Aliansi Jurnalis Independen/Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI)

Maldivian bloggers harassed abroad, Australia spies, China collects, India leaks and South Asia’s shutdown.

Members of the Islamic Defenders Front visited the personal residences of media users accused of publishing derogatory posts against Rizieq Shihab, the organisation’s grand mufti, and forced them to issue a public apology.

Two recent cases of violence against journalists in Papua highlight the empty promise of Press Law protections in Indonesia’s easternmost province, as well as the false hopes of President Joko Widodo, who more than two years ago promised to open foreign press access to the area.

A contributor for a local TV channel was physically attacked and intimidated by Army soldiers after recording an accident in East Java province.

Three local journalists were covering a protest in Medan over the blocking of access to disputed land by the Indonesian Air Force when violence broke out between residents and Air Force personnel.

Dance performances as well as documentaries featuring rights violations and struggles for justice were targeted by censors across Asia and the Pacific region in May.

SEAPA strongly condemns police authorities in Yogyakarta, Indonesia for forcing the cancellation of an event by the local chapter of AJI on 3 May 2016.

From lethal attacks on the media in Afghanistan and Pakistan, to the case of the missing Hong Kong publishers, to a campaign to block government interference with Australia’s national broadcaster, we present a month of events that are changing the free expression landscape in the region.