News

October 21, 2025 - Sahel -  In recent years, the Sahel region—particularly in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger—has seen increasing repression of independent expression. Journalists, civil society activists, and ordinary citizens face harassment, imprisonment, and even torture simply for raising critical views. In Burkina Faso, journalist Idrissa Barry was abducted in March 2025 by men identifying themselves as state gendarmes. His detention followed his public criticism of human-rights abuses by armed forces and civilian defense volunteers. In Mali, anti-corruption campaigner Clément Dembélé has been jailed since November 2023 despite a judge having dismissed his case, and...

October 21, 2025 - Ethiopia -  Journalists reporting from Ethiopia’s Tigray region continue to face grave threats even after the formal conclusion of the country’s civil war. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), freelance reporters and media crews are being met with detention, raids, equipment seizure, and direct life-threatening abuse. In one documented incident, a camera operator for the regional broadcaster Tigray Broadcasting Services (TBS) was singled out by an armed militia member who pointed a gun and shouted, “Stop filming or I will shoot you!” when the crew attempted to report on...

October 21, 2025 - Greece/Turkey -  Greek state-broadcaster journalist Nikos Aslanidis was turned away by Turkish immigration authorities on 21 October 2025 while attempting to join a press delegation in Istanbul. He had been traveling with a 100-member‐strong group from the Macedonia-Thrace Journalists’ Association, intended to participate in cultural visits, including to the Hagia Sophia, and engage with the Ecumenical Patriarch. Turkish authorities reportedly invoked a vague classification—describing him as a “national threat”—to refuse entry, without offering a detailed explanation or referencing criminal charges. Aslanidis works for ERT (Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation), and his exclusion has sparked...

October 21, 2025 - Palestine - A recent online exchange highlights escalating tensions between Israel’s military and Gaza-based media figures. Gaza-resident photographer and correspondent Fadi al‑Wahidi, who worked with Al Jazeera, publicly mourned his uncle Taj al‑Din al‑Wahidi, a senior field commander in the Palestinian organization Hamas’s Jabalia battalion, killed in operations in northern Gaza. In a social-media post, al-Wahidi announced his uncle’s passing, invoking religious language and the role his relative played in the conflict. In response, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokes-team publicly ridiculed al-Wahidi’s professional status, describing him and others in similar roles as “young men … sometimes...

October 20, 2025 – Russia – Russian investigators from the Investigative Committee of Russia have completed an inquiry into a foiled plot to assassinate Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the state-backed broadcaster RT. According to official statements, the conspiracy was orchestrated by a neo-Nazi terrorist cell linked to the banned organization “National Socialism/White Power”. Investigators say the cell’s leader, Mikhail Balashov, in collaboration with co-conspirator Egor Savelyev, agreed to murder Simonyan in exchange for approximately US $50,000. The scheme reportedly involved the collection of detailed information on Simonyan’s whereabouts and movements. Weapons and ammunition were...

October 20, 2025 – China/Africa – A major media training event kicked off in Beijing on 17 October 2025, where journalists from across Africa and other nations wrapped around the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) of China and the Research Training Institute (RTI). The two-week seminar, scheduled to run until 30 October 2025, brings together media professionals from countries including The Gambia, Nigeria, Botswana, Jordan, Turkey, Panama, and Barbados. In his opening remarks, NRTA official Chang Jin emphasized China’s view of the media’s role in shaping public opinion and cultural narratives, stressing themes of...

October 20, 2025 – Nigeria – Network Against Corruption and Trafficking (NACAT) has raised serious concerns over the continued detention of journalist and activist Fejiro Oliver in Delta State, pointing to what it calls a “coordinated effort” by state actors to bypass judicial rulings and suppress critical journalism. On 16 October 2025, a Federal High Court in Asaba granted bail to Fejiro Oliver in a case brought by the Delta State government. However, while he was arranging bail terms, the state government allegedly secured a reproduction warrant for re-arraignment before a Magistrate’s Court in Asaba....

October 20, 2025 – Russia - A Russian journalist detained in Azerbaijan earlier this year has been released and has returned to Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced. The individual, Igor Kartavykh, executive director of the Russian state-affiliate agency Sputnik Azerbaijan, was arrested in June in Baku as part of a broader operation targeting the outlet amid escalating diplomatic tensions between Moscow and Baku. Kartavykh’s release reportedly follows high-level diplomatic discussions between Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev held in Dushanbe. One source cited by Reuters suggested the deal included the release of a detained Azerbaijani...

