News

June 29, 2025 - India -  Assam’s Public Health Engineering Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah ignited widespread controversy when he referred to a Guwahati-based journalist as a “tolor shrenir manush” — literally a “lower-class person” — during a press conference at the Gauhati Press Club. The remark came amid questioning about alleged misuse of state dairy promotion funds related to his private dairy farm housing Gir cows. The statement immediately triggered condemnation from journalist associations across Assam. Both the Media Association of Assam and the Guwahati Press Club denounced it as “insulting,” “undignified,” and “unconstitutional,” urging...

June 29, 2025 - Algeria -  French sports journalist Christophe Gleizes has been sentenced to seven years in prison in Algeria, a ruling that has sparked widespread condemnation from press freedom advocates and international observers. The 36-year-old freelance journalist was arrested in May 2024 in the northern Algerian region of Kabylie, where he was reporting on the local football club JS Kabylie. He had entered the country on a tourist visa, which authorities later used as part of the case against him. Gleizes was charged with “glorifying terrorism” and “possessing propaganda materials harmful to national...

June 28, 2025 - Syria -  The Media Directorate of North and East Syria publicly denounced the detention of journalist and activist Hasan Zaza in Daramsuq (Damascus), characterizing it as a flagrant assault on press freedoms and fundamental human rights. Zaza, known for his active role in defending media independence and ensuring accurate reporting, was arrested by Syrian government security forces without any legal warrant—a move the Directorate called a direct violation of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, specifically Article 19, which defends freedom of...

June 28, 2025 - India -  Varanasi’s Lanka police station registered First Information Reports (FIRs) against six journalists connected to various media outlets, accusing them of distorting and circulating a video that depicted the routine cleaning of the statue of Bharat Ratna Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya near the Banaras Hindu University gate. Authorities claim the video was manipulated with caste-based commentary to incite communal tensions and disturb public order. The journalists—Arshad Alam (admin of the WhatsApp group “Khabar Banaras”), Abhishek Jha (NBT Online), Abhishek Tripathi (Hindustan), Sonu Singh (Dainik Jagran), Shailesh Chaurasia (TV journalist), and...

June 27, 2025 - Palestine -  Palestinian journalist Ahmad Hasan Saad was reportedly killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza’s Al‑Tuffah neighborhood, near the Shaaban Al‑Rees School in eastern Gaza City. Iranian outlet MizanOnline cited Shehab News, describing how Israeli airstrikes hit a group of civilians, resulting in 10 deaths and multiple injuries, among them, Saad, who was covering the scene when he was martyred. Additional details from the Stop Murdering Journalists project—backed by Databases for Palestine—readily identified Saad’s full name: Ahmad Hasan Saad. The group confirmed he was killed on June 27 by mortar or tank fire, alongside his...

June 27, 2025 - Kenya -  The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) has expressed deep concern over escalating threats to media freedom in Kenya, warning that recent actions by the government are part of a dangerous pattern of repression that could reverberate across the continent. In a public statement issued on June 27, 2025, SANEF specifically condemned the Kenyan Communications Authority for its role in targeting independent media houses, including through signal disruptions and equipment seizures during politically sensitive periods. According to SANEF, these actions appear designed to suppress dissent and restrict the public's...

June 27, 2025 - Kyrgyzstan -  Kyrgyzstan’s parliament passed two sweeping laws that dramatically weaken protections against torture and severely restrict independent media, prompting urgent warnings from rights groups and international bodies. The first law dissolves the National Center for the Prevention of Torture, established in 2012 as an independent oversight body under Kyrgyzstan’s obligations under the UN Anti-Torture Convention. It merges this role into the Ombudsman’s office, undermining its autonomy and diminishing its preventative authority. Human Rights Watch (HRW) emphasized that UN experts had previously praised the Center as “a model for Central Asia”...

