The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), saying it is “frustrated and fed up” with the arrests of reporters doing their jobs, has called on Myanmar to release Associated Press (AP) journalist Thein Zaw and five others detained while covering protests in the Southeast Asian nation.
The US’ oldest journalism organization also called on US law enforcement agencies to drop charges against any journalist detained while doing their work, specifically mentioning at least four journalists due in court this month after being arrested last summer covering the Black Lives Matter protests.
“We urge all Americans to join us in a campaign to urge public officials that journalism is not a crime,” the Indianapolis-based organization said in a statement on Friday.
Thein Zaw was arrested on Feb. 27 while covering a protest against the military coup that ousted the elected government of Burmese State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi. A video of the arrest shows him being surrounded and held in a chokehold as handcuffs are placed on him.
Authorities charged Thein Zaw and the other journalists with violating a public order law that could see them imprisoned for up to three years.
“Those journalists, like all journalists, are doing their jobs, and shouldn’t be punished for it. What part of ‘journalism is not a crime’ do government officials not get?” SPJ president Matthew Hall said in a statement.
The group said it also is “appalled” that US journalists continue to face charges “for doing a public service.”
“We call on law enforcement agencies in the US to drop charges against any journalist detained while doing their work, and we ask the Biden administration to publicly make that same statement in support,” it said.
The society said that although the majority of the more than 120 journalists arrested or detained while covering Black Lives Matter protests were released without charges, at least four are due in court this month on charges ranging from disorderly conduct to interference with official acts.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number