October 20, 2025 - General - At its 81st General Assembly, convened in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) flagged a deeply troubling trend: journalism across Latin America and the Caribbean is under intensifying threat. After four days of panels and presentations, the assembly’s final communique warned of an increasingly hostile environment for the media, rooted in official discourse that stigmatizes journalists, alongside shrinking legal protections and rising impunity. Delegates representing media outlets from more than two dozen countries detailed multiple forms of pressure on the press: verbal attacks from political...

October 21, 2025 - Palestine -  As the conflict in the Gaza Strip enters a new chapter, journalists based in the West Bank are increasingly vocal about the threats to their work and safety. The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism reports that media professionals operating in the occupied territories are facing intensifying restrictions — from denial of access, to targeted harassment and legal and physical risks. These journalists describe a shrinking space for reporting: while covering an area in evolution, they are confronted with the enforcement of military-style controls on movement, heavy surveillance,...

October 20, 2025 - UK -  In a recent statement, the BBC’s Director-General Tim Davie declared that staff working within the newsroom are prohibited from wearing “Black Lives Matter” T-shirts. He clarified that while the organization firmly opposes racism, staff must maintain impartiality and avoid visible political affiliations. During an appearance at a literature festival in Cheltenham, Davie said news reporters should not combine their professional role with campaigning: “You cannot have any assumption about where people are politically. You leave it at the door, and your religion is journalism in the BBC.” He drew...

October 20, 2025 - Canada -  The Canadian union Unifor has announced its support for the upcoming International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists on November 2, 2025, underscoring the essential role journalists play in democratic societies. Unifor emphasizes that despite journalistic efforts to expose wrongdoing, hold power to account and inform citizens, many media workers continue to face threats, legal intimidation, harassment and deadly attacks—often without any accountability for the perpetrators. The union calls for several concrete changes to protect journalists, including: Crafting laws that specifically punish doxxing, online harassment, surveillance, and physical attacks on media workers. Ensuring law enforcement...

October 20, 2025 - Australia/Malaysia - The Shah Alam High Court in Malaysia has ruled that Australian journalist and commentator Murray Hunter is liable for defamation in a civil suit brought by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). The judgment, delivered on 15 October 2025, arose from a series of publications between April and November 2024 in which Hunter allegedly made false and harmful claims about the regulator’s conduct. Hunter, who resides in Thailand, said he learned of the ruling via an online court system and was never served notice of the legal action...

October 20, 2025 - Belarus - A Belarusian journalist, Pavel Dabravolski, has been formally charged with high treason. This crime carries a potential prison sentence of up to 15 years under Article 356 (Part 1) of the Belarusian Criminal Code. Dabravolski, aged 35, was arrested on 22 January 2025 shortly after returning to Minsk from abroad. Before his detention, he worked at the independent news agency BelaPAN, which Belarusian authorities declared an “extremist formation” in 2021. Press freedom groups, including the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), have recognized Dabravolski as a political prisoner, citing a wider...

October 20, 2025 - Philippines - Philippine authorities are under pressure to swiftly investigate the shooting of radio journalist Noël Bellen Samar, 54, a broadcaster with Kadunong ITV and DWIZ in the Bicol region. The incident occurred on the Maharlika Highway in Barangay Morera, Guinobatan, Albay province, and Samar sustained four gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen, reportedly fired from a .45-caliber pistol. He was rushed to the Bicol Regional Hospital and Medical Center for emergency surgery. Following the attack on 20 October 2025, the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) condemned the...

October 20, 2025 - Bangladesh -  A journalist working for the Bangladeshi daily Amar Desh was physically attacked on 19 October 2025 while reporting inside the headquarters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in the Gulshan-2 area of Dhaka. The reporter, identified as Jahidul Islam, was covering internal nomination activity among BNP aspirants from the Sylhet division when a confrontation broke out. According to Islam’s account, at around 4:30 pm, he began filming the commotion inside the BNP office when several individuals suddenly dragged him into another room, struck him repeatedly, shattered his mobile phone,...

October 19, 2025 - Palestine -  Despite the devastation of war, dreadful shortages of food and ongoing violence, journalists in the Gaza Strip continue to report under some of the most harrowing conditions. Outlets such as Committee to Protect Journalists and local media groups describe these reporters as working without adequate rest, nutrition or safety—surviving on almost nothing, carrying on with their mission to tell Gaza’s story. The impact of starvation and trauma has deeply affected the press corps. Newsrooms have been destroyed, equipment lost, and movement severely restricted by the blockade and shifting front-lines....

