News

September 24, 2024 - Afghanistan -  The Taliban have intensified their clampdown on press freedom by banning all live political broadcasts in Afghanistan, marking a chilling escalation in their control over the country’s media landscape. The directive, issued on September 21, 2024, by the Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture, mandates that all political and current affairs programs be pre-recorded and vetted before airing. Broadcasters must also select their guests from a pre-approved list of 68 individuals and submit detailed plans of their programs in advance. This unprecedented restriction extends to both television and radio,...

September 23, 2024 - General -  United Nations Summit of the Future in New York, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), backed by 123 civil society organizations, called for urgent and concrete action to safeguard press freedom globally. Their appeal came days before the Summit opened on September 22 and emphasized that democratic principles and sustainable development cannot survive without free, independent media. The focus was on the UN’s “Pact for the Future,” a landmark document intended to guide global cooperation and sustainable development in the coming decades. CPJ acknowledged that the latest version of...

September 23, 2024 - Belarus -  Belarusian authorities have detained and sentenced journalist Yauhen Nikalayevich in what press freedom advocates are calling a clear act of retaliation against independent journalism. The 2024 arrest and subsequent sentencing mark yet another alarming chapter in Belarus’s ongoing suppression of critical voices under President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime. Nikalayevich, a former video reporter for Media Polesye, was initially targeted in 2020 after covering mass protests in Pinsk demanding Lukashenko’s resignation. He was arrested, reportedly beaten, and served 10 days in administrative detention before fleeing the country and ceasing his journalistic...

September 23, 2024 - Somalia -  Somalia is still grappling with a severe crisis: attacks on journalists persist while perpetrators rarely face justice. According to the International Press Institute (IPI), an alarming number of journalists killed in Somalia have never seen their killers prosecuted. In November 2023, IPI and the Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) formally urged national institutions—including the Attorney General’s Office, the National Media Council, and the Ministry of Information—to prioritize journalist safety and thoroughly investigate at least 11 documented killings dating back to 2016. Despite constitutional guarantees of media freedom and commitments under...

September 23, 2024 - Kurdistan/Turkey -  Turkish authorities have launched a formal investigation into Kurdish journalist Rabia Önver, accusing her of “publicly spreading disinformation” after she reported on alleged corruption, narcotics trafficking, and prostitution involving officials in Hakkari province. The case marks a troubling escalation in the Turkish government’s use of its 2022 disinformation law to suppress independent journalism. On September 20, 2024, police reportedly raided Önver’s home in Hakkari under a prosecutor’s warrant, confiscating digital equipment and seeking her arrest, though she was not present at the time. The investigation was triggered by her reporting...

September 23, 2024 - India -  Broadcast journalist Salman Ali Khan, aged 35 and affiliated with a local TV channel and YouTube, was tragically shot dead by three unidentified assailants on motorcycles near a hospital in Rajgarh district, Madhya Pradesh, on the evening of September 17, 2024. He was riding with his nine-year-old son when attackers opened fire; Khan was rushed to the hospital but died upon arrival. Earlier in February 2023, Khan had suffered a violent assault, attacked with a sword and knife, possibly motivated by a personal feud, which also injured his brother. The International...

September 23, 2024 - Afghanistan -  The Taliban began jamming broadcasts of Afghanistan International (AITV), a London-based station delivering independent news to Afghan audiences. Starting September 5, Kabul viewers experienced intermittent “no signal” messages, while video evidence confirmed intentional disruption of the station’s satellite feed. CPJ condemned the move, labeling it “a new low” and urging the Taliban to halt its interference with AITV’s broadcasts. CPJ Program Director Carlos Martínez de la Serna warned that the use of “sophisticated technology” for jamming is alarming and emblematic of expanding efforts to silence independent journalism. An investigative report...

September 23, 2024 - Sri Lanka -  Election of Anura Kumara Dissanayake as Sri Lanka’s new president, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has issued a direct and urgent appeal, urging him to commit to restoring press freedom in a country where journalists have long endured censorship, harassment, and violence. Sri Lanka currently ranks 150th out of 180 countries in RSF’s World Press Freedom Index, reflecting a deep and ongoing erosion of media rights. RSF’s statement, released on September 23, highlights the deteriorating state of journalism under the previous government, where legislation such as the Prevention of...

