India: Female journalist critically injured in shooting attack

A shooting attack in the Indian city of Itanagar left Tongam Rina, associate editor of the Arunachal Times newspaper, critically injured on Sunday. It has been reported that, as Rina arrived at the paper’s offices at 6:15pm, unidentified gunmen opened fire on her before fleeing the scene. She was rushed to hospital, where she remains in intensive care and is said to have sustained serious injuries to the spinal cord and intestines. The motive of the attack is unknown, though Rina has reportedly received threats in the past in connection with her campaigning against dam construction on the Siang River.

Indonesia: Shia cleric jailed for blasphemy

Indonesia’s Sampang District Court has sentenced a Shia cleric to two years’ imprisonment for blasphemy. Tajul Muluk was said to have caused ”public anxiety” for his religious teachings. Witnesses said that the cleric encouraged Muslims to pray three rather than five times a day, that the Quran was no longer authentic and that followers need not make the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, considered one of the five pillars of Islam. Under Indonesian law, blasphemy carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Sri Lanka: Defence minister tells editor “they will kill you”

Sri Lankan defence minister Gotabaya Rajapaksa reportedly verbally abused Sunday Leader editor Frederica Jansz during a telephone interview last week. Jansz had asked the minister if he was aware that an aircraft scheduled to fly to Zurich was to be changed to accommodate a personal friend. During the conversation Rajapaksa told Jansz people “will kill you — you dirty fucking shit journalist”, and threatened to sue the newspaper if they ran the story. The Sunday Leader won the Index/Guardian Freedom of Expression award for journalism in 2009.

Pakistan: Television station attacked

The Karachi offices of Pakistani television station Aaj news and English-language daily Business Recorder were attacked on 25 June. Four men reportedly attacked the offices, opening fire inside of the building and injuring two employees. A spokesman for the militant Islamic group Tehrik-e-Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that it was out of the group’s anger that they did not receive as much coverage from the station as the government and the army.

China: Hong Kong journalists complain about editor’s self-censorship

A prominent Hong Kong newspaper has been criticised for self censorship by members of its staff. Journalists at the South China Morning Post have complained over coverage of the suspicious death of  dissident Li Wangyang on 6 June. A number of emails between senior subeditor Alex Price to the newspaper’s editor Wang Xiangwei described staff concerns, as Price said that the minimal coverage of the death looked “a lot like self censorship”. Wang responded: “I don’t have to explain to you anything. I made the decision and I stand by it. If you don’t like it, you know what to do.”

Bangladesh: Journalist murdered

A journalist has been hacked to death in Bangladesh after reporting on a local drug syndicate. Jamal Uddin from Banglore daily Gramer Kagoj was allegedly kidnapped by syndicate leader Tota Miah and ten other men at 11pm on 15 June. The attackers gauged out one of the journalist’s eyes, slashed veins on his legs and hacked at his body. The group fled the scene after neighbours heard Uddin’s cries for help. The journalist died on the way to hospital. Police later discovered a bloodstained towel and a machete at Miah’s house. It is believed Uddin had previously filed a complaint against Miah after receiving death threats.

Burma: Aung San Suu Kyi returns to Europe for first time in 24 years

Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi arrived in Geneva today for the start of a 17-day tour of Europe, visiting the continent for the first time in 24 years. The politician, who returned to the southeast Asian country in 1988 and has led its pro-democracy movement, was restricted from leaving Burma for her speaking out against the country’s brutal military regime. During her trip, Suu Kyi will accept the Nobel Peace Prize she won in 1991, but could not collect at the time because of fears of being prevented from re-entering Burma. The activist was this year elected to the country’s Parliament.  

China: Dissident found dead

Chinese dissident Li Wangyang, who was jailed for over 22 years after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, was found dead in a hospital ward in Shaoyang city, Hunan province, on Wednesday. Family members found the dissident, 62, apparently hanged by a bandage around his neck in his hospital room. Security and hospital authorities have said he had committed suicide but his family has said Li died in strange circumstances. Police are also reported to have removed his body without the family’s permission.