October 19, 2025 - Malta -  Kyle Patrick Camilleri, a journalist with The Malta Independent (TMI), has been honored with the Sports Journalism Award at the 2025 Malta Journalism Awards. The announcement was made public on 19 October 2025. The award recognized Camilleri’s article titled “Are Maltese youth sports models flawed?”, which was published on 1 June 2025. This piece critically examined youth-sports structures in Malta, analyzing whether current models are serving young athletes well and exposing systemic issues in how they are developed and supported. In the coverage of the awards, TMI also noted that colleagues...

October 19, 2025 - USA - At the 2025 Maine Press Association (MPA) Awards, Rose Lundy, a reporter for The Maine Monitor, was honored as Journalist of the Year, recognizing her exceptional reporting and impact on state and regional journalism. Lundy’s award reflects her sustained investigative work on Maine’s aging care infrastructure and public accountability issues. Over the past year, her reporting has focused on how the state’s nursing home system and elder care policies affect some of its most vulnerable residents. Her in-depth stories exposed gaps in oversight and regulatory enforcement, leading to increased...

October 19, 2025 - Palestine/Philippines -  Filipino journalist Patricia Evangelista delivered a powerful plea at the Frankfurt Book Fair on 19 October 2025, where she spotlighted the escalating loss of press lives in the Gaza conflict and the global silence that too often follows. She used the literary stage to declare: "If my words reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice.” Evangelista emphasized that 240 journalists have died in Gaza since hostilities intensified, reflecting a staggering rate of fatalities among media professionals. She condemned not only the physical...

October 18, 2025 - India - The Rajasthan Police picked up two Bhopal-based journalists from Madhya Pradesh on 17 October 2025, alleging their news portal published false and defamatory reports about Diya Kumari, the Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan. The journalists, Anand Pandey (Editor-in-Chief) and Harish Divekar (Managing Editor) of the Hindi news outlet “The Sootr”, were accused of circulating unverified stories, demanding ₹5 crore to remove them, and planning a so-called “Destroy Diya” campaign. According to the complaint lodged at Jaipur’s Karni Vihar police station by a staffer of the Deputy CM, the portal...

October 18, 2025 - Bangladesh -  A concerning incident targeting press freedom unfolded on the night of Friday, 18 October 2025, when multimedia reporter Al Amin, working for the Bangladeshi daily Kaler Kantho, was assaulted while covering a police raid in real time. According to witness accounts, the raid took place at the Javan Residential Hotel in Tongi, Gazipur, following reports of illegal activities at the location. During the live broadcast of the operation, unidentified individuals allegedly rushed the reporter, knocked his phone from his hands, and forcibly cut the livestream. Immediately afterward, Al Amin was...

October 18, 2025 - Palestine -  In the village of Kobar, north of Ramallah in the central occupied West Bank, Israeli troops opened fire and deployed stun grenades and tear gas against Palestinian farmers and journalists attempting to harvest olives on October 18, 2025. The farmers were trying to reach their groves in the Qanater and Daak areas after a ruling by the Israeli Supreme Court had temporarily allowed access, despite the military previously barring passage to the land. According to firsthand reports, soldiers prevented them from entering and fired when they attempted to proceed,...

October 17, 2025 - Mali - The press freedom organization ARTICLE 19 has welcomed the release of Malian journalist and activist El Bachir Thiam on 25 September 2025, calling it a “positive signal for civic space.”Thiam, a former member of the Yélema party, was reportedly kidnapped on 8 May 2025 in Kati, near Bamako, by unknown armed individuals and held in undisclosed detention for over four months. During this period, he was cut off from family contact and his whereabouts remained unknown, raising alarm for enforced disappearance under Malian and international law. ARTICLE 19 underscored that Mali’s Constitution...

October 17, 2025 - Afghanistan -  The IFJ and the Afghan Independent Journalists’ Union (AIJU) have strongly denounced the killing of Afghan media worker Abdul Zahir Safi, who was killed on 16 October 2025 in Kabul after an alleged air strike in a civilian area. This marks the second media worker killed in Afghanistan over two days, following the killing of journalist Abdul Ghafoor Abed, who died while covering cross-border fighting from Pakistan. Safi, who worked within the state-media network under the Ministry of Information and Culture's Technical and Taranum Directorates, was in his fifties. According to AIJU sources, he was struck...