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January 26, 2026 - Philippines - A Regional Trial Court in Tacloban City, Philippines, has convicted Filipino journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and human rights advocate Marielle Domequil on charges of financing terrorism, issuing prison sentences ranging from approximately 12 to 18 years. The verdict was delivered on January 22, 2026, concluding a legal case that had drawn widespread international attention and condemnation from press freedom groups. The case originated in February 2020 when Cumpio, then executive director of the local news outlet Eastern Vista and a radio news anchor, and Domequil were arrested alongside other...

January 25, 2026 - Bangladesh - Journalists’ safety and professional protection in Bangladesh have come into sharper focus as the country prepares for its national elections in early 2026. Media professionals and civil society stakeholders recently convened at the Shafiqul Alam Auditorium of Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) to emphasize the urgent need for enhanced safety measures, legal support, and responsible reporting ahead of a period that experts describe as high-risk for press freedom and election coverage. At the event, media representatives and legal advocates highlighted rising field-level dangers such as legal harassment, uncertainty, and threats...

January 25, 2026 - Palestine - The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, has issued a public statement warning that the ongoing ban on the independent entry of international journalists into the Gaza Strip is contributing to widespread disinformation and polarized narratives, while preventing accurate reporting on the humanitarian crisis on the ground. Speaking on Sunday, January 25, 2026, Lazzarini emphasized that more than 230 journalists have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the conflict, and that the enclave has become one...

January 24, 2026 - Lebanon - In Sidon (Saida), southern Lebanon, journalist Hilal Habli was violently attacked on January 24, 2026, in an incident that local media and rights advocates have widely condemned as an attack on press freedom and personal safety. The assault occurred immediately after Habli exited Al-Hariri Mosque, when two individuals approached him and physically accosted him — one attempting to stab him with a knife — before bystanders intervened and restrained one of the attackers, identified as “A.A.” (born 1992). Lebanese security forces subsequently took the suspect into custody for questioning...

January 24, 2026 - Afghanistan -  In mid-July 2025, Bano, a journalist working in Maimana, northern Afghanistan, was killed inside her own home by her husband, in a murder that has gone largely unreported and unresolved, according to a narrative published by Zan Times, an independent Afghan women’s newsroom focused on documenting rights abuses. The account of her death and the lack of accountability highlight both gender-based violence and the collapse of legal protections for women and media workers under Taliban rule. According to Zan Times, Bano was slain at around 12:32 a.m. on July...

January 24, 2026 - Belarus - Vatslau Areshka, a 70-year-old Belarusian political prisoner, union activist, and contributor to independent media, has reportedly become almost completely blind while serving an eight-year sentence in Belarusian detention, human rights advocates and prison support groups report. His severe loss of vision and the prison authorities’ failure to grant appropriate disability accommodations have raised urgent concerns about his health, humane treatment, and the broader conditions political prisoners face in Belarus. Areshka was arrested on April 19, 2022, and later convicted under broad articles of the Belarusian Criminal Code related to...

January 24, 2026 - Greece - Archimidis (Dimitris) Kareklidis, a veteran journalist and publisher of the regional newspaper Magnesia, was **attacked by two masked assailants outside his home in Volos, Greece, on the evening of January 22, 2026, in an incident that has been widely condemned by media organisations, authorities, and political figures across the region. Police are investigating the brutal assault, which has heightened concerns about the safety of journalists in Greece. According to law enforcement and local press reports, Kareklidis had just parked his car near his residence when two hooded individuals approached...

January 24, 2026 - Egypt - Ahmed Douma, a prominent Egyptian activist, journalist, poet, and human rights defender, was arbitrarily arrested from his Cairo home on January 20, 2026, in what rights advocates describe as part of a continued pattern of judicial harassment. Douma was taken without a warrant by National Security officers, interrogated for more than 10 hours, and released on bail set at 100,000 Egyptian pounds (approximately €1,800) after being charged with “spreading false information” in connection with an article and video about prison conditions. During the arrest, his electronic devices and personal...

