News

August 5, 2025 – Palestine – Israeli forces have forcibly shut down the Al‑Jazeera bureau in the occupied West Bank, a move denounced today by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) as a blatant assault on press freedom. Armed military personnel raided the network’s Ramallah office without prior warning, sealed the entrance, and escorted staff out of the premises. No official explanation was issued at the time. According to the IFJ, the closure comes amid increasing pressure on media organizations operating in the occupied territories, particularly those perceived to challenge Israel’s policies. Al‑Jazeera has been...

August 5, 2025 – Palestine – Hamas has voiced its full support for international demands to allow foreign journalists access to the besieged Gaza Strip, emphasizing the urgent need to expose the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding under Israeli blockade. Senior Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq issued a statement declaring that preventing foreign media from entering Gaza was an attempt to hide the ongoing massacres and war crimes committed against Palestinian civilians. He called on the international community and press freedom organizations to pressure Israel into lifting restrictions that have left Gaza sealed off from external media coverage....

August 5, 2025 – Somalia – Three journalists working for SMS TV and Daash Somali TV were forcibly arrested in Mogadishu after reporting on alleged government-linked land seizures in the Siinaay Market area, according to media watchdogs and the Somali Journalists Syndicate. The incident unfolded outside SMS TV’s headquarters during an armed raid by officers from the Haramcad police unit, who reportedly arrived in vehicles mounted with machine guns. The detained journalists are Mahad Mohamed Abdirahman of Daash Somali TV, and Hussein Isse Mohamed and Osman Abdullahi Mohamed from SMS TV. CCTV footage shared by the...

August 5, 2025 – DR Congo – The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to reverse the suspension of Radio Nsenda Muana, a privately owned station in Mwene‑Ditu, and to release three journalists who were arrested during the crackdown. The station was shut down under a July 29 order from Mwene‑Ditu’s mayor, Gérard Tshibanda Kabue, who accused the outlet of inciting tribal hatred and encouraging tax evasion. CPJ reviewed the suspension directive and warned it constitutes an unacceptable suppression of media freedom. On July 31, local...

August 5, 2025 – Iraq – The Committee to Protect Journalists has called on Iraqi authorities to reverse the three‑year prison sentence imposed on Ali Al‑Dhabhawi, director and presenter of Al‑Baghdadia TV. He was convicted under Articles 230 and 430 of the Iraqi Penal Code, including charges of assaulting a police colonel and threatening a civilian at a medical complex, allegedly using his influence as a journalist to intimidate others.  The sentencing came after Iraqi security forces raided the broadcaster’s Baghdad headquarters and Al‑Dhabhawi’s home on July 31, shortly after Al‑Dhabhawi criticised the National Intelligence...

August 5, 2025 – Palestine – Journalists in Gaza are enduring severe hunger, displacement, and daily threats to their lives as Israel's assault on the enclave continues into its tenth month. According to a recent report, the few remaining media workers who continue to report from the ground do so without access to food, shelter, or basic safety, making Gaza one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists. Many journalists have been displaced multiple times, some as many as eight, and are now living in tents or on the streets. Without electricity...

August 5, 2025 – Malta – The Institute of Maltese Journalists (IGM) has strongly criticised a recent court ruling that effectively bans journalists from reporting on a high-profile money laundering investigation. The gag order, issued under Malta’s criminal code, bars media outlets from publishing any details related to the case, including names, documents, and testimonies, even though the investigation is ongoing and involves serious allegations. IGM President Andrew Azzopardi slammed the decision as a profound attack on press freedom and the public’s right to know. He argued that the order turns legitimate journalism into a...

August 5, 2025 – Mozambique – Amnesty Canada has issued an urgent call for investigation following the suspected poisoning of Mozambican journalist and commentator Selma Inocência, who for years has reported critically on governance, human rights, and corruption in the country. Earlier this July, Inocência experienced sudden illness symptoms consistent with poisoning, sparking concern from both local press groups and international watchdogs. Amnesty International in Mozambique flagged the incident as alarming, given Inocência’s history of covering sensitive political topics in her segments on public radio, often exposing local wrongdoing and speaking truth to power. As...

