News

January 23, 2025 - Somalia -  Somaliland authorities have released freelance journalist Shafi’i Abdi Mohamed, known professionally as Shafii Shaaciye, after holding him in detention for one week without formal charges. His arrest on January 16, 2025, came shortly after his return to Hargeisa, reportedly in response to social media posts that were critical of the government. According to local reports, police raided Shaaciye’s home early in the morning and took him into custody. On January 18, he was presented before the Maroodi Jeh court, which extended his detention by seven days without providing a...

January 23, 2025 - General -  Wael Al-Dahdouh, Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief, has become a global symbol of journalistic courage and heartbreak. Once reporting daily from the frontlines of Gaza, he now lives in exile, physically distant but emotionally tethered to a homeland devastated by war. In just months between October 2023 and January 2024, Al-Dahdouh lost nearly his entire family. His wife, daughter, son, and grandson were killed in an Israeli airstrike. Later, his eldest son—also a journalist—was killed while reporting. Despite his unimaginable grief, Al-Dahdouh returned to the field within days, continuing...

January 23, 2025 - Iran -  Iranian authorities have escalated their campaign against independent journalism, increasingly resorting to home raids, court summonses, and threats targeting both domestic and exiled reporters. According to IranWire, the crackdown is part of a systematic effort to silence dissent and prevent critical reporting amid rising internal and external tensions. In recent months, multiple journalists in Iran have reported pre-dawn police raids on their homes, followed by official summonses to appear before state security courts. These incidents are often accompanied by vague or politically motivated charges such as “national security violations”...

January 23, 2025 - Turkey -  A Turkish court sentenced five journalists to prison following a retrial related to alleged links with the exiled cleric Fethullah Gülen, whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating the failed 2016 coup. The verdict, issued by the 25th Istanbul Court of Serious Crimes, reignites concerns over judicial independence and the ongoing criminalization of journalism in Turkey. The journalists were originally arrested in 2016 during the sweeping purge that followed the coup attempt. They were convicted in 2018 on terrorism-related charges, accused of supporting a terrorist organization through their reporting and affiliations....

January 23, 2025 - Jordan -  Jordanian authorities released satirical journalist Ahmed Hassan al‑Zoubi after he served approximately seven months in prison. His sentence was commuted to community service by the Amman Criminal Court, following an earlier one-year jail term handed down in August 2023 for a critical social media post about a transportation strike in Ma’an Governorate. Al‑Zoubi—a well-known columnist for the state-owned newspaper Al‑Rai and founder of the online platform Sawaleif—began serving his sentence in July 2024. Jordan’s Cybercrime Law, enacted in 2023, was cited in his conviction, with charges of inciting discord...

January 23, 2025 - Georgia -  Veteran Georgian journalist and media manager Mzia Amaghlobeli, co-founder and director of the independent outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti, was arrested amid post-election protests in Batumi. She was accused of "assaulting a police officer" after slapping the local police chief, Irakli Dgebuadze, following verbal abuse he directed at her. Her arrest on January 12 sparked widespread concern, especially after Georgia’s police reportedly falsified detention records and mistreated her in custody. She was denied bail and placed in pre-trial detention under what many see as politically motivated circumstances. Within days, Amaghlobeli began...

January 22, 2025 - Sudan -  Sudanese journalist Yahya Hamad Fadlallah died on January 13, 2025, just days after being released from nearly a month-long detention by Sudanese military intelligence. His death has sparked outrage among press freedom advocates and human rights organizations, who have linked it directly to torture and medical neglect during his custody. Fadlallah, a veteran journalist and respected voice in Khartoum Bahri, was arrested on December 11, 2024, along with his son. During his detention, he was reportedly subjected to repeated beatings and denied access to medical treatment for his diabetes,...

January 22, 2025 - Afghanistan -  The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Pakistani authorities to immediately end the harassment, detention, and deportation of Afghan journalists seeking refuge in Pakistan. The appeal follows multiple incidents in January 2025 where Afghan reporters were threatened, detained, or forcibly returned to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, despite holding valid visas and documentation. According to CPJ, at least two Afghan journalists and their family members were detained in early January and deported from Islamabad without legal proceedings. Others, including journalists Mujeeb Awrang and Ahmad Mosavi, were taken from their homes...