September 22, 2024 - UN -  At the United Nations Summit of the Future in September 2024, expectations were high that global leaders would commit to robust protections for freedom of expression and access to information. However, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Article 19, the summit ultimately delivered a diluted outcome, prioritizing rhetoric over decisive action. RSF sharply criticized the final Pact for the Future and accompanying Global Digital Compact, describing them as “a missed opportunity” for advancing journalism and democratic information governance. These documents—adopted by UN member states on September 22—mention protecting journalists...

September 22, 2024 - Palestine -  Heavily armed and masked Israeli soldiers launched a pre-dawn raid on Al Jazeera's office in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank. The raid was broadcast live, showing troops forcibly entering the bureau and handing a 45‑day closure order to bureau chief Walid al‑Omari, citing alleged “incitement to and support of terrorism”. Journalists were instructed to evacuate with only personal belongings; cameras, documents, and archives were confiscated. Tear gas was reportedly deployed, and soldiers dismantled a poster of the late Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Al Jazeera condemned the raid as a “criminal...

September 20, 2024 - China -  Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned the re-arrest of Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, calling it a renewed act of repression against independent journalism in China. Zhang, a former lawyer who rose to prominence for her reporting from Wuhan during the initial COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, was detained again in August 2024, just three months after completing a four-year prison sentence for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” Zhang’s earlier imprisonment followed her courageous documentation of the lockdown in Wuhan, where she livestreamed images, interviewed locals, and challenged the official...

September 20, 2024 - Russia -  Russian authorities escalated their crackdown on independent journalism, issuing fines to 11 journalists and imposing legal restrictions on two media outlets under the guise of “anti-state” legislation. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), these actions are part of a broader effort to suppress dissenting voices amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. Journalists were fined under a range of repressive laws, including those governing so-called “foreign agents,” “undesirable organizations,” and wartime “disinformation.” Among them was Aida Ivanova, editor-in-chief of the Siberian outlet SakhaDay, who was fined for sharing...

September 20, 2024 - France -  In a bold initiative to protect independent journalism and support displaced media professionals, France has launched the “Voices in Exile” program, making Paris a central hub for exiled journalists. Spearheaded by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Canal France International (CFI), SINGA, and the Maison des Journalistes—with support from the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs—the program offers a comprehensive support system for journalists forced to flee repressive regimes. Officially launched in September 2024, the three-year initiative will support four cohorts of displaced journalists through a nine-month process, including a...

September 20, 2024 - Poland -  Poland is experiencing a rare window of opportunity to restore and strengthen press freedom, according to a recent fact-finding mission by the International Press Institute (IPI) and its Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners. In a report released following their September 2024 visit to Warsaw, the delegation acknowledged early improvements but emphasized the urgent need for comprehensive and ambitious reforms to secure long-term media independence. Recent steps taken by Poland’s new government have included reducing political influence over public media, ending biased state advertising practices following the sale of...

September 20, 2024 - Azerbaijan -  Bahruz Samadov, a prominent researcher, peace activist, and freelance journalist, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison in a closed‑door trial by Baku’s Grave Crimes Court, following treason charges stemming from his August 2024 detention. Initially arrested on August 21 while visiting family in Baku, Samadov was accused of passing unspecified information to Armenia—charges he vehemently denies. Prosecutors sought a 16‑year sentence; Samadov is reported to have attempted suicide and begun a hunger strike amid trial proceedings, highlighting the dire conditions he faced. Samadov, born in 1995, holds a doctoral degree...

September 20, 2024 - Iran -  The Free Narges Coalition—a partnership of PEN America, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Front Line Defenders, and the Narges Mohammadi Foundation—is urging Iran for the immediate and unconditional release of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian prepares to address the United Nations General Assembly on September 24, 2024. Mohammadi, a senior figure in Iran’s human rights and press freedom movement, has been detained in Evin Prison since November 2021. Her health has severely deteriorated: her coronary artery, already stented in 2021 for a 75 percent blockage, has worsened; she...

September 20, 2024 - Malaysia -  Malaysia’s Federal Court dismissed British investigative journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown’s final appeal in a civil defamation case tied to her 2018 book The Sarawak Report, which investigated the massive 1MDB corruption scandal. The court ruled that the appeal lacked sufficient merit to be heard, thereby upholding a lower court's decision ordering Rewcastle Brown and two others to pay RM 300,000 (approximately USD 71,000) in damages and RM 120,000 in legal costs to the Sultanah of Terengganu, who claimed she was defamed in the book. The court also imposed an...