January 23, 2026 - Kurdistan/Turkey -  A Turkish court in Diyarbakır has sentenced Kurdish journalist Serdar Altan to one and a half years in prison on terrorism-related charges arising from his social media posts, in a case that underscores ongoing pressures on critical reporting and digital expression in Turkey. The Diyarbakır 9th High Criminal Court convicted Altan of “disseminating terrorist propaganda”, basing its decision primarily on material he shared on social media platforms, despite his argument that the content constituted news reporting rather than propaganda. Altan’s conviction followed a retrial of a case originally decided...

January 23, 2026 - Philippines - Fifteen years after the assassination of Filipino environmental journalist and broadcaster Gerardo “Gerry” Ortega, his family and press freedom advocates continue to press for full accountability, describing the prolonged legal delays as emblematic of entrenched impunity in journalist killings in the Philippines. Ortega’s murder in January 2011 remains among the country’s most symbolic unsolved attacks on media freedom. Ortega, who hosted a widely-heard radio programme in Palawan and became known for exposing environmental destruction, corruption, and political patronage, was fatally shot outside a second-hand clothes shop in Puerto Princesa...

January 23, 2026 - Slovakia - Slovakia’s long-running quest for justice in the 2018 assassination of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kusnirova, has entered another complex phase, with a third retrial of the alleged mastermind, businessman Marián Kočner, approaching amid deep concerns about persistent impunity in crimes against journalists. Kuciak’s murder — which shocked Slovakia, triggered mass protests and contributed to a political crisis — remains only partially resolved years later. Kuciak, a reporter for Aktuality.sk known for exposing corruption and connections between political and business elites, was shot dead in February...

January 23, 2026 - Malta - A Maltese court of appeal has rejected an attempt by two convicted bomb suppliers to overturn their life sentences in connection with the 2017 assassination of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, marking a significant judicial milestone in one of Europe’s most high-profile crimes against the press. The decision, delivered in January 2026, maintains that Robert Agius and Jamie Vella will continue to serve life imprisonment for their role in supplying the military-grade explosives used in the deadly car bomb attack. Caruana Galizia, a prominent Maltese investigative journalist and blogger,...

January 23, 2026 - USA - Former CNN anchor Don Lemon, now an independent journalist, was detained but not charged in connection with an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protest that took place inside Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, on January 18–19, 2026, federal court filings and multiple news reports confirm. The protest — involving demonstrators who entered a Sunday service to call attention to perceived conflicts between church leadership and ICE leadership — became a flashpoint in debates over immigration policy, protest rights, and press freedom. Lemon was present at the protest to...

January 23, 2026 - USA - A documentary chronicling the life and work of American journalist and filmmaker Brent Renaud has been nominated for an Academy Award, bringing renewed attention to his legacy and the risks journalists face in conflict zones. The film, Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud, earned a nomination in the Best Documentary Short Film category for the 98th Academy Awards, with the nominations announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on January 22, 2026. The short documentary is a deeply personal portrayal...

January 23, 2026 - Montenegro - Montenegro, a candidate for membership in the European Union, marked Journalists’ Day on January 23, 2026, with media unions and press freedom advocates warning that journalists in the country continue to face escalating threats, harassment, and unresolved attacks, even as the government underscores its aspirations for deeper European integration. The commemoration drew attention to both symbolic achievements and persistent challenges confronting media professionals in the Balkan nation. At the event, representatives of Montenegrin journalist associations highlighted a string of security concerns and threats against reporters and media workers —...

January 23, 2026 - Tunisia - A Tunisian court has sentenced two well-known journalists, Bohran Bssaies and Mourad Zghidi, to three and a half years in prison on money-laundering and tax-related charges in a ruling that has drawn condemnation from press freedom advocates and critics of President Kais Saied’s government. The sentences, delivered on January 22, 2026, are seen as part of a broader pattern of legal action targeting independent media and government critics in Tunisia. Bssaies and Zghidi — both veteran columnists with backgrounds in local broadcast and written media — have been held...

January 23, 2026 - General - Despite a modest decline in the number of journalists jailed worldwide in 2025, press freedom advocates say the situation remains dire, with 330 journalists imprisoned in connection with their work as of December 1, 2025, according to a report published on January 21, 2026, by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Although this figure represents a decrease from a record 384 jailed at the end of 2024, it is still among the highest totals since CPJ began tracking such data in 1992 and reflects persistent repression and legal pressure...

