News

October 12, 2024 - Venezuela - In the wake of Nicolás Maduro’s contested July 2024 re‑election, Venezuela has quietly revoked the passports of at least 40 journalists and human rights activists, according to Caracas–based Laboratorio de Paz, as documented by Financial Times and Reuters. Many learned of the cancellations only when attempting to travel, with documents being seized without explanation at the country’s main airport. This tactic aligns with Maduro’s broader strategy of targeted repression—dropping airport seizures and overt violence for subtler, systemic intimidation. Laboratorio de Paz explained that “unlike murder or torture, which have...

October 11, 2024 - Palestine - An in-depth investigation by The Intercept, published on October 11, 2024, has revealed disturbing evidence suggesting that Israeli forces have deliberately targeted journalists in Gaza since the start of the war in October 2023. Drawing from eyewitness testimonies, verified videos, and open-source intelligence, the report alleges that the killings of several Palestinian journalists were not accidental but the result of direct and intentional strikes. The report highlights that local journalists, many of whom were wearing marked "PRESS" vests and working in areas known to be occupied by media crews,...

October 11, 2024 - Palestine - Al Jazeera cameraman and teacher Omar Al-Balaawi was fatally shot by Israeli forces in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. The 26-year-old journalist was on assignment, covering the devastation in the densely populated area, when he was hit by gunfire. His colleague, fellow cameraman Fadi Al-Wahidi, was critically injured in the same attack after being shot in the neck. Al-Balaawi’s death marks yet another grim addition to the rising toll of Palestinian journalists killed during Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza. Al-Balaawi was more than just a journalist. He...

October 11, 2024 - USA - American journalist Jeremy Loffredo, known for reporting on Middle Eastern conflicts, was detained by Israeli authorities in the occupied West Bank. Loffredo, working as a freelance correspondent for European media outlets, had reported critically on Israeli military operations and Iranian-linked missile activity in Gaza. His arrest came days after coverage accusing Hamas of obscuring battlefield setbacks and alleged ties to Iran. Israeli military and security forces accused Loffredo of violating censorship rules during an active operation and conducting unauthorized field reporting. They held him for approximately nine hours, during...

October 11, 2024 - Ukraine/Russia - 27-year-old Ukrainian journalist Victoriia Roshchyna went missing after traveling to Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine for reporting. She last checked in on August 3, before vanishing while covering the occupied Zaporizhzhia region.. Her disappearance remained unexplained until April 2024, when Russia confirmed she was being held in detention, at one point in Taganrog’s notorious SIZO-2 prison. Roshchyna, a freelancer for outlets including Ukrainska Pravda, Hromadske, and Radio Free Europe, was an award-winning journalist. She received the 2022 Courage in Journalism Award for her courageous reportage from Mariupol during its prolonged siege. On October 10,...

October 11, 2024 - Turkey - The European Parliament passed a resolution highlighting a concerning deterioration in press freedom in Turkey, as the judiciary continues granting prison sentences to journalists and activists. The motion condemned what it called systemic suppression of independent media, irregular prosecutions under vaguely defined laws, and politically motivated censorship actions. The resolution is timely: 2024 marked “a lost year” for Turkish media, with journalist associations reporting a sharp uptick in judicial harassment and sentencing. According to Index on Censorship, 36 journalists received convictions in the year leading up to May 2025—resulting...

October 10, 2024 - Palestine - Two Al Jazeera cameramen, Ali al-Attar and Fadi al-Wahidi, were critically injured in separate Israeli strikes while reporting from Gaza. Both were wearing marked press vests and documenting the humanitarian crisis in refugee camps when they were shot by Israeli forces, in what media watchdogs describe as a deliberate assault on journalists. Fadi al-Wahidi, a veteran journalist, was struck by sniper fire in the neck while filming in Jabalia refugee camp. He was immediately rushed to Al-Ahli Hospital, where doctors revealed that the bullet had damaged major arteries and...

October 09, 2024 - Palestine - Al Jazeera Media Network released a press statement sharply criticizing Israeli Occupation Forces for the deliberate targeting of its journalists in Gaza. The escalation began with the shooting of two cameramen—Ali al‑Attar and Fadi al‑Wahidi—in different parts of northern Gaza. Al‑Wahidi sustained a neck wound while covering a military assault in Jabalia camp, and two days prior, al‑Attar was injured while documenting displaced civilians in Deir al‑Balah. The network stated that these were "grave violations" of journalistic safety and international law. Al Jazeera rejected Israeli military claims, labeling six of its reporters as...

