News

November 08, 2024 - Somalia/Sweden -  In a brutal reminder that journalism can be a death sentence, Somali‑Swedish investigative reporter Amun Abdullahi Mohamed was assassinated on October 19, 2024, in her hometown of Afgoye in the Lower Shabelle region of Somalia. Shot dead by gunmen suspected to be linked to al‑Shabaab, Mohamed’s killing shocked international media communities and prompted urgent demands for justice. Amun was not just any journalist—she was a trailblazer, celebrated for exposing al‑Shabaab’s recruitment operations both in Somalia and Sweden. She earned the 2010 Swedish Publicists’ Association Freedom of Speech Award and...

November 08, 2024 - Philippines -  Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has urgently called on the Philippine government to release investigative journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, who has been detained since February 2020 on charges of “financing terrorism” and “illegal possession of firearms” that RSF and others label as fabricated. The government alleges weapons were found during a raid, but press freedom groups assert the evidence was planted—part of a wider “red-tagging” campaign that brands critical journalists as subversive. Cumpio, 26, directs Eastern Vista, an independent platform highlighting marginalized voices in Eastern Visayas. Her arrest followed her reporting on...

November 7, 2024 - Palestine/Lebanon/USA - Freedom House warns that Israel’s democratic character is at grave risk due to escalating attacks on press freedom. While Israel has long maintained a reputation as a robust democracy with a diverse media landscape, recent government actions under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threaten to dismantle that foundation. Freedom House highlights a growing pattern of government hostility toward journalists, particularly those critical of the administration. Reporters are increasingly vilified as enemies of the state, with officials using rhetoric that frames the press not as a democratic pillar but as a...

November 7, 2024 - Russia - In a stark escalation of its campaign against independent media, Russia has taken severe punitive action against Kirill Martynov, editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta Europe. Two interconnected legal assaults—his arrest in absentia and a subsequent 6-year prison sentence—underscore the Kremlin’s intensified drive to suppress dissent. On November 6, 2024, a Moscow court formally arrested Martynov in absentia, accusing him of “organizing the activities of an undesirable organization”. The charge stems from his leadership of Novaya Gazeta Europe (banned by prosecutors in June 2023) and the Free University, another independent project classified as “undesirable”....

November 7, 2024 - Bulgaria - Investigative journalist Venelina Popova faced alarming intimidation from Galabovo Mayor Nikolay Tonev following her reporting on suspected electoral fraud during local elections in Bulgaria. Popova’s work exposed worrying irregularities—potential vote buying and procedural manipulation—prompting the mayor to respond not with transparency, but with threats intended to silence her journalistic inquiry. The news site Balkan Insight reports that after Popova published her findings, Mayor Tonev contacted her directly. While the exact nature of the threats isn’t detailed, they were serious enough to prompt action from Women Press Freedom, which publicly...

November 6, 2024 - Bulgaria - During Bulgaria’s parliamentary elections on October 27, 2024, at least four journalists were attacked, harassed, or obstructed in the line of duty, prompting a wave of condemnation from international press freedom groups. In a joint statement released on November 6, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), International Press Institute (IPI), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), and OBC Transeuropa demanded full investigations and accountability for the perpetrators. The most serious incident involved a bTV camera operator who was physically assaulted by two...

November 6, 2024 - Europe/Azerbaijan - Ahead of the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Budapest on November 6, 2024, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and partner organizations issued a strong call urging European leaders to address Azerbaijan’s worsening human rights and press freedom crisis. With the Azerbaijani government tightening its grip on civil society, journalists, and activists, the statement demands international action to end the ongoing crackdown. Following Azerbaijan’s presidential election in February and parliamentary election in September, the government has intensified its repression. Independent media outlets have been dismantled, environmental defenders...

November 6, 2024 - Mongolia - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) sounded the alarm: a closed-door appeal trial for detained journalist Unurtsetseg Naran—conducted without public scrutiny or disclosed evidence—signals a dangerous regression for press freedom in Mongolia. Naran, founder of the independent news outlet Zarig, was initially convicted behind closed doors this July on dubious charges including “spreading false information,” “tax evasion,” and “money laundering.” Her sentencing, carried out without transparency, drew widespread condemnation from local and international observers. Her appeal hearing, also held in secret, deprived Naran of the most elemental judicial guarantees—open proceedings and...