January 22, 2026 - Pakistan - Press freedom organisations and media analysts have sharply criticised Pakistan’s ongoing failure to deliver justice in the murders of journalists, highlighting structural impunity that has left many killings unresolved for decades and repeatedly undermined official pledges to protect media workers. Recent investigations and reporting by rights groups underline a stark pattern: journalist murders frequently go unpunished, illustrating entrenched weaknesses in legal follow-through and political will. A new international investigation — conducted under the coalition A Safer World for the Truth, which includes Free Press Unlimited, Reporters Without Borders (RSF),...

January 22, 2026 - Canada - A landmark press freedom trial is underway in the British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver, where photojournalist Amber Bracken and Canadian investigative news outlet The Narwhal are suing the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) over her arrest and detention in November 2021 while covering a Coastal GasLink pipeline protest on Wet’suwet’en territory — a case that press freedom advocates say could have broad implications for journalists across Canada. Bracken, a veteran photojournalist contracted by The Narwhal, was covering tensions related to the Coastal GasLink project when RCMP officers enforcing...

January 22, 2026 - Turkey/Syria - Turkish authorities detained six journalists on January 21, 2026, in the Nusaybin district of Mardin province as they were reporting on a protest against a Syrian government offensive into Kurdish-held northeastern Syria near the Turkey–Syria border, according to press freedom monitors and local journalist associations. The detentions reflect growing pressure on the media in Turkey amid tensions surrounding the Kurdish issue and protests spilling over from neighbouring conflicts. The journalists were taken into custody after police intervened to break up a march organised in solidarity with Kurdish groups in...

January 22, 2026 - Palestine - Three Palestinian journalists were killed on January 21, 2026, when an Israeli airstrike struck a vehicle they were using while documenting civilian displacement and humanitarian conditions in central Gaza, health officials and press freedom groups reported. The deaths occurred despite an existing ceasefire, underscoring the persistent dangers faced by reporters covering the conflict and the serious risks confronting media professionals in the densely populated territory. Gaza’s civil defence agency identified the journalists as Mohammed Salah Qashta, Abdul Raouf Shaat, and Anas Ghneim, noting that at least 11 Palestinians were...

January 21, 2026 - Lebanon - Eight journalists were wounded on January 21, 2026, when Israeli airstrikes struck several villages and towns in southern Lebanon while they were covering the unfolding bombardment, according to Lebanese health officials and state media. The incident occurred despite an existing ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah brokered in November 2024, highlighting persistent insecurity along the Lebanon–Israel border and ongoing risks for reporters in the region. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that Israeli warplanes targeted buildings in Qennarit, Jarjouaa, and Kfour, with additional strikes in Kharayeb and Ansar following evacuation...

January 21, 2026 - Pakistan - Despite repeated assurances from Pakistani authorities to strengthen protections for journalists and prosecute those responsible for crimes against them, impunity for journalist murders remains pervasive, according to a new international investigation by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The case of slain reporter Shan Dahar — unsolved more than a decade after his killing — underscores the systemic failures in investigations and lack of political will that continue to leave perpetrators free and families without justice. Shan Dahar, a Pakistani...

January 21, 2026 - Cuba - Henry Constantín, an independent Cuban journalist and director of the digital outlet La Hora de Cuba, was released on January 16, 2026, after spending 44 hours in detention without formal charges or explanation in Havana, according to multiple reports. His disappearance and subsequent release have drawn renewed attention to the treatment of independent media workers in Cuba amid heightened political tensions. Constantín was detained by State Security agents on January 14 during a heavy police presence tied to the funeral of 32 Cuban soldiers killed in Venezuela, an event...

January 21, 2026 - France/Turkey - French journalist Raphaël Boukandoura was released without charge on January 21, 2026, after being detained by Turkish police earlier in the week while covering a pro-Kurdish protest in Istanbul, his lawyer and multiple news agencies reported. The case drew widespread attention from rights groups and the French government amid concerns about press freedom and the treatment of foreign correspondents in Turkey. Boukandoura, 35, who works for several French outlets including Libération and Courrier International, was arrested on January 19 while reporting on a demonstration organised by the Pro-Kurdish People’s...