September 19, 2024 - Switzerland/China/UN -  During the 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), represented by its international legal team, formally voiced grave concerns over the deteriorating physical and mental health of Jimmy Lai. The Apple Daily founder has been held in extreme solitary confinement since December 2020, spending over three and a half years confined to a cell for over 23 hours daily, with only 50 minutes of limited outdoor time. Lai is charged under Hong Kong’s National Security Law—a sweeping measure enacted by Beijing—and...

September 19, 2024 - General -  Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reaffirmed its strategic commitment to defending the right to reliable information and combating the growing influence of state-sponsored propaganda. As global press freedom deteriorates, RSF is intensifying efforts to protect independent journalism and expose disinformation campaigns, which it warns are eroding democracy worldwide. At the core of RSF’s strategy is the belief that access to trustworthy, pluralistic information is a fundamental right. The organization has observed that authoritarian regimes and powerful private actors are increasingly manipulating public discourse through propaganda, censorship, and information warfare. To...

September 19, 2024 - Greece - Independent Greek news outlet Alterthess and its editor, Stavroula Poulimeni, are facing a critical legal battle that press freedom advocates have condemned as a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP). The case stems from a defamation suit filed against the outlet over its investigative reporting, with the plaintiffs initially demanding €100,000 in damages. Although the court later reduced the penalty, the case has become a symbol of the growing use of litigation to silence independent journalism in Greece. Poulimeni had reported on environmental and business issues involving powerful corporate...

September 19, 2024 - Samoa -  As Samoa prepared to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in October 2024, the government introduced sweeping restrictions on media coverage that raised alarm among journalists and international bodies. Announced publicly on September 11, 2024, these measures severely limit media access and threaten transparency during a major regional event. At a press briefing, Lefaoalii Unutoa Auelua‑Fonoti, co-chair of the CHOGM media subcommittee, confirmed that only state-backed outlets—Radio 2AP and TV9—working in collaboration with New Zealand firm MMG Communications, would have the exclusive right to film and broadcast CHOGM sessions....

September 18, 2024 - Source: RSF - Reporters Without Borders (RSF), together with the Swedish legal team of imprisoned journalist Dawit Isaak, has filed a complaint against Eritrean leaders – including President Isaias Afwerki – with the Swedish Prosecution Authority for crimes against humanity. On 23 September 2024, journalist and writer Dawit Isaak will have spent 23 years in detention without trial in Eritrea. Isaak, a Swedish citizen, and his Eritrean colleagues Seyoum Tsehaye, Temesgen Ghebreyesus and Amanuel Asrat are the longest-detained journalists in the world. Ten years ago, Isaak’s legal team filed a criminal complaint with the Swedish Prosecution Authority. The...

September 18, 2024 - Source: RSF -  Despite the release of 135 political prisoners in Nicaragua, journalist Fabiola Tercero Castro remains missing, with no updates on her whereabouts since 12 July. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Nicaraguan government to urgently shed light on her case and guarantee her safety, as there are growing concerns the authorities may be involved in her disappearance. No one has seen or heard from freelance journalist and feminist activist Fabiola Tercero Castro since 12 July 2024, when she reported a raid on her home by government agents under the command of Commissioner...

September 19, 2024 - Bangladesh - Student-led uprising that unseated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladeshi authorities have launched a sweeping crackdown on journalists perceived as supportive of the former leader. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), at least four media professionals have been arrested, while many more face harassment, criminal investigations, or charges in what observers describe as a politically motivated purge. Among the most high-profile arrests are Ekattor TV journalists Farzana Rupa and her husband Shakil Ahmed, who were detained on August 21 at Dhaka’s main airport. Both face charges in a...

September 18, 2024 - Source: CPJ -  The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the September 17 release of Belarusian journalist Andrei Tolchyn, who received a presidential pardon after serving almost a year of a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence. “While we welcome the release of journalist Andrei Tolchyn, he should not have spent a single day in prison,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in New York. “Despite the recent releases of political prisoners, Belarus remains Europe’s worst jailer of journalists and one of the most hostile places in the world for independent journalism. The authorities...