followed the change of a title of an article about weather conditions on the cover of the journal’s fifth issue from the headline earlier approved by the junta’s [...]

It has been three years since the enactment of Thailand’s controversial Computer Crime Act, a law that critics and experts say has had a troubling and detrimental impact on free expression in the country. The law was introduced in 2007 under the post-coup government of General Surayudh Chulanont. In that context it was immediately assailed [...]