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<div>Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the Thai military junta’s censorship of Pravit Rojanaphruk, an outspoken journalist who has been denied permission to travel to Finland to attended a UNESCO event in Helsinki on 3 May marking World Press Freedom Day.</div> <div>Pravit, who is very critical of the junta in his articles, has been detained twice in the past in a “behaviour adjustment camp,” where he was forced to sign a pledge to seek permission from the authorities whenever he wants to travel abroad.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>His request to attend the Helsinki event was refused by th </div>

<p>A year and a half after a military coup in Thailand, Reporters Without Borders is today releasing a report about the Thai military’s skilfully orchestrated crackdown on freedom of information.</p> <p>Lead by the capricious Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha, the Thai junta has been persecuting the media for the past 18 months, imposing a reign of terror that has included interrogations, arbitrary arrests, a spate of prosecutions and barely veiled threats.</p>

<div>Thanapol Eawsakul, editor in chief magazine Fah Diew Gan (Same Sky), a political magazine, was arrested after posting a message on Facebook that displeased the ruling junta. Eawsakul was released on 9 July after four days in jail. The arrest took place after Eawsakul responded to an invitation to meet military officers at a cafe. </div>

<div> <div dir="ltr"> <p>Thailand’s military junta, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), announced on 25 June that it is creating panels to control media content and to prevent the media from being use to spread false information that could incite hatred and violence against the monarchy.</p> </div></div>

<p>Reporters Without Borders reiterates its call for the withdrawal of all proceedings against two journalists who are to be tried tomorrow in the southwestern province of Phuket&nbsp;<a href="http://en.rsf.org/thailand-royal-thai-navy-sues-two-23-12-2013,45666.html" target="_blank">on charges of contravening the Computer Crimes Act and defaming the Royal Thai Navy</a>&nbsp;for quoting from a&nbsp;<em>Reuters</em>&nbsp;special report on the smuggling of Rohingya refugees from neighbouring Burma.</p>

<p>Two journalists, a Thai and an American, were injured while covering clashes between government supporters and opponents in the Bangkok suburb of Laksi on the eve of yesterday’s general elections.</p>

<div>Following the rising tension in Bangkok due to the anti-government mass demonstration, the European Union and United States has said they were “concerned” with the situation and called on all sides to avoid violence, while Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) are especially concerned with the safety of the journalists.&nbsp;</div> <p></p>

<div>Reporters Without Borders has asked the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology to change its approach to updating the Computer Crime Act of 2007.</div> <div> <p>The law already authorizes the government to arrest journalists and bloggers for political reasons. If a newly proposed amendment were adopted, the government would have even more latitude to muzzle the independent and opposition media.</p> <p></p></div>

<p>Five journalists who went to cover a roadside bombing in the far-south province of Narathiwat on 19 October were injured by a second bomb that went off around 45 minutes after the first one. Several police officers who had rushed to the scene were also injured by the second blast.</p> <p></p>

<p>On World Press Freedom Day, Reporters Without Borders is releasing an updated list of 39 Predators of Freedom of Information ­– presidents, politicians, religious leaders, militias and criminal organizations that censor, imprison, kidnap, torture and kill journalists and other news providers. Powerful, dangerous and violent, these predators consider themselves above the law.</p> <p></p>

<p><span>In an&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.nhandan.com.vn/chinhtri/binh-luan-phe-phan/item/19808302.html" target="_blank">article published online</a><span>&nbsp;on 14 March, the Vietnamese daily&nbsp;</span><i>Nhan Dan</i><span>criticized the fact that the 2013 Reporters Without Borders Netizen Prize was&nbsp;</span><a href="http://en.rsf.org/reporters-without-borders-awards-07-03-2013,44178.html" target="_blank">awarded to the Vietnamese citizen-journalist and blogger&nbsp;<b>Huynh Ngoc Chenh</b></a><span>.</span></p> <p></p>