News

August 28, 2024 - China - Beijing authorities severed all forms of communication for veteran independent journalist Gao Yu, disabling her landline, mobile phone, and internet access. The disruption followed her publication of a critique of an Al Jazeera interview with Victor Gao, provoking what CPJ called a tactic of enforced isolation used to silence dissenting voices. At 80 years old, Gao found herself unable to contact emergency services, a distressing impact on her well-being. She reported having to rely on mobile data at cafés or at friends’ homes to stay connected. Telecom providers blamed non-payment, but...

August 27, 2024 - Thailand -  Duangporn Yiampop, a seasoned reporter from Thai PBS, was abruptly struck by General Prawit Wongsuwon—former deputy prime minister and leader of the Palang Pracharath Party—outside Government House in Bangkok. The attack unfolded after Yiampop inquired about Prawit’s absence from a crucial parliamentary vote, captured in a widely circulated video where he slapped her twice on the head while angrily demanding, “What did you ask?” before being escorted away by guards. The incident drew swift condemnation from media watchdogs, legal experts, and international press freedom organizations. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ),...

August 27, 2024 - Ukraine/UK -  Ryan Evans, a 38-year-old British media safety adviser working with Reuters, was killed on the night of August 24, 2024, when a Russian missile struck the Hotel Sapphire in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. A former British soldier from Wrexham, Wales, Evans had served in Iraq and Afghanistan before becoming a close-protection officer and later joining Reuters in 2022. Known for his calm demeanor and dedication, he provided safety and emotional support to journalists covering some of the world’s most dangerous assignments. The missile, believed to be an Iskander short-range weapon,...

August 27, 2024 - Bangladesh - Prominent Bangladeshi journalists Shakil Ahmed and Farzana Rupa, formerly with Ekattor TV, were detained at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. The couple, traveling with their young daughter on August 21, were arrested while attempting to fly to Istanbul. Police held them after questioning for two hours regarding allegations of inciting violence linked to a student-led demonstration that ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and reportedly caused around 100 deaths on August 5, 2024. On August 22, they appeared before a Dhaka magistrate and were placed on four days of police remand. Prosecutors accused them under Sections 302...

August 26, 2024 - Tunisia - The Court of First Instance of Tunis 1 provisionally upheld its earlier in‑absentia verdict against Walid Al‑Majri, director of the investigative news site Al‑Katiba, following his appeal. Al‑Majri was originally sentenced in January 2023 to one year in prison for “insulting” former President Béji Caïd Essebsi and the Interior Minister via Facebook posts—a conviction widely regarded as politically motivated. His initial trial, based on a 2017 complaint by the Interior Ministry, was conducted without his presence or official summons, raising serious concerns over due process. The appeal hearing has been...

September 26, 2024 - Spain -  A troubling surge in online harassment is threatening press freedom in Spain. In September 2024, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) consortium—backed by the International Press Institute (IPI) and others—raised the alarm over a targeted campaign of digital attacks against an investigative team at La Sexta TV. The harassment was orchestrated by Daniel Esteve, CEO of eviction firm Desokupa, and involved repeated doxxing threats and broad intimidation across social media platforms, including X and Instagram. Esteve escalated the situation after La Sexta’s Equipo de Investigación aired an inquiry into...

August 26, 2024 - Palestine - Sixty international press freedom and human rights organizations issued a joint statement urging the European Union to take immediate action against Israel for what they described as systemic violations of media rights. The coalition, which includes the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), International Press Institute (IPI), Free Press Unlimited, and Human Rights Watch (HRW), called for the suspension of the EU–Israel Association Agreement and the imposition of targeted sanctions on Israeli officials involved in press freedom violations. The groups highlighted an alarming pattern of violence,...

August 23, 2024 - Iraq - On 23 August 2024, a suspected Turkish drone strike in Said Sadiq, Sulaymaniyah province, Iraqi Kurdistan, tragically claimed the lives of two female journalists working for Chatr Multimedia Production Company, affiliated with Sterk TV. The victims—40-year-old Turkish reporter Gulistan Tara and 27-year-old Iraqi Kurdish video editor Hero Bahadin—were killed when their vehicle was struck while on assignment. A third journalist, Rebin Bakir, was seriously injured but is now in stable condition at a Sulaymaniyah hospital. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) expressed deep sorrow over the incident, urging Turkish...