June 27, 2025 - Philippines -  At a United Nations Human Rights Council side event in Geneva on June 27, 2025, a powerful handwritten letter from detained Filipino journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio was read aloud by UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan. It marked the first time Cumpio, imprisoned since February 2020, was able to speak to the international community. Her message was both personal and political—a condemnation of the charges against her and a cry for justice after over five years behind bars without trial. Cumpio, then 21, was arrested in a police raid in...

June 27, 2025 - China/Ukraine -  Chinese journalist Lu Yuguang was injured during a Ukrainian drone strike near the village of Korenevo in Russia’s Kursk region, close to the Ukrainian border. Lu, a seasoned correspondent for Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV, suffered head injuries while covering military activity with a film crew. Russian authorities claim the drone was launched by Ukraine and accuse Kyiv of deliberately targeting journalists to suppress media coverage. Lu, 63, reportedly declined hospitalization and treated his wounds himself. A video released by Russian state media shows him bandaged but composed, vowing to...

June 27, 2025 - Brazil -  Nearly 50 years after journalist Vladimir Herzog was tortured and killed by Brazil’s military dictatorship, the Brazilian government has officially recognized its responsibility and agreed to compensate his family. The landmark decision, finalized in June 2025, comes after decades of denial, judicial inaction, and public protest. Herzog, a Jewish journalist and editor-in-chief of TV Cultura, was summoned for questioning in 1975 over alleged ties to communism. He never returned. His battered body was later staged in a jail cell to appear as a suicide—a claim widely discredited and condemned...

June 27, 2025 - USA - On June 27, 1995, 27-year-old television news anchor Jodi Huisentruit, working at KIMT-TV in Mason City, Iowa, disappeared under mysterious and disturbing circumstances. That morning, after assuring her assistant she would make the 6 a.m. broadcast, she never arrived. What remained of her: signs of a struggle by her red Mazda Miata, strewn personal items including a bent car key and high heels, and only lingering questions. Neighbors reported hearing possible screams and sighting a suspicious white Ford Econoline van in the parking lot between 3:50 and 4:30 a.m.—a detail that...

June 27, 2025 - Germany/Russia -  Germany has firmly rejected recent accusations by Russia claiming that Russian journalists are being harassed within German borders. On June 27, 2025, the German Foreign Ministry labeled Moscow’s statements as “unfounded” and reaffirmed the country’s commitment to the rule of law and press freedom. A German government spokesperson emphasized that all journalists in Germany, including foreign correspondents, are protected by constitutional rights and operate under transparent legal standards. The diplomatic dispute escalated after the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned German Ambassador Alexander Graf Lambsdorff in Moscow, alleging that Germany had...

June 27, 2025 - Kurdistan/Iraq -  Kurdish journalist Hassan Zaza was arrested by Syrian government security forces in Damascus, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). Zaza, a well-known Kurdish media figure, was reportedly seized by agents from the General Intelligence Directorate without prior warning, warrant, or explanation. His sudden detention marks another alarming episode in Syria’s ongoing repression of independent journalists and Kurdish voices. Zaza had been working in Damascus and was known for contributing to various Kurdish media outlets that report on human rights violations, political developments, and the lived...

June 27, 2025 - Syria -  Journalist Hassan (Hesen) Zaza, a prominent media figure in Syria, was detained on June 27, 2025, by security forces affiliated with the Syrian Transitional Government. A joint report from the Free Press Union (YRA) and ANF News confirms that Zaza was forcibly taken from his home, with his current whereabouts and the reasons for his detention remaining undisclosed. Zaza, a member of the YRA General Council and Syria’s representative to the International Federation of Arab Journalists, suffered a pre-dawn raid in the Rukn al-Din district of Damascus. The YRA condemned the...

June 26, 2025 - Brazil - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has revealed that it was one of several organizations secretly monitored by Brazil’s intelligence agency (ABIN) during Jair Bolsonaro’s presidency. RSF has demanded full disclosure of data collected and accountability for those responsible. According to RSF and statements from its leadership, a "parallel ABIN" — a clandestine surveillance structure created under Bolsonaro’s administration — targeted RSF along with at least 13 journalists and three media outlets. Surveillance included tracking internal communications and monitoring public campaigns concerning Bolsonaro. These revelations mirror findings in a comprehensive federal...

