News

January 05, 2026 - Palestine -  Palestinian journalist Ali al-Samoudi is reported to be at grave risk of imminent death while held in Israeli custody under administrative detention, according to appeals from the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate and official Palestinian media. Samoudi, a 59-year-old reporter for Al-Quds newspaper and a veteran journalist, has been detained since an Israeli military raid on his home in Jenin in April 2025, and his detention has been repeatedly extended without formal charges or a fair trial. Rights groups say his case typifies broader patterns of repression against Palestinian journalists. The...

January 05, 2026 - Azerbaijan -  A prominent imprisoned Azerbaijani opposition figure, Samir Ashurov, has ended an eight-day hunger strike after prison officials agreed to meet several of his core demands, his family and independent media reported. Ashurov, a member of Azerbaijan’s Popular Front Party, had launched the protest in late December 2025 to denounce physical mistreatment by prison staff and restrictions on basic rights, including the ability to communicate with his family. Ashurov’s wife, Nurana Ashurova, said her husband received assurances from the director of the penal colony that the alleged physical violence against...

January 04, 2026 - General -  Jamil Azar, a pioneering journalist and long-time anchor whose career helped shape modern Arab broadcast media, has died in London at the age of 89, according to multiple reports and tributes from colleagues and media organisations. Azar passed away on January 3, 2026, concluding a life dedicated to journalistic excellence that spanned more than five decades across the BBC and Al Jazeera. Born in 1937 in al-Husn, Jordan, Azar began his career at the BBC Arabic Service in 1965, where he worked for over thirty years as a news...

January 04, 2026 - Iraq -  Press freedom in Iraq deteriorated throughout 2025 amid a proliferation of violations against journalists and the absence of a dedicated legal framework to protect media workers, according to monitoring groups and rights defenders. The Journalists’ Rights Defense Association recorded 182 violations of press freedom during the year, encompassing arrests, physical assaults, coverage restrictions, legal complaints, equipment seizures, and fatal attacks, underscoring the precarious conditions under which Iraqi journalists operate. Despite constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression and press in Article 38 of Iraq’s federal constitution, journalists lack a specific...

January 03, 2026 - El Salvador/Spain - A 25-year-old Salvadoran photojournalist, Diego Andrés Rosa Rosales, was arrested by Spanish authorities in Seville on January 2, 2026, while attempting to file for political asylum, after an international Interpol “Red Notice” requested by the government of President Nayib Bukele was activated, press freedom groups reported. The arrest occurred at a local police station where Rosa had gone to begin his asylum process and was taken into custody once the notification was triggered by Spanish officials. Rosa has worked as a photojournalist covering human rights, social issues, and...

January 03, 2026 - Puerto Rico/USA -  A CBS News Philadelphia photojournalist and his wife are among numerous travelers stranded in Puerto Rico after temporary airspace restrictions led to widespread flight cancellations across parts of the Caribbean, leaving passengers unable to secure return flights home. The disruption, first reported on January 3, 2026, has compounded travel difficulties for individuals returning from holiday trips, forcing many to extend hotel stays amid rapidly increasing costs. The stranded photographer, identified as Nate Sylves, was scheduled to fly home with his wife following a weeklong cruise when their original...

January 02, 2026 - Australia -  A senior manager at MA Services Group, a Melbourne-based security and construction industry-linked firm, has been charged with making threatening telephone calls to Australian investigative journalist Nick McKenzie, authorities confirmed amid rising concerns about press safety. The 31-year-old man faces two counts of using a carriage service to menace or offend, allegedly linked to phone calls made to McKenzie’s home on December 24, 2025, the day after the company entered voluntary administration. The accused has been bailed to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in July 2026. Victoria Police reported...

January 02, 2026 - Nigeria - The Gombe State Government in northeastern Nigeria has disbursed N14 million (approximately N2 million per family) to the next of kin of seven journalists who died in a fatal road accident on December 29, 2025, as they were returning from a colleague’s wedding in the Kaltungo Local Government Area. The cash assistance was presented on behalf of Governor Inuwa Yahaya by the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Ibrahim Abubakar Njodi, in a ceremony held in Gombe on January 2, 2026. Officials described the financial support as a gesture...

