CPJ Asia / Committee to Protect Journalists

09/17/2026

: The Committee to Protect Journalists and nine partner organizations sent a joint letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging him to press for the immediate release of imprisoned journalists during upcoming high-level meetings with senior Vietnamese officials.

The public letter, released September 16, urges Rubio to prioritize the humanitarian release of Vietnamese journalists Le Huu Minh Tuan, Pham Chi Dung, Nguyen Tuong Thuy, and Pham Doan Trang, all of whom are serving lengthy sentences on anti-state charges linked to their journalism. Trang, who is serving a nine-year prison sentence for her critical reporting, received CPJ’s 2022 International Press Freedom Award for her courage in the face of persecution.

Read more: https://cpj.org/2026/09/cpj-partners-call-on-rubio-to-press-for-release-of-imprisoned-vietnamese-journalists/

The Committee to Protect Journalists and nine partner organizations sent a joint letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging him to press for the immediate release of imprisoned journalists during upcoming high-level meetings with senior Vietnamese officials. The public letter, released Se...

09/17/2026

: The Committee to Protect Journalists has called on the U.S. Congress and the Trump administration to “resolutely demand” for the release of jailed Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai, ahead of a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

U.S. authorities must use “all available diplomatic means and opportunities” to secure Lai’s freedom, whose health is declining behind bars, CPJ said in a statement submitted to a September 16 hearing held by the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), which advises Congress, about Lai.

The 78-year-old publisher’s son, Sebastien, testified at the hearing. Xi is due to meet with Trump at the White House on September 24.

Read more: https://cpj.org/2026/09/cpj-urges-us-congress-trump-to-press-for-jimmy-lais-release-ahead-of-xi-visit/

The Committee to Protect Journalists has called on the U.S. Congress and the Trump administration to “resolutely demand” for the release of jailed Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai, ahead of a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. U.S. authorities must use “all a...

09/17/2026

: CPJ welcomes the European Parliament’s resolution condemning the February 2026 sentencing of publisher Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison, and the recent arrest of journalist and bookseller Leticia Wong.

The resolution calls for media freedom to be at the heart of EU-China relations and urges the EU Council to urgently impose sanctions under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime on Hong Kong authorities and officials responsible for the repression of freedoms.

CPJ urges EU member states to act on these calls and press Hong Kong authorities to end their crackdown on independent journalism.



https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20260911IPR47461/human-rights-violations-in-hong-kong-cuba-and-zambia

09/17/2026

: CPJ calls on Thai authorities to immediately release Chinese journalist Bai Zhaodong and allow him to travel to safety in a third country.

Bai has been detained in Thailand since January despite completing his immigration sentence months ago. He is a UN-recognized refugee who faces trumped-up extortion charges in China. Deporting him to China would put him at risk of persecution and threaten his life and liberty.

A Thai court is due to rule on September 18 on Bai’s injunction against his detention. CPJ urges the court to grant the injunction and order his release.

Thai authorities should ensure Bai can reach safety in a third country and uphold their obligations to protect refugees.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has joined 58 other press freedom and civil society organizations in calling on Thailand to halt the forcible return of detained Chinese journalist Bai Zhaodong to China. Bai, a former reporter with Caijing magazine and an investigative journalist for over 25 yea...

09/17/2026

: The Committee to Protect Journalists, together with seven Indonesian civil society organizations, is urging the chief of the National Police of the Republic of Indonesia to order the South Sulawesi provincial police to comply with the Makassar court’s ruling on the investigation into violence against Antara News Agency journalist Muh Darwin Fatir. On March 16, the judge ruled the delay in the case since 2020 violated the law and ordered the police to hand the case over to public prosecutor within 60 days. However, that decision has never been fully implemented.

Fatir was seriously wounded in an attack by several police officers while covering a demonstration on September 24, 2019. Four officers were named as suspects in 2020, but the case has never been brought to court. One suspect has since died, another has been dismissed from the force, and two remain active-duty officers.

https://cpj.org/2019/09/police-attack-indonesian-journalists-covering-prot/

09/16/2026

: The Committee to Protect Journalists and partner organizations call on the Chinese authorities to ensure journalist Sophia Huang Xueqin is freed without any arbitrary restrictions, as she approaches the end of a five-year prison sentence.

Huang, whose reporting on human rights and sexual abuse helped spark China’s movement, is due to be released on September 18 after serving a prison term on the charge of “inciting subversion of state power.”

In a joint statement on Tuesday, CPJ was among 60 press freedom and human rights organizations that urged the Chinese government to ensure Huang is released immediately on Friday and guarantee that she could return to reporting without being subjected to surveillance, retaliation, or other forms of restrictions.

Read more: https://cpj.org/2026/09/cpj-partners-urge-china-to-ensure-metoo-journalist-sophia-huangs-freedom-as-jail-term-nears-end/

New York, September 15, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists and partner organizations call on the Chinese authorities to ensure journalist Sophia Huang Xueqin is freed without any arbitrary restrictions, as she approaches the end of a five-year prison sentence. Huang, whose reporting on huma...

09/15/2026

: CPJ calls on authorities to immediately restore full internet access in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, where restrictions have crossed 100 days, cutting communities off from vital information and severely hampering journalists’ ability to report and communicate, freely and safely in this politically volatile region.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/15/internet-shutdown-crosses-100-days-in-pakistan-administered-kashmir

Mobile data, broadband services suspended in the territory since protests calling for electoral reform in June.

09/15/2026

: সিপিজে সাইবার সুরক্ষা আইনের প্রস্তাবিত সংশোধনী অবিলম্বে প্রত্যাহার অথবা ব্যাপকভাবে সংশোধন করার আহ্বান জানিয়েছে। কর্তৃপক্ষের বিবেচনায় কোনো সংবাদ 'অসমর্থিত বা অযাচাইকৃত' মনে হলেই তা প্রকাশ করা অপরাধ হয়ে দাঁড়াবে এই সংশোধনীর ফলে। পাশাপাশি সাংবাদিকদের প্রতিবেদন আটকে দেওয়া এবং সংবাদমাধ্যমের নিবন্ধন বাতিল করার ক্ষমতাও পেয়ে যাবে কর্তৃপক্ষ।

Read more: https://cpj.org/2026/09/bangladeshi-journalists-face-10-year-jail-terms-for-unverified-reporting-under-draft-cybercrime-law/

09/15/2026

: CPJ and partners call on the authorities to ensure journalist Sophia Huang Xueqin is freed without any arbitrary restrictions. The journalist, whose reporting on human rights and sexual abuse helped spark the movement in China, is due to be released on September 18 after serving a five-year sentence.

https://cpj.org/2026/09/cpj-partners-urge-china-to-ensure-metoo-journalist-sophia-huangs-freedom-as-jail-term-nears-end/

09/14/2026

: CPJ urges the government to immediately withdraw or substantially revise proposed amendments to the Cyber Protection Act, which would criminalize reporting that officials deem unverified and grant authorities the power to block journalists’ work and deregister news outlets.



Read more: https://cpj.org/2026/09/bangladeshi-journalists-face-10-year-jail-terms-for-unverified-reporting-under-draft-cybercrime-law/