October 09, 2024 - Palestine - Israeli warplanes struck an Al‑Aqsa TV news crew near the Abu Sharakh roundabout in Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza. The strike killed photojournalist Mohammad al‑Tanani and injured reporter Tamer Lubbad, according to Al‑Aqsa TV’s Telegram announcement. The targeting appeared intentional, aimed at media crews, and ambulances were reportedly delayed from accessing the scene. This tragic incident marks yet another escalation in the violence against journalists in Gaza. With al‑Tanani’s death, the Gaza Media Office placed the total number of journalists killed since the start of the intensified Israeli offensive...

October 06, 2024 - Palestine -  19-year-old freelance journalist Hassan Hamad was killed when an Israeli artillery strike hit his home in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. In the days before his death, Hamad had received explicit threats via WhatsApp from an individual posing as an Israeli officer, warning him to stop filming Israeli military actions or face deadly consequences—a chilling precursor to the strike that ended his life. A freelance reporter whose footage had been featured by major outlets like Al Jazeera and Middle East Eye, Hamad's work focused on exposing the impacts of...

October 10, 2024 - Palestine - Marking one year since Israel launched its military campaign on Gaza in October 2023, the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) and IFEX released a harrowing report detailing 1,029 Israeli violations against Palestinian media and journalists. The report, titled “A Palestinian Media Nakba,” reveals a systematic, year-long assault on press freedom, which both organizations argue amounts to an intentional silencing of Palestinian voices. The violations include killings, injuries, arrests, censorship, and destruction of media infrastructure. Among the most devastating findings is the death toll: at least 130...

October 05, 2024 - Malaysia - Malaysian media watchers raised the alarm over a dramatic collapse of independent journalism. A collaborative analysis by Malaysia Today and Eurasia Review paints a stark portrait: over 71 journalists laid off since February, two online news outlets shuttered, and a creeping “new regime of censorship” reshaping the media landscape. This crackdown is driven by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), which has blocked dozens of websites and journalists after negative coverage of the government. In return, the state offers conditional funding, dictating allowable content and effectively neutering editorial...

October 05, 2024 - Palestine -  Israeli forces committed 185 documented violations against Palestinian journalists in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS). The figures, released in a detailed report, underscore a deliberate campaign to silence Palestinian media voices amid intensifying conflict and occupation. Among the violations, the most severe were two journalist fatalities in Gaza and the injury of nine others in the West Bank by live ammunition while covering protests or military operations. These incidents, PJS states, were not isolated or accidental but part of an escalating...

October 04, 2024 - Palestine -  The Palestinian Authority (PA) sparked outrage by suspending Al Jazeera’s broadcasts in the occupied West Bank. Citing accusations of incitement, the PA moved to silence one of the region’s most prominent news outlets during a period of heightened tension. The action immediately drew condemnation from journalist unions, human rights groups, and civil society, who warned that this internal repression mirrors the very authoritarian tactics Palestinians have long opposed. According to Middle East Eye, several groups, including the Palestinian Media Forum and the Lawyers for Justice group, denounced the suspension...

October 04, 2024 - Ethiopia -  Yeshihasab Abera, deputy editor at the state-owned Bekur newspaper in Bahir Dar, Amhara region, was forcefully taken from his office by Ethiopian security forces. His whereabouts have remained unknown since his transfer to a detention facility in Dangila. Authorities have refused to disclose any charges or allow communication with legal counsel or family, raising alarm among press freedom advocates. Abera’s arrest occurred amid a broader government offensive in Amhara targeting civilians, academics, and media professionals under the guise of "law enforcement operations" following the integration of regional militias into...

October 04, 2023 - Ireland/UK -  In a landmark ruling in December 2024, the UK’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) found that the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the Metropolitan Police unlawfully conducted covert surveillance on journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey in 2018. The covert operation—authorized by then-Chief Constable Sir George Hamilton—took place during the investigation into the Loughinisland massacre documentary, No Stone Unturned, which accused police of collusion in the 1994 killings of six Catholic men during the Troubles. The tribunal determined that the surveillance violated human rights and journalistic source protections because it failed to assess whether...

October 04, 2024 - Senegal -  The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has issued a stark warning over the growing threats to press freedom in Senegal following a wave of arrests and physical attacks targeting journalists. Between September 30 and October 2, 2024, at least four media workers faced detention or assault in a troubling escalation of state and non-state hostility toward the press. On September 30, journalist Kader Dia, a political commentator for Sen TV, was arrested by the cybercrime police after making televised remarks that allegedly insulted Senegalese police officers. He was held...

