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case’ above) were arrested and sentenced in the same case. On 13 January2012 Sein Hlaing was released under a general amnesty.WIN Maw: Musician and composer, was arrested on 27 November 2007,and sentenced to 7 years in prison, with an additional 10 years addedwhile in prison. He was charged under article 5 (j) of the penal codewith ‘threatening national security’ after sending news reports and videofootage to the Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) radiostation during the protests in August and September 2007. Win Maw islead guitarist in the music group Shwe Thansin, which was one of the topbands in Burma in the 1990’s. Win Maw was released under a generalamnesty on 13 January 2012.U Zeya (aka Thargyi Maung Zeya): Poet, writer and political activist,and video journalist for the Oslo-based Democratic Voice of Burma(DVB). Was arrested on 10 April 2010 and sentenced to 13 years in prisonfor leading a team of DVB journalists inside Burma. On 13 January 2012U Zeya was released under a general amnesty.Zaw Thet HTWE: Journalist, arrested on 13 June 2008, was sentencedto 19 years in prison, reduced to 11 years. Zaw Thet Htwe had beenworking with comedian Zargana and other leading Burmese figures todeliver aid and support to the victims of Cyclone Nargis which struck on2 May 2008. He was charged with two offences under section 505(b) ofthe Criminal Code, sections 33(a)/38 of the Video Act and section 17(2)of the Unlawful Associations Act. On 13 January 2012 Zaw Thet Htwewas released under a general amnesty.NEPALKilled – investigation*Yadav POUDEL: Executive editor for the Mechi Times, and journalistfor the Rajdhani newspaper, was found dead in Birtamod, Jhapa, easternof the country, on 4 April 2012. The journalist, aged 38, also worked fora TV station and other media outlets. His colleagues believe that Poudelwas killed for his recent reporting on prostitution in the Birtamod area.The authorities are investigating the case.Death threat*Rajendra ADHIKARI: Publisher and editor for the Dawn Newsnewspaper. Reportedly received a death threat on 12 April 2012 from amember of the workers’ union which is associated to the Maoist party.Adhikari is said to be targeted for a criticle article he had recentlypublished about the transport union.*Sashi BICHITRA: Editor-in-chief for the weekly New Highway.Reportedly received two death threats on his mobile phone on 22 March2012. Bichitra believes the threats are linked to his recent reports onorganized crime on Sarlahi district. The authorities are investigating thecase.*Kanak Mani DIXIT: Editor of the Himal Southasian regionalmagazine, publisher of the Nepali-language Himal Khabarpatrika newsmagazine, and author of a number of children’s books. He is said to beamong three leading figures to have been declared ‘people’s enemies’in an article published in the 30 January 2012 edition of the monthlymagazine Lalrakshak (Red Guards), the mouthpiece of the ruling UnifiedCommunist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-Maoist). Also targetedare Kul Chandra Gautam, a former U.N. assistant secretary-generaland a longstanding deputy executive director of the U.N. children’sagency UNICEF, and human rights activist Subodh Raj Pyakurel,executive director of Informal Services Sector (INSEC), the largest nongovernmentalhuman rights organisation in Nepal. All three men arebelieved to be threatened for their outspoken criticism of the Chairman ofthe UCPN-Maoist, Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, in particular theircalls for him and his party to renounce the use of violence. (RAN 13/12– 20 March 2012)*Rupa SHARMA (aka Neha): Journalist. Reported on 10 February 2012to have received a death threat after publishing an article on women’sissues in a Kathmandu-based weekly magazine.PAKISTANKilled – investigation*Tariq KAMAL: Journalist for the newspaper Sindhi, was found dead inKarachi on 9 May 2012. Kamal had been kidnapped three days before,together with a friend of his, with whom he had travelled to Baluchistanto investigate an exclusive report. The authorities are investigating thecase.