August 09, 2024 - Afghanistan -  Afghanistan’s Taliban-run Afghan Telecom Regulatory Authority (ATRA) revoked 17 broadcast licenses covering 14 media outlets in eastern Nangarhar province—a mix of TV and radio channels, including Hamisha Bahar Radio & TV, Sharq, Arzasht, and eight regional radio stations. Authorities claimed license suspension stemmed from unpaid fees totaling approximately Afg 108,000 (~US $1,500) annually, though some debts dated back to the previous government. Watchdog groups swiftly condemned the move. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on Taliban authorities to reverse the decision, asserting it represents ongoing state pressure on independent media...

August 09, 2024 - Belarus -  Marking four years since Belarus’s widely discredited presidential election, the International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ), along with the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), called for the immediate release of 37 journalists currently imprisoned under President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime. According to BAJ, the 37 jailed media professionals—27 men and 10 women—have been detained solely for their journalistic work. Many face charges related to “extremism,” “inciting hatred,” or “threats to national security,” often tied directly to their reporting on protests, political dissent, or human rights abuses. Notable...

August 08, 2024 - Maldives -  Ahmed Rilwan Abdulla—a fearless journalist with Minivan News known for his critical reporting on religious extremism and advocacy for democracy—was forcibly disappeared after receiving consistent threats from extremist groups in the Maldives. Multiple eyewitnesses saw him at the Hulhumalé ferry terminal, and CCTV footage confirmed his presence there before he vanished under suspicious circumstances. Since then, Rilwan’s fate has been shrouded in silence, with no trace of justice in sight. Early legal action led to the arrest—but eventual release—of three suspects, with charges dropped due to what a court cited as...

August 08, 2024 - Kenya -  Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned multiple incidents of police violence against journalists in Kenya, demanding immediate accountability and disciplinary action against officers responsible. Over seven weeks of anti-government protests—including rallies against alleged brutality, corruption, and the death of blogger Albert Ojwang—journalists faced a harrowing pattern of intimidation: rubber-bullet shootings, tear-gassing, arbitrary arrests, and equipment destruction. A notable victim, Catherine Wanjeri Kariuki of Kameme TV, was shot in the leg with a rubber bullet during a July 16 protest in Nakuru. She stated, “This policeman tried to kill me,” asserting she...

August 07, 2024 - UK -  The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in the UK and Ireland have sounded the alarm over a disturbing rise in violence targeting journalists covering recent riots across the country, calling for urgent intervention by employers and authorities. Since late July, far-right riots erupted in multiple UK towns in response to an anti-immigrant disinformation campaign following the Southport stabbings on July 29. Journalists reporting from the front lines have been attacked, harassed, and had their equipment destroyed. In one incident in Bolton on...

August 06, 2024 - Mexico - Veteran Mexican crime reporter Alejandro Alfredo Martínez Noguez, also known as “El Hijo del Llanero Solitito,” was fatally shot in Guanajuato while inside a police-escorted vehicle, in broad daylight on a highway between Celaya and Villagrán. Martínez, who hosted a highly popular Facebook page reporting on local crime, had nearly 350,000 followers and had survived a prior assassination attempt two years earlier. Assigned municipal police bodyguards due to persistent death threats, Martínez began filming and livestreaming a recent traffic accident in Celaya minutes before the attack, criticizing poor infrastructure and...

August 06, 2024 - Nigeria -  Nigerian security forces launched a violent crackdown on journalists covering nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests, with at least 56 media workers assaulted, detained, or harassed, according to reports by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). On August 3 alone, during demonstrations in Abuja and other major cities, 31 journalists were violently targeted. Among them was Yakubu Mohammed of Premium Times, who was beaten and struck with a rifle butt while reporting, despite clearly identifying himself as press. In another case, Daily Independent photojournalist Kayode...

August 06, 2024 - India -  Broadcast journalist Mutum Rameshchandra (known as RC Mangang) of Impact TV was violently assaulted by a sub-inspector of the Manipur Police as he covered a protest by internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Akampat, Imphal East. Despite clearly identifying himself as press and showing his ID card, SI Nikhil Singh allegedly punched him multiple times, tore his shirt, broke his phone, and threatened him. Rameshchandra was hospitalized at Raj Medicity with facial injuries and trauma. The All Manipur Working Journalists Union (AMWJU), Editors’ Guild of Manipur (EGM), and other regional...

