News

December 23, 2024 - Russia - Retired police colonel Mikhail Smirnov, once deputy head of the anti-corruption department in St. Petersburg’s law enforcement, admitted to murdering investigative journalist Maxim Maksimov two decades earlier. Maksimov, who worked for Fontanka and the Agency for Investigative Journalism, disappeared in June 2004 while probing allegations of systemic corruption among senior officers, including Smirnov himself. Smirnov made his confession after being arrested in mid-2024 on unrelated charges involving the 1998 bombing of a businessman. During questioning, he admitted to luring the journalist to a house with collaborators, where he strangled...

December 23, 2024 - Azerbaijan - Farid Mehralizada, an economist and contributor to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), was detained in May 2024 and accused of conspiring to smuggle foreign currency, among other charges, including illegal entrepreneurship, money laundering, tax evasion, and document forgery, carrying a potential 12-year prison sentence. Mehralizada vehemently denies all allegations and asserts that his arrest stems from his critical reporting on the economy, which he believes threatened authoritarian sensitivities. He explained in court that “journalism in our country today is almost equated with terrorism”. Press freedom organisations such as the Committee...

December 23, 2024 - Azerbaijan - Kyrgyz police detained two journalists from Radio Azattyk—reporter Maksat Kutmanbekov and cameraman Nurlan Beyshebaev—while they were filming near Pre‑trial Detention Center No. 1 in Bishkek, covering a hunger-strike protest by inmates. According to the Oktyabrsky District Department, the detention was preventive: authorities cited a court-ordered ban on demonstrations since August 2024 and said the journalists were taken in for "explanatory talks" before being released shortly afterward. The journalists were interviewing relatives of the detainees, whose hunger strike began on December 22 in protest against the appointment of Chyngyz Kozhoshev as head of the Penitentiary Service and...

December 23, 2024 - Turkey- Turkish authorities detained several journalists and media workers in Istanbul during a protest against the killing of Kurdish journalists Cîhan Bîlgîn and Nazım Daştan, targeted in a suspected Turkish drone strike in northern Syria on December 20. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), five journalists and two media workers were held pending trial, while five others were placed under house arrest. Among those imprisoned were Pınar Gayıp from ETHA, freelance reporter Gülistan Dursun, Hayri Tunç, Enes Sezgin, and Osman Akın of Yeni Yaşam, designer Can Papila, and Serpil Ünal from Mücadele...

December 23, 2024 - General - The Guardian revealed that 55 of the 104 journalists and media workers killed worldwide in 2024 died in Palestine, making it the most dangerous region for journalists that year. These figures, drawn from the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), indicate that over half of global journalist fatalities occurred in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories. The report emphasizes that these numbers do not include arrests, injuries, or missing persons and likely underestimate the full scope of the crisis facing media workers in the region. Since the outbreak of war...

December 23, 2024 - General - Shamsa Ishfaq warns that journalists around the world are increasingly under threat, even as they strive to hold power to account. In Afghanistan—the article highlights—the situation has deteriorated sharply since the Taliban returned in 2021. Data from the UN Assistance Mission (UNAMA) shows that between August 2021 and September 2024, no fewer than 336 journalists and media workers suffered violations, including arrests, torture, threats, and forced media closures, with women journalists particularly vulnerable to systematic exclusion. Ishfaq quotes Fatima Bhutto: “A society that silences its storytellers loses the threads of its humanity,”...

December 23, 2024 - Turkey - In two closely linked cases nearly a decade apart, the Turkish government’s crackdown on Kurdish journalism reveals a long-standing pattern of silencing dissent through arrests, censorship, and criminal charges. In February 2016, Nazım Daştan, a correspondent for the pro-Kurdish Dicle News Agency (DIHA), was arrested in Gaziantep for allegedly “spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization.” The charges were based on his Facebook posts, which included reporting on alleged Turkish military support for ISIS near the Syrian border. His arrest came during a broader media crackdown in which dozens of...

December 22, 2024 -Serbia - A report by Amnesty International, spotlighted by Deutsche Welle, the Associated Press, Reuters, and The Guardian, exposed a systematic spyware campaign orchestrated by Serbia’s state agencies to target journalists, activists, and government critics. Amnesty’s forensic analysis revealed that individuals—many of whom had not been charged with any crime—were detained or summoned by the Security Information Agency (BIA) or police. During interrogations, their phones were accessed using Israeli-made Cellebrite forensic tools to crack device security, and bespoke spyware called “NoviSpy” was loaded onto their devices. This spyware covertly harvested screenshots, contact...