*Murtaza RAZVI: Senior editor at Dawn Media Group and writer, wasfound dead in a friend’s apartment in Karachi, on 19 April 2012. His bodyshowed signs of torture. Razvi was a columnist and political editor, andhad over twenty years experience in journalism. He published a bookabout the former president of Pakistan, entitled Musharaf: The Yearsin Power. The motive for his killing is not known. The authorities areinvestigating his death.PHILIPPINESKilling - investigation*Michael CALANASAN: Columnist for the daily Laguna Courier,based in San Pablo city, was killed in Laguna province on 24 April 2012.Reports say that he and his wife were on their way to the town hall, whensomeone called his name and shot at him in the face. Calanasan’s columndealt with local issues. He was also a traffic enforcer. The authorities areinvestigating this case.*Christopher GUARIN: Publisher and editor-in-chief of the localnewspaper Tatak News, was killed in General Santos, on 5 January 2012.The editor was in his car, together with his wife and daughter when twounidentified men shot at him. According to his colleagues and his wife,Guarin had received death threats via text messages before his murder. Hewas also a radio broadcaster. The authorities are investigating the case.Imprisoned: investigationEricson ACOSTA: Activist, journalist, songwriter and poet. Aged 39.He is a former editor of the student publication Philippine Collegian, andchairperson of the student cultural group Alay Sinin. He also worked ascultural writer for the Manila Times, and has acted in and directed a numberof theatre plays. On 13 February 2011, Acosta was arrested by the military,in San Jorge, Samar, east of the country, on suspicion of being a memberof the New People’s Army (NPA). At the time of his arrest, Acosta was saidto be unarmed and conducting research on human rights and environmentalissues in the area. He was reportedly held incommunicado for three days,during which he was ill-treated, tortured and threatened with death. On16 February 2011, the charge of illegal possession of explosives was filedagainst Acosta at the Regional Trial Court Branch 41 in Gandara, WesternSamar. Under Philippine law, this is a non-bailable offence. Acostaremains in custody pending action by the investigating prosecutor. UnderPhilippine law, the time limit from an arraignment to trial is set at 180days by the Speedy Trial Act (RA 8493). However, over one year afterAcosta’s arrest and arraignment, the prosecutor has yet to file a formal 37
38complaint to the court. Acosta is currently detained at the Calbayog subprovincialjail, which is a civilian detention facility. Since Acosta’s arrest,there has been a constant presence of officers from the 8th Infantry Divisionof the Philippine Army outside the prison, who reportedly intimidate hisfamily and other visitors. His defense team filed a complaint about thismatter before Philippines’ Commission on Human Rights (PCHR), but hasreceived no response. In September 2011, Acosta filed a petition for thereview of his case before the Philippines’ Department of Justice (PDOJ),alleging irregularities and rights abuses; however, despite the 60 daysdeadline to respond to the petition, the PDOJ’s decision remains pending.New information: On 18 May 2012, Acosta’s defense team filed a secondmotion before the Department of Justice urging for a resolution of his casereview. (RAN 14/12 – 22 March 2012)Death Threat*Ronald Allan MASCARDO: Publisher and editor of the communitynewspaper Dadiangas Balita, based in General Santos, reportedlyreceived a death threat via text message on 17 January 2012. Marscargadolinked the threat with a statement he read at journalist ChristopherGuarin’s funeral on 15 January 2012. (See above Killing – investigationfor more on Guarin)Attack*Fernan ANGELES: Journalist for the Manila based The Daily Tribune.Reportedly shot at seven times near his home in Pasig City, on 11 March2012. At the time of the attack, Angeles was reporting on political issues,and was investigating illegal drugs trade. Despite being badly injured, thejournalist has returned to work. Three men have been charged in the caseand remain free on bail.Case closedEdgardo MALIZA: Correspondent for the Mindanao-based newspaperGold Star Daily. Reportedly arrested on 4 March 2011 at Cagayan deOro city on criminal defamation charges for allegedly maligning a formerDepartment of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) staff officer.Maliza was released on bail of $230 in the same day. No further progressin his case as of 30 June 2012, Maliza remains free. Case closed.SRI LANKADisappeared – motive