News

October 03, 2024 - Cuba - Independent Cuban journalist and activist Yeris Curbelo Aguilera has been sentenced to two years in prison in what press freedom advocates call a politically motivated move aimed at silencing dissent. Curbelo, who reports for non-state outlets Palenque Visión and CubaNet, was convicted on September 24, 2024, of “causing minor injuries” during an altercation with several young men in Guantánamo earlier this year. He was originally arrested on June 16, detained for two days, and released on bail pending trial. Curbelo and human rights groups maintain that the confrontation was...

October 03, 2024 - Georgia -  A recent press freedom mission to Georgia by international media watchdogs, including the Council of Europe’s Safety of Journalists Platform and the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), has issued a stark warning: Georgia’s press environment is deteriorating rapidly amid growing political polarization and state hostility. Their report, “Press Freedom and the Safety of Journalists in Peril,” reveals that journalists in the country are facing systemic harassment, legal intimidation, and a climate of fear ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections. The findings highlight a troubling pattern of verbal and physical...

October 03, 2024 - France - The Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI), launched by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in 2019, is bolstering its capacity to promote transparency, ethics, and editorial independence by expanding its network of accredited auditors in France and neighboring regions. Previously limited to a single auditor, the JTI now includes two ISO‑17065-accredited firms—CEVA Solution and ICPF, authorized to independently audit media outlets in France, Belgium, and Switzerland. This expansion supports around 120 media outlets already engaged in the JTI process, including approximately 50 entering audits, by offering more local options and greater flexibility....

October 03, 2024 - Senegal -  Respected Senegalese political analyst and journalist Cheikh Yerim Seck was summoned to the cybercrime division of Dakar police and detained following remarks made on private television channel 7 TV. During the broadcast, Seck challenged official government figures on the country’s economic conditions, citing data from the Ministry of Finance. Authorities subsequently charged him with "spreading false news" and defamation. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), alongside the Coordination of Press Associations (CAP) and the Senegalese journalists’ union SYNPICS, denounced the detention as arbitrary and abusive. IFJ Secretary General Anthony Bellanger...

October 03, 2024 - Russia - Russia has escalated its crackdown on independent war reporting by launching criminal proceedings against several foreign journalists who covered Ukraine’s brief incursion into the Kursk region in August 2024. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has condemned the charges as politically motivated and is urging Russian authorities to drop them immediately. Among those targeted are Kathryn Diss, Europe bureau chief for Australia’s ABC News, and Italian journalists Stefania Battistini and Simone Traini from RAI. All three were reporting from the Russian border town of Sudzha while embedded with Ukrainian...

October 02, 2024 - Congo - Catholic journalist Edmond Bahati Mbarushimana, also known as Edmond Bahle Monja, was murdered in the Ndosho district of Goma, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. He served as the coordinator for Radio Maria Goma, a Catholic radio station, and was shot at close range while returning home from work. His killing shocked both the local community and the wider Catholic press network, drawing international condemnation. Authorities announced the arrest of 35 individuals linked to the crime. Among those detained was a man who reportedly admitted to being paid...

October 02, 2024 - Sudan - Since the outbreak of war in April 2023, Sudan’s journalistic ecosystem has suffered catastrophic damage. According to reports by UNESCO and the Sudanese Journalists Syndicate, roughly 90% of the country’s media infrastructure — encompassing television, radio, print outlets, and news agency facilities — has been either destroyed, looted, or forced out of use. The destruction has deeply affected media workers. Around 1,000 journalists have been displaced, many forced to flee into exile or abandon the profession entirely due to lack of resources and safety. Print newspapers, some in operation for...

October 02, 2024 - Turkey/Saudi Arabia -  Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was brutally murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul—lured for consular paperwork, strangled, and dismembered by a team of Saudi agents. Despite overwhelming international evidence, including U.S. and U.N. intelligence pointing to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s involvement, justice has remained elusive. In 2019, Saudi Arabia quietly tried and convicted eight individuals—five sentenced to death (later pardoned) and three imprisoned—for the murder. However, the trial held behind closed doors failed to implicate any senior officials, igniting widespread concern that this was a staged display...

