Human rights
Civil and political rights
Control of information shifts up a gear in run-up to Cambodia election
Critics of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen have grown used to following upstart news service Fresh News to find out what the government’s next target might be.From treason accusations against detained opposition leader Kem Sokha to the tax demand against the now-shuttered Cambodia Daily to ...
Matthew Tostevin
ASEAN legislators 'alarmed by Cambodia crackdown'
Members of parliament from ASEAN countries have expressed grave concerns over the “worsening human rights situation in Cambodia” which has seen authorities continue to crack down on independent media outlets and civil society organizations.Keep reading ...
Bagus Saragih
Criminal Defamation Case Against British BBC Journalist Withdrawn
A lawyer has withdrawn a criminal defamation case against a British BBC journalist involving a report on foreigners being defrauded of property, the BBC reports. The case against Jonathan Head, BBC’s Southeast Asia correspondent, began Wednesday. “The plaintiff has withdrawn his case against BBC journalist ...
Vietnam looks to bolster its internet censorship
Following the recent intensification of his country’s crackdown on political dissent, Vietnamese president Tran Dai Quang has argued for the need to develop a more robust internet censorship regime in an article published to a state media website. Quang said enemies of the state had ...
Regime aims to tighten media control, surveillance
The junta’s National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA) has given the green light to media reform proposals which will tighten control over online media and surveillance.On 3 July 2017, the NRSA voted 144-1 in favour of the report compiled by its social media reform subcommittee. Keep reading ...
Regulatory loophole for OTT
Facebook and Google’s YouTube could miss the July 22 deadline to register under the over-the-top (OTT) regulatory framework, but advertising agencies and spenders can avoid violating OTT regulations by using overseas servers, media analysts say.Keep reading ...
Rights agency the next to be replaced
The National Human Rights Commission appears likely to be the next target for mass dismissal of members, after the Election Commission. NHRC chairman What Tingsamitr disclosed on June 8 that the matter was clearly mentioned in Article 60 of a new law on the rights ...
Interior Ministry mulling investigations into NGOs' "neutrality"
Human rights NGOs Licadho and Adhoc were among a group of organisations who were warned by the Ministry of Interior today that they are being scrutinised for allegedly violating their neutrality by supporting the opposition CNRP. News of the inquiry was first disclosed by government-aligned ...
At 97, this Vietnamese grandma has mastered the Internet
At first glance, it’s easy to dismiss Le Thi as just another raddled old woman. At 97, she has lost almost all her teeth and a severe hunchback impedes her movement. She spends most of her time lying in bed on her side, slowly chewing ...
Free speech takes a hit ahead of the Thai vote
An explosion at a military hospital in Bangkok on the third anniversary of the ruling junta underscored Thailand’s delicate political situation ahead of the first full-fledged election in seven years. The kingdom’s two largest political forces have remained deeply split since the coup that brought ...
