International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)

The media group published investigative reports on people close to President Vladimir Putin and covered the Panama Papers revelations.

The family of missing journalist Zeenat Shahzadi alleges that she was targeted by Pakistan’s Special Forces for her reporting.

Indradev Yadav was known for his critical reporting on corruption. Should his murder prove to be work related, he will be the second media worker killed so far this year in India.

The ten Yemeni journalists have been detained by the Houthis in Sana’a for over a year. They began a hunger strike on 9 May to protest against their maltreatment in prison.

Thirty-one journalists, bloggers and media workers were killed in South Asia in the period under review (May 2015 to April 2016) with India emerging as one of the most dangerous countries for journalists.

In the April round-up: horrific attacks against secularists in Bangladesh, journalists arrested while protesting criminal defamation in the Maldives, crackdown on opposing voices in Cambodia, plus advocacy, awards and much more.

“Using the Iraqi “war on terror” media guidelines to shut down Al Jazeera is a blatant attempt to put pressure on the network to report only one side of a story in a country that struggles to provide any protection to journalists on the ground.”

On April 25, Zulhaz Mannan, the editor of Bangla-language LBGTI magazine “Roopbaan”, was hacked to death along with another well-known LGBTI activist, Tanay Fahim.

The IFJ and the South East Asia Journalist Unions (SEAJU) join international organisations the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Freedom House in calling on the Timor Leste Prime Minister to withdraw the criminal defamation case against the “Timor Post”, a journalist and a former editor.

The IFJ and HKJA demand an immediate explanation from the Hong Kong-based newspaper “Ming Pao” about the sudden termination of the paper’s executive chief editor.

According to the BBC, Rehman is the third pro-opposition editor to be detained in Bangladesh since 2013. The other two editors, including the editor of the English newspaper, the Daily Star, Mahfuz Anam, have faced similar charges.

The guidelines contain specific measures to be taken by states to prevent violations of media freedom – including physical violence against journalists – to effectively protect journalism and journalists, and to prosecute crimes committed against them.

Photojournalist Kabin Adhikari was attacked by police in Kathmandu as he photographed the arrest of protesters inside the government’s main administrative premises, the Singha Durbar.

Critical blogging is the lifeblood of free societies, not a threat to social stability, say rights groups.

19 journalists were arrested in Male, Maldives, as police used pepper spray and excessive force to end a peaceful demonstration. A number of journalists also had to be taken to hospital due to injuries sustained.

The IFJ demands immediate withdrawal of the “Defamation and Freedom of Expression Act” and urges the Maldivian government to review it with all stakeholders to ensure it meets international standards.