August 5, 2025 – Iran – Journalist Meysam Rashidi was arrested in Ardabil following a complaint by the city’s mayor over his critical social media posts about municipal performance. Rashidi, who has worked with the news outlet Qaartaal, was detained by local police acting on a temporary detention order issued after the mayor filed the complaint. Rashidi’s arrest is part of a broader pattern of press restrictions in Iran, where journalists have been targeted for criticism of local authorities. Earlier this year, in March, Rashidi was reportedly assaulted by Ardabil municipality security personnel after publicly...

August 5, 2025 – Iran/International – Iran International, a Persian‑language broadcaster headquartered in London, has reported a chilling escalation in threats by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS). A total of 45 journalists employed by the outlet and over 300 of their family members in eight countries, including the UK, US, Canada, Sweden, Germany, Turkey, and Belgium, were issued explicit death threats in the past six weeks. The messages warned: “Stop reporting on Iran, or you and your immediate relatives will die.” This sudden escalation followed the Twelve-Day War between Iran and Israel in mid-June 2025. Iran International...

August 4, 2025 – Cuba – Enrique Pérez Fumero, a Cuban journalist, university professor, and Doctor of Science affiliated with the official CMKC radio station, was savagely assaulted in the early hours of Sunday in Santiago de Cuba. The attack, publicly denounced by fellow journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada, has sparked outrage and demands for justice, especially in light of official silence from the media and authorities. The assault occurred near Barnada and San Mateo streets in the heart of Santiago de Cuba, just blocks away from the symbolic Moncada Barracks. Pérez was left with a...

August 4, 2025 – Mexico – Journalist Esaú Zavaleta was arrested and jailed today in Playa Grande, a community of San Pedro Huamelula, Oaxaca, while covering a local citizen complaint concerning the potential removal of an endangered tree. The journalist had been invited by residents to attend a community meeting to document their concerns regarding the local authorities’ plan to cut down a tree located within the home of a young resident, Deysi Abigail. Zavaleta reported that he arrived at the meeting at approximately 8:00 a.m. to collect testimonies. Upon entering the gathering, he was...

August 3, 2025 - Bangladesh - Local journalist Habibur Rahman Selim has been arrested by the Bangladesh Army for allegedly inciting attacks on homes belonging to the Hindu minority community in Gangachara Upazila, Rangpur. Selim, a reporter for the regional daily Dainik Juger Alo, was detained from his residence in Gokulpur Chawpara around 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, according to police authorities. The arrest comes in the wake of communal unrest that began on July 26 after a Hindu teenager from Chhayani Balapara was accused of posting derogatory remarks about Prophet Muhammad on Facebook. Following the...

August 3, 2025 – Syria – Syrian journalist and activist Kindi Al‑Adai was found dead inside his home in the Al‑Jourah neighbourhood of Deir Ezzor on August 3, 2025. His body was discovered hanging, with visible signs of beating and torture, according to local sources. The circumstances surrounding his death have raised serious concerns about state involvement and the targeting of critical voices in Syria. Al‑Adai had recently returned to Syria from Germany, where he had been living in exile. He was widely known as a prominent voice since the early days of the Syrian...

August 2, 2025 – India – The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has strongly condemned the recent attack on a journalist during an official event attended by Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi in Pipli. The journalist, a reporter from Dharitri newspaper, was reportedly assaulted by individuals linked to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while covering the Chief Minister’s public program. According to local media reports, the attack occurred during a cultural segment of the event when the journalist was attempting to perform his reporting duties. Eyewitnesses stated that BJP supporters physically confronted him, obstructed...

August 2, 2025 – United States – A South Carolina man has been sentenced to federal prison after threatening to kill a New York-based journalist in a disturbing case that highlights the increasing dangers faced by media professionals. Austin Suman, 28, from Myrtle Beach, received a two-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to transmitting interstate threats to a reporter who had written articles critical of him. According to court documents, Suman sent a series of threatening messages to the journalist in early 2023, including one stating he would “put a bullet” in the reporter’s head...

August 2, 2025 – Bangladesh – A case has been filed following a violent attack on at least five journalists in Muradnagar Upazila of Cumilla while they were covering a land dispute. The incident occurred in Bhayna village under the Bangra Bazar Police Station, where a group of men allegedly led by an individual named Delwar launched a physical assault on the media workers, injuring several of them and damaging their equipment. According to the complaint filed with the police, the journalists had arrived at the location in response to reports of a clash between...

