Tag: Defamation
Palau Media Council condemns lawsuit as ‘assault on press freedom’
Pacific Media Watch
The Palau Media Council has condemned a political lawsuit against the publisher of the Island Times as an "assault on press freedom"...
Palau newspaper sued by president’s family company ahead of general election
By Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews
Palau’s largest newspaper is being sued for defamation by the company of President Surangel Whipps Jr's father, just days ahead...
Crackdown on activists, free expression in Papua as Indonesia eyes UN...
Asia Pacific Report
The state of civic space in Indonesia has been rated as "obstructed" in the latest CIVICUS Monitor report.
The civic space watchdog said...
NGOs work in ‘public interest – not foreign lackeys’, says activist...
Asia Pacific Report
A defendant in an Indonesian case of alleged defamation, Fatia Maulidiyanti, has hit back at a statement by Coordinating Minister for Maritime...
Nobel Peace laureates slam ‘Damocles’ sword’ threat to press freedom
Pacific Media Watch
Despite its champions being honoured with a Nobel Peace Prize, press freedom has a "sword of Damocles" hanging over it, warn this...
La’auli condemns Tuila’epa’s ‘extreme behavour’ in losing office in Samoa
By Sialai Sarafina Sanerivi in Apia
Veteran Samoan parliamentarian and chairman of the Fa'atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) has criticised what he...
Journalists are not going to stop tweeting. But should media outlets...
By Rodney Tiffen, University of Sydney
“Not a great week for journalism at the ABC”, News Corp’s Sharri Markson tweeted earlier this month, when the...
PNG parliamentarian faces cyber crime charges over K250m Ok Tedi claim
By Trevor Wahune in Port Moresby
North Fly MP James Donald yesterday made an appearance in Papua New Guinea's Waigani Committal Court to face cyber...
Timorese journalists protest over plan to turn defamation into crime
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk
Timor-Leste's Journalist Association (AJTL) and journalism students marched through the streets of the capital Dili today calling on the government to...
Manila court upholds Ressa cyber libel conviction, cites new 15-year period
By Lian Buan in Manila
Manila Judge Rainelda Estacio-Montesa has denied the motion for partial reconsideration filed by Rappler journalists, and upheld the cyber libel...
Rappler chief Ressa appeals over cyber libel conviction, cites errors, ‘malice’
By Lian Buan in Manila
Rappler chief executive Maria Ressa and former researcher-writer Reynaldo Santos Jr have filed a motion for partial reconsideration, appealing...
Media rights groups protest against Timor’s draft defamation law
Pacific Media Watch
Timor-Leste's Minister of Justice plans to present to the Council of Ministers a proposal to include criminal defamation in the country’s penal...
Ramos-Horta slams criminal libel plan – threat to rights in Timor-Leste
By Antonio Sampaio in Dili
Former East Timorese President José Ramos-Horta says it is not opportune for the government to be debating the possible criminalisation...
Social media ‘third party’ defamation ruling warning for Pacific nations
By Sri Krishnamurthi, contributing editor of Pacific Media Watch
The New South Wales Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal which sought to challenge a...
Philippine website editor Maria Ressa held on ‘cyber libel’ charge
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk
The Paris-based global media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned yesterday's arrest of Maria Ressa, editor of the independent...
Philippine website accused in ‘absurd’ seven-year-old media libel case
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned the latest "absurd charges" that the Philippine Justice Department is planning to bring against the...
Nepal’s new legal codes spark medical, media protests and divide nation
Nepal has recently updated its legal system with new civil and criminal codes. However, writes Rahul Bhattarai of Asia Pacific Report, failure to consult...
Vanuatu plans cyber crime law to target Facebook ‘false claims’
Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai, the Minister responsible for Telecommunications, has informed Parliament that a cyber crime bill currently being developed will address the...
Timor-Leste judge acquits two journalists facing jail for defamation
By Bob Howarth in Dili, Timor-Leste
A Dili District Court judge has acquitted two Timor-Leste journalists on a charge of criminal defamation on the grounds...
Timor-Leste journalists facing jail for defamation over PM criticism
Pacific Media Watch News Desk
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has joined its affiliates Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) and the South East...
Myanmar media chiefs detained over defamation
Media monitors say Myanmar's restrictive media laws raise concerns about press freedom under the government of Aung San Suu Kyi, who is well-known for...
Call made for ‘urgent international support’ for East Timorese journalists
An online petition to drop the defamation case against two East Timorese journalist’s is calling for urgent international support, stating that the prosecution of...