October 04, 2024 - Palestine -  The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) marked one year since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, calling it the deadliest period for journalism in recent history. In 12 months, at least 128 Palestinian journalists were killed, with the total number of journalist fatalities in the region—including Israel, Lebanon, and Syria—reaching 138. The IFJ described the devastation as a “media Nakba,” a term evoking both human tragedy and cultural erasure. The relentless Israeli bombardment not only took lives but also dismantled Gaza’s media infrastructure. Twenty-one radio stations were destroyed...

October 04, 2024 - Slovakia -  Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico initiated a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) targeting Peter Bárdy, editor-in-chief of Aktuality.sk, and publisher Ringier Slovak Media. The lawsuit concerns the use of Fico’s photograph on the cover of Bárdy’s book titled Fico – Obsessed with Power. Fico is seeking €100,000 in damages from each defendant, claiming misuse of his likeness and non-material harm, despite not challenging the book's content. The International Press Institute (IPI), along with nine press freedom organisations, including CPJ, RSF, EFJ, ECPMF, and others, condemned the legal action as a...

October 04, 2024 - Peru - Peruvian investigative journalist Paola Ugaz—known for exposing sexual, physical, and financial abuses within the Catholic lay organization Sodalitium Christianae Vitae—faces a disturbing escalation in legal pressure: a court has ordered the lifting of confidentiality on her phone records and geolocation data from 2013 to 2020. This unprecedented judicial move stems from two stacked criminal suits against Ugaz: one for alleged money laundering in 2021, and a broader illicit enrichment inquiry initiated in August 2023. These cases, part of a long campaign of intimidation by interests tied to the Sodalitium,...

October 04, 2024 - Russia/Ukraine -  The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned the Russian government's threat against Italian journalist Davide Maria De Luca, marking a new low in the country's ongoing crackdown on independent war reporting. De Luca, a freelance correspondent for the Italian newspaper Domani, had been reporting from the Russian border region of Kursk following a Ukrainian incursion in late September 2024. While embedded with Ukrainian forces, De Luca produced a series of reports and videos documenting the aftermath of the conflict, including footage from Sudzha, a Russian town briefly entered by Ukrainian troops....

October 04, 2024 - Palestine -  In the year following Hamas’s October 2023 attack and the ensuing war on Gaza, Israeli journalists have faced an alarming rise in state repression, censorship, and intimidation, according to a new report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). While much of the world’s focus has been on the devastation in Gaza, the media climate inside Israel has also deteriorated sharply, with press freedom increasingly sacrificed in the name of national security. RSF outlines how the Israeli government has expanded censorship laws, particularly targeting media outlets perceived as critical of its...

October 04, 2024 - Azerbaijan -  In a politically charged crackdown coinciding with Azerbaijan’s hosting of COP29 in Baku, authorities have prolonged the pretrial detention of 11 journalists from independent media outlets, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). These individuals face criminal charges related to alleged currency smuggling—accusations widely criticized as politically motivated and aimed at silencing dissent. The journalists represent four critical outlets: Toplum TV, Kanal 13, Abzas Media, and Meclis.info. Pretrial detention extensions by as much as three months were issued in August and September 2024. Among those affected are Alashgar...

October 03, 2024 - Palestine -  One year since the outbreak of war on October 7, 2023, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has exposed how Israeli forces have systematically dismantled Gaza’s media landscape, orchestrating a near-total blackout on independent journalism. The conflict has become the deadliest for journalists in recent history, and the deliberate targeting of media infrastructure has stripped both local and global audiences of critical access to information. According to RSF, over 130 journalists have been killed in Gaza over the past year, with at least 32 of them deliberately targeted while on assignment....

October 03, 2024 - Belgium/Lebanon -  Two Belgian reporters working for Flemish broadcaster VTM News—correspondent Robin Ramaekers (49) and cameraman Stijn De Smet (37)—were wounded on October 2, 2024, while covering Israeli airstrikes in central Beirut, as part of the broader Israel–Hezbollah conflict. Their injuries occurred during a live report on bombing strikes targeting Hezbollah-related sites in the city’s southern suburbs. Ramaekers sustained facial fractures, while De Smet was shot in the leg. Both were quickly hospitalized and survived the attack, which also killed six civilians and injured eleven others in that blast. Their coverage, alongside...