December 21, 2024 - USA - In Grand Junction, Colorado, internal distress erupted when 39-year-old Patrick Thomas Egan allegedly stalked and assaulted TV reporter Ja’Ronn Alex, forcefully trying to strangle him outside the KKCO/KJCT studio. Throughout the incident, Egan reportedly shouted, “Are you even a U.S. citizen? This is Trump’s America now! I’m a Marine, and I took an oath to protect this country from people like you!” Alex, who is of Pacific Islander descent and a native of Detroit, believed the motive was racially driven. According to police and witness accounts documented in surveillance video, the...

December 21, 2024 - USA - Isaac White—a Mohawk journalist for Indian Time based in Akwesasne—was arrested while covering a land claim demonstration on Barnhart Island, northern New York, ancestral Mohawk territory now controlled by the New York Power Authority. According to White’s account, as published by the Freedom of the Press Foundation, he introduced himself as a reporter when police detained him, but was nonetheless handcuffed and taken in, despite doing nothing illegal beyond documenting the protest. White described the incident starkly: “You’re under arrest.” “I’m a reporter.” “I don’t care.” He found the...

December 21, 2024 - Venezuela - Venezuelan journalist Ana Carolina Guaita, a reporter for the critical digital outlet La Patilla, was formally released on December 21, 2024, after more than four months of detention amid post-election protests. Her arrest sparked immediate international concern over press suppression in Venezuela. Guaita was initially detained on August 2, 2024, reportedly by agents of SEBIN (Bolivarian National Intelligence Service), as she was covering protests surrounding President Nicolás Maduro’s contested July election victory. Following her disappearance, Guaita’s family was left in the dark. Her mother faced coercive pressure from authorities, who allegedly told her, "Libero a su...

December 21, 2024 - General - Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are increasingly used across Europe to intimidate and silence journalists, activists, and watchdogs. These legal threats, often lacking merit, are designed not to win in court but to drain resources, cause psychological distress, and deter public interest journalism. UNESCO highlights the pressing need to raise awareness about SLAPPs as a crucial step toward journalist safety. In a recent initiative focused on North Macedonia, UNESCO emphasized the importance of educating the judiciary and the general public about SLAPP dynamics. It recommends collaborative actions with...

21 December 2024 - Turkey/Syria -  Turkish journalist Özlem Gürses was detained on December 20, 2024, after remarks made during a YouTube livestream were interpreted as critical of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). In her statement, she referred to the TSK-Syrian National Army structure in a context that some perceived as associating it with ISIS. This triggered immediate legal action, with prosecutors charging her under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code for “insulting state institutions” and under Article 217/A for “publicly disseminating misleading information.” These provisions, frequently used to silence dissenting voices in Turkey,...

December 20, 2024 - Afghanistan - Afghanistan has reached a historic nadir in press freedom as the Taliban has intensified its crackdown on independent media. According to Reporters Without Borders, at least twelve television and one radio station were forcibly shut down in 2024. Among these, Arezo TV in Kabul endured a raid by the General Intelligence Directorate, supported by the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, resulting in the arrest of seven staffers, including the bureau chief, and the seizure of equipment. This campaign has focused on content deemed “transgressive”...

December 20, 2024 - Georgia - International press freedom organizations have united in a powerful show of solidarity with journalists across Georgia following an escalating wave of violence, intimidation, and legislative suppression against independent media. During mass protests sparked by the government’s decision to pause EU accession talks on November 28, 2024, at least eighty journalists were physically attacked, threatened, or interfered with by police and masked vigilantes. One prominent case involved photographer Aleksandre Keshelashvili being seized, beaten, and detained despite clearly identifying as press, and another saw Guram Rogava of Formula TV suffering facial fractures...

December 20, 2024 - Turkey - Kurdish journalists Nazim Daştan, 32, and Cîhan Bilgin, 29, were killed while covering the escalating conflict in northern Syria. Both were deployed near the Tishrin Dam, documenting clashes between Turkey-backed forces and Kurdish fighters when their car was struck by a drone attack, reportedly by a Turkish drone. Their driver, Aziz Haj Bozan, survived with injuries. The attack took place on December 19 near Kobani, around 100 km east of Aleppo. The Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) issued a stern condemnation late on that day, branding the strike a targeted...

December 20, 2024 - Bangladesh - The murder of photojournalist Abu Taher Md. Turab, commonly known as Turab, on July 19, 2024, amid Bangladesh’s student-led quota movement, has sparked a high-stakes legal battle centering on accountability and institutional transparency. Turab, a reporter for Daily Jalalabad and Daily Naya Diganta, was wearing a press vest when he was shot during a confrontation between police and protestors in Sylhet. The incident was one of several journalist deaths and injuries during the widespread protests that left four media workers dead and over 200 injured. Following the murder, Turab’s...