August 06, 2024 - Brazil -  Then-President Jair Bolsonaro and his administration escalated a mounting campaign of threats and harassment against American‑Brazilian journalist Glenn Greenwald, co-founder of The Intercept Brasil. This came on the heels of Greenwald’s publication of leaked Telegram messages suggesting undue collusion between Chief Justice Sérgio Moro and Lava Jato prosecutors—an exposé exposing potential judicial misconduct. During a military ceremony on 27 July, Bolsonaro publicly threatened Greenwald with imprisonment, accusing him of undermining the government. His supporters echoed these attacks, labeling the journalist “aligned with criminal hackers.” Meanwhile, Greenwald and his team reported...

August 01, 2024 - Colombia -  Journalists from the Proclama de Cauca y Valle media network are facing a wave of death threats following their reporting on the activities of armed criminal groups in southwestern Colombia. The threats, delivered through anonymous messages on July 10, 24, and 27, 2024, warned the outlet’s staff to stop publishing sensitive content or face fatal consequences. The July 27 threat was particularly explicit, escalating fears for the safety of both journalists and their families. The Proclama network operates across a region long troubled by the presence of armed factions,...

August 01, 2024 - Georgia -  Georgia enacted a controversial Transparency of Foreign Influence law requiring media outlets and civil society organizations that receive over 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents.” The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its European counterpart (EFJ) immediately condemned the measure, warning it could be weaponized to criminalize independent journalism and civil society, and demanded its immediate and unconditional withdrawal. The IFJ described the law as authoritarian, labeling it as a legal tool designed to stifle dissent, particularly targeting critics of the government under the...

July 31, 2024 - Greece -  A mixed jury court in Athens cleared two brothers of charges related to the contract killing of veteran crime reporter Giorgos Karaivaz, who was shot dead outside his home on 9 April 2021. Prosecutors had claimed Karaivaz was poised to reveal links between organized crime and corrupt police officials, citing at least 10 gunshots fired at the journalist from a motorcycle. Nevertheless, the court found the evidence insufficient, leading to the acquittal on the principle of “reasonable doubt”. The verdict was met with strong criticism from press-freedom advocates. Reporters Without...

July 31, 2024 - Palestine - On 31 July 2024, Al Jazeera correspondent Ismail al‑Ghoul (27) and cameraman Rami al‑Refee were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting their vehicle while covering the aftermath of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination in Gaza’s Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City. The pair had been filming live near Haniyeh’s residence when they made a last call to their news desk reporting an earlier strike and were advised to leave immediately. Mere minutes later, their marked press vehicle came under direct attack, resulting in a fatal strike that decapitated both...

July 30, 2024 - Bangladesh -  Amid the intense quota-reform protests in Bangladesh between June and August 2024, journalists endured a wave of brutal attacks by security forces and political actors while covering nationwide unrest. According to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), at least two journalists were killed and over 160 were injured during the violent clashes that claimed more than 200 lives. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) confirmed the deaths of four media personnel—Hasan Mehedi, Md Shakil Hossen, Abu Taher Md Turab, and Mehedi Hasan—all killed while reporting on the protests. Dozens more suffered from...

July 25, 2024 - Source: IFJ -  Journalist and head of Dawan TV, Alinur Salaad, was detained by regional police in Mogadishu on 22 July on charges of false reporting and insulting the armed forces. Salaad was taken to court on 23 July and remanded in custody for 45-days while investigations are undertaken and potential charges prepared. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), condemn this arbitrary arrest as an attack on press freedom and demand Salaad’s immediate and unconditional release. Journalist Alinur Salaad was detained...

July 23, 2024 - Source IFJ - At least one journalist has been killed as protests against government hiring quotas continue across Bangladesh, with hundreds killed, injured or detained. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate, the Bangladesh Manobadhikar Sangbadik Forum (BMSF), in strongly condemning the killing, and urging protestors and authorities to ensure the safety of journalists and media workers.  On July 18, Dhaka Times journalist Mehedi Hasan was killed after he was shot in the head while covering a clash between law enforcement and protesting students and activists in Dhaka’s southern...

July 23, 2024 - Egypt - Within just one week in July 2024, Egyptian security forces arrested two media professionals at midnight and disappeared them without a trace, marking a disturbing intensification of repression against independent journalists. On 16 July, journalist Khaled Mamdouh Ibrahim of Arabic Post was hauled from his home in Cairo’s Mokattam district. Authorities confiscated his laptop and phone, then held him incommunicado for five days before officially bringing him before the Supreme State Security Prosecution. He's now held for 15 days under charges of “spreading false news” and “joining a terrorist...