January 22, 2025 - Turkey/Iraq/Kurdistan -  Turkish authorities detained Eylem Babayiğit, a Kurdish journalist and former contributor to the now-closed Özgür Gündem newspaper, during a raid on her home in Istanbul. She is accused of “membership in a terrorist organization” under Turkey’s broad anti-terrorism laws, which have been frequently used to target Kurdish media workers and political dissenters. Babayiğit’s arrest is linked to her past journalistic work, particularly her involvement with Kurdish outlets and her reporting on minority rights, social issues, and state repression. Authorities allege that she has ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party...

January 22, 2025 - Palestine/Israel/USA -  Stanford University has announced it will not pursue disciplinary action against student journalist Dilan Gohill, who was arrested in June 2024 while covering a pro-Palestinian protest on campus. Gohill, then a freshman and reporter for The Stanford Daily, was among several individuals detained during a demonstration that entered and briefly occupied the university president’s office. Despite wearing a Stanford Daily sweatshirt and a visible press badge, Gohill was arrested and charged with burglary, conspiracy, and vandalism. University administrators at the time—President Richard Saller and Provost Jenny Martinez—supported the charges...

January 22, 2025 - Bangladesh -  Bangladeshi journalists Farzana Rupa and Shakil Ahmed, both formerly with the private broadcaster Ekattor TV, have filed a formal complaint with the United Nations Human Rights Council over their ongoing detention, alleging political persecution and arbitrary imprisonment. Their legal team submitted the complaint to the UN’s Special Procedures in January 2025, urging international intervention. The couple was arrested at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on August 21, 2024, as they attempted to leave the country. Authorities charged them with inciting violence during a wave of student protests that erupted earlier...

January 21, 2025 - Tanzania -  Tanzanian journalist and activist Maria Sarungi Tsehai was abducted in Nairobi, Kenya, by four unidentified men—some posing as police officers—before being released several hours later. Tsehai, known for her outspoken criticism of the Tanzanian government and her leadership of the #ChangeTanzania movement, was targeted while traveling by taxi in the Kilimani area. According to Tsehai’s own account, the men blindfolded and handcuffed her, confiscated her phones, and subjected her to physical and verbal abuse during a four-hour ordeal. She was eventually released at an undisclosed location on the outskirts...

January 21, 2025 -Yemen -  Ahmad Maher, a Yemeni journalist and former correspondent for Al-Sharea newspaper, was finally released on January 18, 2025, after spending nearly two and a half years behind bars. His arrest on August 6, 2022, by security forces in Aden was carried out without a warrant. He was subjected to enforced disappearance, held incommunicado, and tortured—beaten, electrocuted, and waterboarded—force a confession, which was later published online to damage his reputation. Initially accused of “spreading false news” and forging documents, Maher was later linked to a bombing case without evidence. For months,...

January 21, 2025 - USA -  As Donald Trump begins his second term as U.S. President, Amnesty International has issued a strong warning, highlighting the potential rollback of critical human rights protections in the United States and across the Americas. In a joint statement released on January 21, 2025, Amnesty International’s regional directors across the Americas expressed deep concern over Trump’s anticipated policies. They warned that his hardline agenda could worsen the treatment of migrants, weaken protections for asylum seekers, and encourage authoritarian practices in neighboring countries. Ana Piquer, Amnesty’s Americas director, emphasized that Trump’s...

January 21, 2025 - Nigeria -  Human rights advocates and the family of slain journalist Alex Ogbu marked five years since his killing by accusing the Nigerian Police Force of failing to comply with a court ruling. Ogbu, a journalist with Regent Africa Times, was shot and killed by police during a protest by members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria in Abuja on January 21, 2020. Following a legal battle led by the Falana & Falana Chambers, the Federal High Court in Kurudu, Abuja, ruled on June 21, 2023, that the Nigerian police must...

January 21, 2025 - Syria/ Kurdistan -  Suleiman Ahmed, a Kurdish journalist and Arabic-section editor at Rojnews, was released on January 20, 2025, after being held for more than 454 days by authorities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. He was arrested on October 25, 2023, at the Faysh Khabur border crossing while returning from a family visit to Syria. Kurdish security forces, affiliated with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), accused him of espionage and links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Following his arrest, Ahmed was subjected to enforced disappearance and denied access to...

January 21, 2025 -Azerbaijan -  Azerbaijani authorities filed six additional charges against four journalists from the independent media outlet Toplum TV and arrested another reporter, Farid Ismayilov, as part of an escalating crackdown on press freedom. The new charges increase the possible prison terms from a maximum of eight years to 12 years. The charges, reportedly related to financial crimes such as currency smuggling, are viewed by media rights groups as politically motivated. Farid Ismayilov, who had previously been targeted during a March 2024 raid on Toplum TV, was again arrested despite having serious health...