November 6, 2024 - Sudan - The Sudan Media Forum (SMF)—a coalition of independent outlets like Dabanga, Sudan Tribune, and the Sudanese Journalists Syndicate—launched the “Silence Kills: No Time to Waste for Sudan” campaign during events at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa. Coinciding with the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, the initiative aimed to highlight the catastrophic impact of Sudan’s ongoing war and mounting attacks on the media. Since conflict erupted on April 15, 2023, both the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces have systematically silenced journalistic voices....

November 6, 2024 - Bosnia & Herzegovina - Veteran investigative reporter Nataša Miljanović‑Zubac, a journalist with Radio Television of Republika Srpska, has endured a relentless campaign of intimidation for exposing corruption and organized crime. Over the past two and a half years, she’s survived at least seven criminal acts—including arson, violent threats, ominous messages, and psychological torture—all of which have gone unpunished. In mid-2022, unknown assailants torched her vehicle outside her home in Trebinje, which she described as her livelihood, and her reporting was significantly disrupted as a result. Following that, with no legal accountability, the...

November 5, 2024 - Palestine - French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot presented the second Anna Politkovskaya–Arman Soldin Prize for Courage in Journalism on November 5, 2024, to Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham and Palestinian journalist Basel Adra. This prestigious award, instituted by France in 2023, commemorates the legacy of slain Russian reporter Anna Politkovskaya and Franco-Bosnian journalist Arman Soldin, both revered for fearless conflict reporting. The jury—comprising prominent media figures—praised Abraham and Adra “for their work putting a spotlight on violence committed by settlers and the political and legal inequalities between Palestinians and Israelis". Their award-winning collaboration, the documentary No Other Land,...

November 5, 2024 - General - The annual International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists—the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) marked the occasion with a powerful webinar calling attention to the dire circumstances facing media professionals across Africa. The ACHPR’s Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression emphasized that journalists routinely face grave threats—including detention, torture, kidnapping, and online harassment—raising significant obstacles to the free flow of information guaranteed under Article 9 of the African Charter. Such violations not only hinder public discourse but also deepen societal vulnerability by silencing critical voices....

November 5, 2024 - Cambodia - Veteran investigative journalist Mech Dara, renowned for his hard-hitting exposés on human trafficking and cyberscam operations in Cambodia, has announced he will leave journalism to become a farmer. This decision came after a dramatic arrest in late September 2024 over social media posts, followed by a difficult stint in pre-trial detention. On September 30, Dara was detained by military police at a toll booth while traveling with his family. Authorities charged him with "incitement to commit a felony or cause social disorder," based on Facebook posts about quarrying at a revered...

November 5, 2024 - UK/Egypt - The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)—joined by 14 British, Egyptian, and international organizations—issued a forceful appeal to UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy. The groups urged the UK to suspend all new economic, financial, and security cooperation with Egypt until British-Egyptian writer and activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah is released from detention. Abd el-Fattah, a prominent voice since the Arab Spring, was first arrested in 2014 and again in September 2019 amid anti-government protests. Convicted under charges of “spreading false news,” he received a five-year sentence in December 2021. Although his...

November 4, 2024 - Albania - Two Albanian camera crews—Fjorela Beleshi and Elja Zotka from A2 CNN, and a TV Klan team—were unjustifiably detained at Greece’s Kapshtica/Krystallopigi border as they attempted to cover Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s rally in Thessaloniki. The crews carried valid accreditation and verbal clearance from the Albanian Foreign Ministry, yet Greek authorities confiscated their passports, held them for over four hours, and refused entry without explicit approval from the Greek Foreign Ministry. Authorities also attempted to stop them from livestreaming the delay, impeding real‑time reporting and restricting the journalists from fulfilling...

November 4, 2024 - India - Imran Khan, editor of the Ghaziabad-based Hindi daily Aap AbhiTak, was arrested on defamation charges following a six-month-old election report in which Congress candidate Dolly Sharma accused BJP MP Atul Garg of being involved in land grabbing. Sharma, during the Lok Sabha campaign, claimed Garg had seized 31,000 m² of public land to build a housing society—allegations that Khan faithfully reported under the headline: “BJP makes land‑mafia Atul Garg its candidate.” Despite a note of Sharma’s status as the source of the accusation—and no evidence added by Khan—the MP filed a...

