HONG KONG: A Hong Kong journalist appeared in court Tuesday on charges of making false statements while obtaining information from a vehicle database, amid growing concerns that press freedom is at risk in the semi-autonomous Chinese city.
Choy Yuk-ling, a producer at public broadcaster Radio Television Hong Kong, was arrested earlier this month on charges of making false statements about why she was obtaining license plate information from a publicly accessible database.
She was previously involved in the production of an investigative documentary into the behavior of Hong Kong police during last year’s anti-government protests, after the force was accused of not intervening during a violent clash between protesters and a mob of men in a subway station.
Ahead of her court appearance, Choy told reporters the case was a matter related to public interest and press freedom in Hong Kong.
“There has been a very strong social understanding … that journalists are free to obtain public information for the sake of public interest,” she said. “I didn’t see any reason that the government has to restrict the flow of information.”
She said that many scholars, unions and lawyers have expressed concerns as to whether the police are using the law to suppress press freedom.
Members from an RTHK union, as well as supporters and pro-democracy activists, held up placards in support of Choy, some of which read “Journalism is not a crime” and “Without fear of favor.”
Choy’s case was adjourned until Jan. 14 to give the police more time to investigate, and she was released on bail.
Media groups are concerned Hong Kong’s new security law, which outlaws secession, subversion and foreign collusion to interfere in the city’s internal matters, could be used against journalist reporting on issues thought to be related to national security.
The US and others have denounced the law imposed by Beijing as an attack on Hong Kong’s autonomy and freedoms. The US State Department on Monday announced sanctions against additional Chinese officials over the crackdown.
Hong Kong journalist charged as press freedom fears grow
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Hong Kong journalist charged as press freedom fears grow
- Choy Yuk-ling, a producer at public broadcaster Radio Television Hong Kong, was arrested earlier this month on charges of making false statements
Locals in Niger say ‘terrorists’ killed 25 near Mali
- “Twenty-five self-defense militia fell on Thursday in terrorist ambushes,” a former mayor said
- The surrounding Tillaberi region is an area of operations of the Sahel branch of the Daesh militant group
ABIDJAN: Local sources in western Niger said “terrorists” killed 25 members of a militia in several villages near the Mali border.
“Twenty-five self-defense militia fell on Thursday in terrorist ambushes,” a former mayor in the commune of Anzourou told AFP — a toll confirmed by a leader from a local civil association.
“There were 25 young self-defense fighters who lost their lives and three others who were wounded and evacuated” to hospitals in Tillaberi town and Niamey, the latter source said.
The surrounding Tillaberi region is an area of operations of the Sahel branch of the Daesh militant group.
Conflict-monitoring NGO ACLED said that in 2025 Tillaberi became the deadliest region in the central Sahel, with more than 1,200 deaths recorded.
It blamed the violence mainly on the Daesh in the Sahel group, followed by the Nigerien army and the Al-Qaeda-linked Group to Support Islam and Muslims (JNIM).
The association source said the victims came from four neighboring villages — Doukou Makani, Doukou Djinde, Doukou Saraou and Doukou Koirategui.
The Anzourou district is made up of around 50 villages and hamlets in Tillaberi, which borders near the area between Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, long the scene of deadly militant attacks.
Niger has been run by a military junta since a coup in July 2023.
For the last decade, the country has been blighted by deadly militant attacks. Since the beginning of the year, there have been nearly 2,000 deaths, according to ACLED.
With the Nigerien army struggling to contain the attacks, it has tolerated the creation of self-defense militias by villagers, leading to bloody clashes with militants.
In December last year, the military regime in Niamey announced a “general mobilization” and the “requisition” of people and property to better fight the Islamists.
Niger has created a 6,000-strong joint force with Mali and Burkina Faso, countries also run by the military and facing militant violence.