August 2, 2025 – Palestine -  Palestinian journalist Marwa Muslim, a broadcaster at Al‑Shabab Radio in Gaza City, has been found dead at her home in the Al‑Shuja’iya district. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate announced the discovery of her body on Friday. Muslim hosted the morning program Bashaer al‑Sabah (Morning Tidings) and the social affairs show That (Self), marking her as one of Gaza’s prominent female radio voices. Her death raises the confirmed total of journalists and media personnel killed in Gaza since the outbreak of war on October 7, 2023, to 232. The previous fatality...

August 1, 2025 - India - Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is facing strong criticism from media professionals and civil society after making a series of aggressive and dismissive statements targeting journalists. During a recent public event, Reddy remarked that he sometimes feels like “slapping young journalists,” citing dissatisfaction with their reporting. The statement, widely condemned by press freedom advocates, has been viewed as not only unprofessional but also threatening, especially in a country where journalists already face harassment and violence. In follow-up comments, Reddy attempted to distinguish between “genuine journalists” and those he referred...

July 31, 2025 – Australia/Palestine – The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has issued a strong public statement urging the Israeli government to allow foreign journalists to enter Gaza and report independently on the humanitarian situation. Since October 7, 2023, Israel has barred international media from accessing Gaza, forcing global news outlets to rely on local freelancers who operate under extreme danger and hardship. ABC News Director Justin Stevens emphasised the risks faced by these freelancers, many of whom are Palestinian journalists reporting under conditions of intense bombardment, famine, and siege. Stevens reiterated that some of...

July 31, 2025 - Palestine -  Awdah Hathaleen, a 31-year-old Palestinian activist and educator, was shot and killed by an Israeli settler on July 28, 2025, in the village of Umm al-Khair in the occupied West Bank. Hathaleen was a key figure in the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, which highlighted the experiences of Palestinians facing displacement and settler violence in Masafer Yatta. His death has sparked outrage across the Palestinian territories and international human rights circles. According to eyewitnesses and footage, the settler—identified as Yinon Levi, a figure previously sanctioned by the United States,...

July 30, 2025 – Ghana – The Ghanaian government has launched an official investigation after JoyNews journalist Carlos Carlony was assaulted and briefly detained by military personnel while reporting live from a demolition site in Spintex, Accra. Carlony was covering the demolition of a warehouse reportedly linked to businessman Daniel McKorley when he was attacked by soldiers despite clearly identifying himself as a journalist. According to Carlony, he and his cameraman were interviewing an eyewitness when a group of soldiers approached. One soldier struck him twice in the neck from behind, and both he and...

July 30, 2025 – Nigeria – Francess Olisa Ogbonnaya, a Nigerian journalist and political analyst, has been detained after refusing to produce a jingle aimed at discrediting Senator Natasha Akpoti‑Uduaghan. The request came from Sandra Chidinma Duru, known as “Prof Mgbeke,” who is politically connected to Senate President Godswill Akpabio. Ogbonnaya was asked to create a campaign jingle portraying the senator negatively, which she fulfilled professionally. Duru later demanded a revised, more defamatory version and a refund after declaring the initial work insufficiently damaging. Despite a restraining order issued by a High Court in Abia State...

July 30, 2025 – Syria – Sari Majid Al‑Shoufi, a photojournalist for Suwayda 24, was killed while reporting on armed clashes in the countryside around the southern Syrian city of Sweida. He disappeared in the early hours of July 14 during confrontations between Druze militias, Bedouin armed groups, and Syrian military forces. After several days of community‑led searching, his death was confirmed on July 24, prompting urgent calls by the Committee to Protect Journalists for accountability and inquiry. Al‑Shoufi’s last known location was near a makeshift checkpoint in his home village of Taara, where he had informed colleagues...

July 30, 2025 - Iraq -  Freelance journalist Omed Baroshky, founder and director of Rast Media in Iraqi Kurdistan’s Duhok province, will remain imprisoned for an additional six months after a regional court reactivated a previously suspended sentence. The extension, announced on July 30, 2025, means he will now serve both the original sentence and the new term. Baroshky had been serving a six-month term following a defamation conviction issued in January 2024 over a Facebook post alleging the kidnapping of a detainee from Zirka prison. His initial release was scheduled for July 31, 2025—but the sentencing...