January 02, 2026 - Pakistan -  An anti-terrorism court in Islamabad has delivered life imprisonment sentences to several journalists, YouTubers, and former military officials for their alleged roles in inciting violence and “digital terrorism” related to the May 9, 2023 protests that followed the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. These rulings, handed down in absentia, have ignited controversy over the use of anti-terrorism laws against media professionals and raised alarms among press freedom advocates about shrinking space for dissent in Pakistan. The convictions came from trials tied to unrest in May 2023, when...

January 02, 2026 - Venezuela -  Venezuela’s media environment has deteriorated sharply in 2025, with 21 journalists imprisoned and eight media outlets closed as part of a broader pattern of state repression and censorship under President Nicolás Maduro’s government, according to data compiled by the National Association of Journalists (CNP). The CNP documented at least 111 incidents against press workers and media organisations between January and November 2025, including detentions, threats, impediments to coverage, and equipment seizures, signalling an intensification of tactics aimed at silencing independent reporting. The journalists detained this year face a range...

January 02, 2026 - China -  A year-end analysis of press freedom conditions published by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) underscores China’s continued position as the world’s largest incarcerator of journalists in 2025. According to the IFJ’s annual count, 143 journalists and media workers are currently imprisoned in China and Hong Kong, a figure that surpasses the number in any other country or territory and reflects sustained state suppression of independent reporting. This figure is part of the broader 533 journalists held behind bars worldwide as documented in the IFJ’s year-end census. China’s significant...

January 02, 2026 - Palestine - Israeli authorities detained 42 Palestinian journalists and media workers in 2025, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) reported, underscoring persistent risks faced by press professionals covering occupation-related events in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the occupied territories. According to the PJS Freedoms Committee, arrests occurred in diverse contexts throughout the year — including during coverage of military raids, settler attacks, checkpoints, crossings, and even home invasions — indicating that detentions have become an entrenched tactic to limit independent reporting. The syndicate’s 2025 tally shows a decrease in the number of...

January 01, 2026 - Europe -  A year-end report by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) reveals that 149 journalists and media workers will be behind bars in Europe as 2025 closes, marking the highest number recorded on the continent in recent years and prompting urgent calls from press freedom organisations for political action. The tally was compiled from submissions by EFJ national affiliates and reflects continued repression in multiple countries where legal systems are being used to silence critical reporting. The distribution of detained journalists highlights stark geographic disparities: 56 are held in Russia...

January 01, 2026 - Palestine -  An Israeli cabinet minister has announced a boycott of Channel 12 following the broadcast of leaked footage purportedly showing Israeli soldiers abusing a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman military detention facility, triggering political controversy and broader debate over media coverage of alleged military misconduct. Likud lawmaker and cabinet member Shlomo Karhi criticised the station for airing the video, calling the leak unacceptable and accusing the news outlet of undermining public confidence in Israel’s security forces. Karhi and other right-wing figures characterised the broadcast as harmful to national interests,...

December 31, 2025 - General -  In 2025, environmental news organisation Mongabay achieved significant recognition for its investigative journalism that exposed serious environmental crimes and threats to Indigenous rights across Latin America and beyond. The awards underscore the continuing impact of independent environmental reporting on public awareness, policymaking, and legal accountability in underreported regions of the world. At the centre of Mongabay’s success was the work of Karla Mendes, who received the prestigious John B. Oakes Award for Distinguished Environmental Journalism for her three-part investigation into illegal cattle ranching in Brazil’s Arariboia Indigenous Territory. Mendes’s...

December 31, 2025 - Turkey -  Turkish authorities have moved to restrict the digital presence of journalist Furkan Karabay by blocking his social media accounts and banning access to a YouTube report, in a development that highlights ongoing concerns about media freedom and online censorship in the country. On December 30, 2025, the Technology and Communications Authority (BTK) imposed a block on Karabay’s accounts on X and Instagram within Turkey, citing unspecified legal orders on grounds of national security and public order. The content takedown also extended to a recent YouTube video by Karabay that...

December 31, 2025 - Iran/USA -  Iran is undergoing some of its most significant social unrest in years, driven largely by economic hardship and deepening public frustration, according to Iranian-American journalist and author Hooman Majd, who offered contextual analysis for NPR and WSIU on December 31, 2025. Speaking from his experience and contacts within Iran, Majd characterised the past year as extremely difficult for ordinary Iranians, noting that rapid currency depreciation and economic uncertainty have fueled widespread dissatisfaction that now manifests in persistent, multi-city protests. Majd explained that a series of economic shocks—starting with high...