unknownPregeeth EKANALIYAGODA: Political analyst, journalist and visualdesigner for the Lanka eNews, has been reported missing since 24 January2010, and his whereabouts remain unknown. He was last seen leavinghis office on the evening of 24 January 2010, and it is widely believedthat he was abducted by pro-government forces and subsequently killed.Government sources have denied the allegation. Ekanaliyagoda is aleading columnist, and reportedly published articles in favour of thedefeated opposition candidate General Sarath Fonseka ahead of the SriLankan presidential elections that took place on 26 January. The LankaeNews website was reportedly blocked during the elections, and itsoffices were searched by unidentified individuals on 28 January 2010.Previously, on 27 August 2009, Ekanaliyagoda had been abducted andheld blindfolded overnight, and was released after being told that he wasnot the correct target. Family and colleagues have expressed increasingconcern that the authorities have done very little to investigate PregeethEkanaliyagoda’s disappearance, and they fear for his safety. (RAN 09/10- 26 February 2010)THAILANDKilled – investigation*Wisut TANGWITTHAYAPORN: Publisher and journalist of thenewspaper Phuket Wan, and editor for the Phuket E-news. Reportedlyshot dead in the resort island of Phuket on 12 January 2012. His attacker,an unknown individual, fled on a motorcycle., His reports exposedcorruption in the local Land Department Office involving some politiciansand businesspeople. Tangwitthayaporn was also a local leader of theUnited Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, also known as ‘RedShirts’. The motive is unknown and an official investigation is ongoing.Imprisoned – Main caseSurapak PHUCHAISAENG:Profession: Dissident internet writer and computer programmer. Dateof arrest: 2 September 2011. Details of arrest: Reportedly arrested on2 September 2011 for posting messages on Facebook said to be insultingto the Thai King. The police searched his home and confiscated severalitems, including computers and his mobile phone. Phuchaisaeng, age 40,was indicted on 25 November 2011 on the charge of lèse-majesté. Hisrequest for conditional release was rejected and he remains detained asof 30 June 2012.Somyot PRUKSAKASEMUSKProfession: Independent journalist, editor of the magazine Voice ofTaksin, and prominent labour activist. Date of arrest: 30 April 2011Details of arrest: Reportedly arrested by the Department of SpecialInvestigation (DSI) on 30 April 2011 and charged with two counts oflèse-majesté under Article 112 of the Criminal Code for publishingtwo allegedly offending articles written by an anonymous author inhis magazine. Pruksakasemusk, aged 50, was reportedly charged afterrefusing to reveal the identity of the writer of the articles, which aredeemed to be defamatory to the King. It is believed that Pruksakasemuskcould be targeted for his campaign calling for the repeal of the lèsemajestélaw. Details of trial: His trial started on 21 November 2011.Pruksakasemusk could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted. Hehas been denied bail and remains detained as of 30 June 2012. Placeof detention: Petchaboon Prison, 31 Praputabat Rd, Ni-Muaeng Subdistrict,Muaeng District, Petchaboon 67000, Thailand.On trialNorawase YOSPIYASATHIEN: Blogger and accountant, whograduated recently from Kasetsart University. Reportedly arrested on5 August 2011 and charged with lèse-majesté for allegedly offensivewritings against the monarchy posted on Yospiyasathien’s blog when hewas in his fourth-year of accounting studies. He was released on bail on8 August 2011. Reports say that the university deputy director filed thecharges against Yospiyasathien, aged 23, in response to pressure fromthe university council to protect its reputation. In November 2011 theDepartment of Criminal Cases reportedly set up a commission to considerYospiyasathien’s case, because of the public attention it has attracted.Suspended sentencedChiranuch PREMCHAIPORN (f): Editor of the independent websitePrachatai. Reportedly arrested on 6 March 2009, and charged withviolations of article 15 of the Computer Crimes Act for allegedlyendangering national security in comments published on the website. The
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Page 16 and 17: *Jamal Osman HAMAD: Eritrean journa
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