October 02, 2024 - Kosovo/Serbia -  Serbian news agency Tanjug is facing grave threats to its staff following coverage of Kosovo that sparked a chilling death threat. On September 30, 2024, the agency received an email threatening to “shoot journalists in the back of the head” if they entered Kosovo. The sender accused Tanjug of being a propaganda tool of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and condemned its use of the term “Kosovo and Metohija,” a phrase rejected by many Kosovar Albanians as a denial of Kosovo’s sovereignty. The threat included surveillance claims, stating the sender...

October 02, 2024 - Ukraine -  Within an hour after Slidstvo.Info published a high‑profile investigation detailing a luxurious apartment secretly owned by the mother‑in‑law of Vitalii Koval—Ukraine’s newly appointed Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food—the outlet’s website came under a targeted cyber‑attack. According to the platform’s security provider, the DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) assault began precisely at 17:00 local time, just sixty minutes after the article’s 16:01 publication, lasting around 30 minutes. Though the website remained online, the timing strongly indicates the attack was a calculated attempt to disrupt the outlet’s reporting. The exposé had...

October 01, 2024 - UK -  Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, recently released after 14 years of legal limbo, made his first public remarks on October 1, 2024, addressing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg. In a powerful and emotional testimony, Assange reflected on the personal cost of his prosecution and the broader threat it poses to press freedom worldwide. Appearing before European lawmakers, Assange said he had pleaded guilty not because he believed he committed a crime, but because it was the only path to freedom. “I pleaded guilty...

October 01, 2024 - Senegal -  The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has taken a vital step in reshaping how migration is covered in the media by consulting editors in Senegal on the ethical and accurate reporting of migration-related issues. This initiative, part of a broader effort across West Africa, aims to equip newsroom leaders with the tools and awareness needed to guide journalists in reporting migration stories with sensitivity, depth, and responsibility. Migration remains a deeply personal and politically charged issue in Senegal, where thousands undertake perilous journeys in search of better opportunities. Media...

October 01, 2024 - Cameroon -  Cameroonian journalist Kingsley Fumunyuy Njoka has been sentenced to 10 years in prison by a military tribunal, drawing international condemnation for what press freedom advocates describe as an egregious attack on journalism. Njoka, a freelance journalist known for reporting on the Anglophone crisis, was convicted on September 24, 2024, of “secession” and “complicity with an armed group”—charges widely regarded as politically motivated and baseless. Njoka was first arrested in May 2020 in Douala without a warrant. Authorities accused him of managing WhatsApp groups allegedly linked to separatists and claimed...

October 01, 2024 - Uzbekistan - Otabek Sattoriy, a prominent independent anti-corruption blogger in Uzbekistan, remains eerily silent and unreachable eight months after his judicial “release,” Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reports. Despite a February 5, 2024, court decision commuting his original sentence to “correctional work” and a fine equivalent to 20% of his income, Sattoriy has neither appeared publicly nor maintained any contact with media, family, or civil society. He also hasn’t posted on social media, contradicting the court’s mandate that he be permitted to do so.  Sattoriy's troubles began with his coverage of corruption...

October 01, 2024 - Gambia - In a troubling attack on media freedom, Gambian authorities have arrested and charged two respected journalists—Charles Faye, publisher of The Standard, and Babucarr Mbye, editor of The Trumpet—for allegedly publishing “false news” related to President Adama Barrow’s succession plans. The arrests took place on September 25, 2024, after the outlets ran a report claiming Barrow would delay stepping down for another term—an assertion the presidency quickly called “unverified and false.” The journalists are now facing charges under Section 133(1) of The Gambia’s Criminal Code, a provision frequently criticized for...

October 01, 2024 - UK -  Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has strongly criticized political parties in the United Kingdom for increasingly restricting journalists' access to their annual conferences. Citing multiple reports of denied accreditations and opaque press entry procedures, RSF warned that such practices are incompatible with democratic principles and threaten the integrity of political discourse in Britain. The warning follows a series of incidents in which media professionals, including those from smaller outlets, freelancers, and international journalists, were either barred from attending or faced excessive hurdles to obtain access to key party gatherings. These...

October 01, 2024 - Syria -  Israeli airstrikes rocked Damascus, hitting the Mezzeh district and its surroundings. Refugee and news agencies reported that at least three civilians were killed, and nine injured, as Syrian air defenses scrambled in response to incoming drones and missiles—allegedly launched from the occupied Golan Heights. Among the dead was Safaa Ahmad, a well-known presenter on Syria State TV. Joining the station in 2002, she hosted cultural talk shows and the flagship morning program "Sabah Al-Kheir". Her death marked the first journalist killed in Syria in 2024. The International Federation of Journalists...