December 31, 2025 - Congo - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has issued a strong appeal to armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to halt the abduction of journalists following the release of a reporter who was held captive for three days in Bukavu, a city under the control of the Alliance Fleuve Congo/23 March Movement (AFC/M23) rebel coalition. The journalist, Honneur-David Safari, editor of La Prunelle RDC, was found “in poor condition” in a vacant lot near Nyantende in Kabare Territory on December 31 and was subsequently hospitalised after showing signs...

December 30, 2025 - Nigeria -  Seven journalists lost their lives in a fatal road accident in Gombe State on Monday evening, prompting widespread mourning from government officials, media unions, and civil society. The crash occurred along the Billiri–Kumo Road while the group was returning from a colleague’s wedding in the Gombe South senatorial district. Confirmed by the Federal Road Safety Corps, the dead include Zarah Umar, Manager of News at the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) in Gombe and a senior special assistant to the state’s first lady; Manu Haruna Kwami, NTA’s Manager of Administration;...

December 30, 2025 - Afghanistan/Pakistan -  Pakistani authorities have arrested three Afghan journalists in the capital city of Islamabad, raising fresh concerns about press freedom and the treatment of refugee media workers amid an intensified crackdown on undocumented migrants. The detentions occurred in the early hours of December 30, 2025, when police reportedly raided a residence in the Faisal Town area and took into custody Zikrullah Yazdani, Ashiqullah Jalalzoi, and Atiqullah Rahimi. Official statements from Pakistani law enforcement have not been issued, and the precise rationale for the arrests remains unclear. Sources familiar with the...

December 30, 2025 - General - Israel has reiterated that foreign journalists will continue to be barred from entering the Gaza Strip, a policy in place since the start of the war with Hamas in October 2023. Government officials, including Defense Minister Israel Katz, have defended the prohibition by citing ongoing security concerns and potential danger to both media personnel and Israeli soldiers operating in and around the territory. Katz argued that repeated ceasefire violations by Hamas prompt rapid Israeli military responses, which could put unaccompanied journalists at risk, and he noted that detailed security...

December 29, 2025 - Peru -  Veteran Peruvian journalist Mitzar Castillejos has died from injuries sustained in a shooting attack that occurred approximately two weeks earlier, authorities and press freedom advocates confirmed, prompting renewed calls for accountability and greater protection for journalists in Peru. Castillejos, a well-known reporter in the southern Arequipa region, was shot multiple times on December 11, 2025, while leaving his workplace. Local police and media sources reported that the gunman opened fire at close range, leaving Castillejos critically wounded. He was rushed to a regional hospital where he underwent treatment, but...

December 29, 2025 - India -  The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, has directed a high-level investigation into allegations that police officers assaulted two television journalists while they were covering events in Ashta town, raising concerns about law enforcement conduct and press freedom in the central Indian state. The directive was issued on December 28, 2025, in response to media reports and complaints from journalist bodies demanding accountability for the incident. According to multiple accounts, the journalists — both senior reporters with prominent television networks — were documenting a public event in...

December 29, 2025 - Ukraine/Russia -  At least 26 Ukrainian journalists remain imprisoned by Russian authorities in 2025, highlighting the persistent risks and human rights abuses faced by media workers amid Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine. According to reporting by Kyiv Post, these detentions form part of one of the world’s largest populations of jailed journalists, with many held on charges widely condemned by rights groups as politically motivated or fabricated. The journalists held in Russian custody include both professional reporters and citizen journalists arrested over the course of the conflict. Names documented include...

December 29, 2025 - Turkey -  A Turkish court has ordered the temporary release of journalist Eren Erdem pending appeal in a high-profile criminal case stemming from comments he made about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, marking a significant procedural development after months of legal uncertainty and detention. The decision, issued on December 30, 2025, comes as legal advocates and press freedom organisations intensify scrutiny over laws used to prosecute journalists for speech related to political leaders. (ABC News; JournalismPakistan; Stockholm Center for Freedom) Erdem, a veteran Turkish reporter and commentator known for critical reporting on...