December 20, 2024 - Turkey - Kurdish journalists Nazim Daştan, aged 32, and Cîhan Bilgin, aged 29, working for Kurdish outlets including ANHA, Rojnews, and Firat News Agency, were killed near the Tishrin Dam east of Aleppo by an alleged Turkish drone strike. The two were traveling in a vehicle marked “Press” while reporting on armed clashes between Turkish-backed Syrian National Army forces and U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters when the drone attack struck their car, instantly killing both and injuring their driver, Aziz Haj Bozan. The Dicle Firat Journalists Association, alongside the Turkish Journalists Union, strongly condemned the attack as...

December 20, 2024 - Egypt - The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), alongside the Egyptian Journalists’ Syndicate (EJS), has made an urgent appeal to President Abdel Fattah El‑Sisi to immediately and unconditionally release twenty‑four journalists currently detained in Egypt. Their appeal followed the IFJ delegation’s attendance at the EJS’s sixth general conference in Cairo from December 14 to 16, 2024, where IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger emphasized the human and professional toll of prolonged imprisonments. He underlined the importance of solidarity and pledged cooperation on international advocacy, digital safety training, and press freedom reporting. The...

December 20, 2024 - India - Indian investigative journalist Anand Mangnale, the South Asia regional editor for the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, has been subjected to a state-backed online smear campaign after exposing significant corruption. On December 5, 2024, Nishikant Dubey, a Member of Parliament from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, accused Mangnale in Parliament of trying to undermine the government by accessing foreign funds. He alleged that Mangnale was interfering with Indian politics through overseas financing. The official BJP account amplified these claims on X, accusing him of raising “Chinese money” for...

December 19, 2024 - Georgia - The streets of Tbilisi erupted into widespread protests after the government’s abrupt decision to delay EU accession talks in late November 2024, triggering fierce clashes between demonstrators and security forces. In this volatile environment, journalists covering the demonstrations found themselves exposed to graphic violence and legal intimidation, despite clearly identifying themselves as members of the press. Law enforcement repeatedly used tear gas, water cannons laced with chemical irritants, rubber bullets, and physical force to disperse not only protesters but also reporters on duty. Many journalists suffered beatings, concussions, broken...

December 19, 2024 - General - At the Internet Governance Forum 2024 held in Riyadh, the safety of journalists in the digital landscape took center stage as experts across the globe highlighted the escalating threats posed by online harassment, surveillance, and censorship. The open forum “Safety of Journalists Online” underscored that journalists universally face similar dangers, with female reporters and individuals from marginalized communities bearing the brunt of gender-based abuse. Participants stressed the urgent need to expand legal protections—both by reinforcing existing regulations and crafting new frameworks—to hold online platforms accountable for facilitating harassment and...

December 19, 2024 - Sudan - Emmanuel Monychol Akop, editor-in-chief of The Dawn newspaper, was arrested on November 28, 2024, by agents of South Sudan’s National Security Service after responding to a summons to their headquarters in Juba. Detained without any formal charges or access to legal counsel, his arrest marks yet another instance of the oppressive use of intelligence services against independent journalism in the country. His family was informed that neither visits nor updates would be permitted until the so-called investigation was complete, while colleagues voiced deep concern for his well-being and access...

December 19, 2024 - Greece - A court in Athens made a landmark ruling concluding that veteran Greek crime reporter Giorgos Karaivaz was assassinated in April 2021 because of his journalistic work. The Mixed Jury Court determined that his murder was a contract killing directly linked to his reporting, rejecting any alternative motives and declaring that the only plausible explanation was Karaivaz’s professional role as a journalist. Giorgos Karaivaz, age 52, was a prominent investigator of organized crime and corruption in Greece. He had a distinguished career with Star Channel and ran the independent news website Bloko. On April 9, 2021,...

December 19, 2024 - Belarus - Yauhen Nikalayevich, a former video reporter for the independent outlet Media Polesye, was sentenced on October 3, 2024, by a court in Pinsk to one and a half years in prison for allegedly “organizing or participating in gross violations of public order.” The verdict, which was connected to his coverage of the 2020 Minsk protests demanding President Lukashenko’s resignation, was upheld in December after his appeal was rejected. The sentence remained concealed until December 19, when it became public following a court’s decision to reject his appeal, triggering widespread criticism...