January 21, 2025 - Palestine/Israel -  Following the January 15, 2025, ceasefire in Gaza, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called for immediate access for journalists and an end to the impunity surrounding Israeli attacks on the press. RSF is urging that both international and Palestinian journalists be granted entry to Gaza to report freely and safely. They argue that open borders are essential to documenting the truth, countering misinformation, and holding all parties accountable for actions during the war. RSF emphasized the urgent need to evacuate wounded journalist Fadi al-Wahidi, an Al Jazeera cameraman critically...

January 21, 2025 - Turkey -  Six journalists were remanded in custody following coordinated house raids in Istanbul, Bodrum, and Artvin. The Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) reported that these journalists face charges of “membership in a terrorist organisation”—accusations allegedly based solely on their professional reporting activities. The detained include Ozan Cırık (Sendika.org), Dicle Baştürk, Eylem Emel Yılmaz, and Yavuz Akengin, who were initially taken into custody on June 13 and formally arrested three days later in Artvin. Meanwhile, three others—Semra Pelek, Melisa Efe (translator for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), and Ömer Bülenter—were released under judicial...

January 21, 2025 - Palestine/Israel -  Three Palestinian women journalists—Rula Hassanein, Bushra Al-Tawil, and Ashwaq Awad—were released from Israeli prisons as part of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Their release was among 90 Palestinian detainees freed in exchange for Israeli hostages under the first phase of the January 19 ceasefire deal. Bushra Al-Tawil, a journalist with J-Media Network and a member of the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS), was detained on March 7, 2024, and held under administrative detention without formal charges. She has been repeatedly arrested over the years and has spent over...

January 21, 2025 - General - The International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists (IDEI) is observed annually on 2 November. The date marks the 2013 killing of French journalists Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon in Mali. Established by UN General Assembly Resolution 68/163, the day aims to draw global attention to the alarming rate of violence against journalists and the lack of justice that often follows. Between 2006 and 2024, over 1,700 journalists have been killed worldwide, yet nearly nine out of ten cases remain unsolved, according to UNESCO’s Observatory of Killed...

January 21, 2025 - USA/Kazakhstan -  Two new U.S.-funded grant opportunities have been launched in Kazakhstan, focusing on youth empowerment and media protection. The initiatives are supported by the U.S. Mission to Kazakhstan and are open to Kazakhstani and U.S.-based nonprofit and educational organizations. The first opportunity, titled “Creating Opportunities through Market Development in Sports and Digital Skills”, offers funding between $10,000 and $40,000 (up to $100,000, depending on project scale). It targets youth aged 18–25, particularly outside major cities, and aims to build their professional capacity through sports and digital training programs. Projects should...

January 20, 2025 - USA -  President Trump issued Executive Order 14149 on January 20, 2025, prioritizing First Amendment protections by prohibiting federal agencies from infringing on constitutionally protected speech under the guise of combating “misinformation,” “disinformation,” or “malinformation.” It bans any federal actor or use of taxpayer resources that would unconstitutionally abridge American speech and mandates a four-year review of potential past misconduct. A key directive requires the Attorney General, in coordination with executive department heads, to investigate censorship-related activities allegedly tied to the Biden administration—especially involving pressure on social media platforms—and recommend corrective...

January 20, 2025 - Mexico -  Calletano de Jesús Guerrero, deputy director-general of Global Mexico, was shot dead in Teoloyucan, State of México, while in the parking lot of San Antonio de Padua parish. He was reportedly attacked by armed individuals on a motorcycle. Despite being under federal protection since 2014 due to ongoing death threats, Guerrero’s security failed. This makes him the second journalist killed in 2025 while under state-provided protection. His assassination intensifies concerns over the effectiveness of Mexico’s Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists. Organizations from RSF, UNESCO, CPJ, OAS/IACHR,...

January 20, 2025 - Peru - Gastón Medina Sotomayor, owner and editor of regional TV channel Cadena Sur TV, was gunned down in front of his home in Ica’s San Isidro district. Attackers on a motorcycle shot him multiple times as he prepared to leave for his morning broadcast. He died on arrival at the hospital, according to the National Association of Journalists (ANP). Medina was known for investigative reporting on local public corruption, including procurement irregularities at Ica's government and extortion schemes targeting transport workers, shopkeepers, and teachers. He received numerous threats, including a 2022 incident where perpetrators left...