October 01, 2024 - Italy -  A single four-minute video of Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini aired uncritically on public news channel Rainews24 on September 14 has reignited concerns about political influence over RAI’s editorial independence. The clip, in which Salvini defended his handling of the 2019 Open Arms migrant rescue crisis ahead of his trial for alleged kidnapping, was broadcast directly from his social media, with no accompanying commentary or critical analysis—a move that prompted alarm from journalists and media freedom advocates. RAI’s editorial board swiftly condemned the broadcast, accusing political figures of exploiting...

October 01, 2024 - Cambodia -  Cambodian investigative journalist Mech Dara, renowned for uncovering human trafficking and online scam networks, was detained on September 30, 2024, by military police at a toll booth near Sihanoukville while traveling with his family. He was formally charged on October 1 under Cambodian anti-incitement laws—specifically articles 494 and 495—for “inciting social unrest” related to Facebook posts that highlighted environmental damage to a sacred mountain site from quarry activity. The Phnom Penh Municipal Court remanded him in pretrial detention at Kandal Provincial Prison, where he may face up to two years...

September 30, 2024 - Haiti -  Republican vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance has come under fire from press freedom advocates after promoting a fabricated story that sparked a wave of threats against journalists and immigrant communities in the United States. The controversy erupted in September 2024 when Vance repeated a baseless claim that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, were stealing and eating local pets. Despite the story having no factual basis and being debunked by police, Vance defended his use of the false narrative, stating he would “create stories so the American media pays attention.” The...

September 30, 2024 - France/Russia -  Despite being officially banned across the European Union since March 2022, Russia’s state-controlled broadcaster RT continues to reach French and wider EU audiences with ease through its website and mirror links. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned what it calls a “glaring loophole” in the EU’s sanctions regime, warning that the Kremlin’s propaganda machine is bypassing restrictions with minimal resistance. RT’s satellite and cable broadcasts were halted in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as part of a broader EU strategy to combat disinformation and state propaganda. However, RSF’s...

September 30, 2024 - Kosovo/Serbia/Russia -  Although the European Union has banned Russia’s state-run RT from broadcasting within its borders, RT Balkan continues to push Kremlin-aligned content throughout the Western Balkans, most notably from its base in Belgrade. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) warns that this ongoing media operation poses a serious threat to the EU’s efforts to combat disinformation and safeguard media integrity. Operating outside the jurisdiction of EU sanctions, Serbia has allowed RT Balkan to flourish. From Belgrade, the outlet publishes a steady stream of pro-Russian narratives that are widely picked up by local...

September 30, 2024 - General Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has launched a major new initiative called The Propaganda Monitor, a multimedia investigative platform designed to uncover and analyze the global machinery of state-led propaganda and disinformation. Announced on September 30, 2024, the project aims to strengthen media literacy, expose propaganda disguised as journalism, and support policymakers, journalists, and the public in countering false narratives that threaten democratic societies. The Propaganda Monitor will provide in-depth investigations, profiles of key propagandists, expert interviews, and a wide range of resources to explain how authoritarian states—particularly Russia—weaponize media to...

September 30, 2024 - Russia/Ukraine -  Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned Ukrainian-born journalist Diana Panchenko for actively spreading Kremlin propaganda under the guise of independent journalism. Once a presenter on Ukrainian television, Panchenko has transformed into a key figure in Russia’s international disinformation strategy, using sophisticated video content and pseudo-journalistic framing to push narratives that support Moscow’s agenda and undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty. Panchenko began her media career in Ukraine, working for outlets like NewsOne and First Independent stations later sanctioned for their pro-Russian stances. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, she relocated...

September 30, 2024 - Europe -  Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party passed a sweeping legislative package titled “On Family Values and Protection of Minors”, adopting the bill through its third and final reading by a vote of 84–0. This package amends 18 existing laws—including the Freedom of Speech Act and broadcasting regulations—and explicitly bans media outlets from covering LGBTQ+ content. Under Article 8, broadcasters are prohibited from promoting “identification with a gender other than one’s biological sex or relationships between individuals of the same biological sex based on sexual orientation.” Violators face fines of 1,000 GEL...