November 4, 2024 - Kosovo - The Pristina Basic Court sentenced Kosovo lawyer Driton Dobruna to 150 days in prison on November 4, 2024, after he admitted to sending a death threat to investigative journalist Vehbi Kajtazi, owner of the Paparaci news site. The threat stemmed from Kajtazi’s persistent reporting on corruption and public interest matters. Dobruna reportedly sent a chilling message indicating he would “douse him with gasoline”. His guilty plea at trial spared him a longer sentence, but still marked a rare instance of legal validation for the protection of journalists in Kosovo—a country where...

November 3, 2024 - Palestine - In just one year since the Israel–Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, at least 183 Palestinian journalists have been killed—more than double the global average of journalist deaths in any given year. According to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate and confirmed by international press watchdogs, this represents an unprecedented level of media fatalities in modern history. The massacre, they say, is not collateral damage but a deliberate campaign to silence the press and erase witnesses from the conflict zone. Globally, an estimated 82 journalists are killed annually, based on...

November 3, 2024 - Iran - The International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists cast a spotlight on Iran’s worsening media suppression, where the daily reality for journalists is arrest, torture, and even death. Human rights monitors and press-freedom researchers revealed a multi-pronged assault: journalists face arbitrary detention, flogging, threats to families, and violent raids on homes, reflecting a brutal effort to crush independent reporting. This crackdown extends far beyond Iran’s borders. Leaked court documents from early 2024 exposed that the judiciary is issuing judgments in absentia targeting exiled journalists, highlighting Tehran’s transnational...

November 3, 2024 - Kurdistan/Iraq - Journalist Suleiman Ahmed, editor at the Kurdish outlet Roj News, has been held by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) for over 376 days without any proven charges. He was arrested on October 25, 2023, at the Fish-Khabur border while returning from visiting family in Aleppo. On July 29, 2024, the Duhok Criminal Court sentenced him in absentia to three years in prison, but the court provided no evidence or legal justification behind the verdict. Ahmed has been denied basic legal rights, including immediate access to lawyers. It took nearly 210 days before his counsel...

November 3, 2024 - Iran/USA - Iranian–American journalist Reza Valizadeh returned to Iran after 13 years abroad, even seeking assurances from Iranian authorities. Instead, he was detained by security forces upon arrival, later sent to Evin Prison. According to multiple sources, Valizadeh—a former reporter at Radio Farda (the Persian service of U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)—was arrested again in late September and has remained locked up under Revolutionary Court supervision without publicly disclosed charges. On November 3, 2024, the U.S. State Department confirmed Valizadeh’s detention following reports by AP and Reuters. Officials stated they are...

November 2, 2024 - Afghanistan - Since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, Afghanistan has witnessed a dramatic escalation in attacks against journalists, with over 447 documented incidents of threats, arrests, and assaults, according to a new report from the Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC). Released on the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, the report paints a dire picture of press freedom in a country where speaking the truth has become a life-threatening act. Of the 447 incidents, at least 220 involved arbitrary detentions, often without charges or due process....

November 2, 2024 - Kurdistan - Kurdish journalist and women’s rights activist Zhina Modares-Gorji has been imprisoned in Iran following a politically motivated trial that underscores the country’s escalating crackdown on dissenting voices, particularly those from marginalized communities. On November 2, 2024, she reported to Sanandaj Women’s Prison to begin serving a 16-month sentence after an appeals court reduced her original 21-year sentence handed down by a Revolutionary Court in May. Modares-Gorji was charged with “forming an illegal group to overthrow the state,” “propaganda against the regime,” and “collaborating with hostile opposition media.” While the...

November 2, 2024 - Palestine - Two Palestinian journalists, Bilal Rajab and photojournalist Baraa Ali Daghish, were tragically killed in Israeli airstrikes just 24 hours apart in central Gaza, sparking condemnation from Palestinian media groups and international press freedom organizations. On November 1, 2024, Bilal Rajab, an Al-Quds al-Youm TV correspondent, was struck and killed outside a school in Tuffah, Gaza City, when the Israeli military launched an airstrike on a civilian area. Less than a day later, on November 2, 2024, Baraa Ali Daghish, a freelance photojournalist, was killed during an airstrike on a...

November 2, 2024 - General - On the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, November 2, 2024, the European Union issued a powerful joint statement condemning attacks on journalists and urging global accountability. EU High Representative Josep Borrell and Vice President Věra Jourová emphasized that violence, repression, and intimidation against media workers are not just attacks on individuals—they are assaults on truth, democracy, and international law. The statement particularly highlighted Ukraine, where journalists continue to risk their lives documenting Russia’s full-scale invasion. The EU noted that many media workers have been killed,...