June 26, 2025 - Canada -  A new organization called Canadian Journalists for Justice in Palestine (CJJP) was officially launched, with simultaneous press events in Vancouver and Toronto. The group brings together Canadian journalists and media advocates committed to amplifying the plight of Palestinian reporters who have endured disproportionate violence, suppression, and fatalities in Gaza and the occupied territories. CJJP emerged against a harrowing backdrop: data from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) notes that at least 186 journalists and media workers have been killed across Gaza, Israel, Lebanon, and the West Bank over the...

June 26, 2025 - Turkey -  Mesopotamia Agency reporter Zeynep Durgut, known for her fearless coverage of Kurdish communities in southeastern Turkey, now faces intimidation after exposing a sex‑trafficking ring in Şırnak. Her February report detailed a long‑running investigation—initiated in 2013—into 25 suspects, including military non‑commissioned officers allegedly involved in trafficking women, girls, and minors from Syria’s Kurdish regions into forced prostitution. Following publication, Durgut received multiple threatening phone calls from relatives of key suspect Kenan Tatar. One caller warned: “We know who you are…we will not let you go…this won’t go unpunished”. Undeterred, she lodged...

June 26, 2025 - Venezuela -  FairPlanet published a revealing account of Venezuelan journalists from the investigative outlet Armando.Info who exposed one of the country's most brazen corruption scandals, only to be labeled as criminals and forced into exile. At the heart of the story is the PBS Frontline documentary A Dangerous Assignment: Uncovering Corruption in Maduro’s Venezuela, aired February 4, 2025. It delves into the so‑called “PDVSA Crypto” scandal involving former vice president and oil minister Tareck El Aissami and other PDVSA executives accused of using cryptocurrency and state contracts to enrich themselves. Armando.Info's founders,...

June 26, 2025 - Palestine -  Motaz Azaiza, a 26‑year‑old from Deir al‑Balah in Gaza, has become an unexpected global photojournalist since the outbreak of full‑scale war in October 2023. Before then, he led a modest life, capturing daily moments in Gaza for around 25,000 Instagram followers. When Israeli strikes began, his footage—raw, unfiltered, deeply human—went viral, rapidly amassing nearly 17 million followers, transforming him overnight into a visual chronicler of his people’s suffering. Wearing casual attire and gold‑rimmed glasses, Azaiza traveled to the U.S. this June to raise funds for UNRWA USA at a...

June 26, 2025 - Congo -  Serge Sindani—a defense reporter and director of the Kis24.info news site—was taken into custody by a senior Congolese army officer in Kisangani. His arrest followed his posting, two days earlier, of a distant photograph of Sukhoi military jets at Bangoka International Airport on his X (formerly Twitter) account, captioned simply: “RDC-Instant Kisangani — the city is calm and under control with our Sukhoi fighter jets. Happy Sunday”. Sindani is currently held in a military intelligence cell in Tshopo province, where Colonel Mwambi has accused him of filming military assets without...

June 26, 2025 - Cuba -  Independent Cuban journalists Yunia Figueredo and Frank Correa, both affiliated with the community news site Amanecer Habanero, have been subjected to threats, surveillance, and intimidation by Cuban authorities after refusing to comply with a police summons issued on June 23, 2025. Figueredo, the site’s director, received the official order to appear at a police station. When she refused, both she and Correa—who also reports for the outlet—began receiving anonymous phone calls warning them that they were under investigation for “dangerousness,” a vague legal charge in Cuba frequently used to...

June 26, 2025 - Slovakia - Slovakia’s media freedom took a sharp turn as Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government pushed through legislation dismantling the country’s independent public broadcaster RTVS. The new entity, Slovak Television and Radio (STVR), places media oversight in the hands of a council appointed largely by the ruling coalition and the Ministry of Culture, effectively granting the state direct influence over public news coverage. While the government insists the move was necessary to counter alleged political bias, the legislation has sparked national protests and international outcry. Journalists and staff at RTVS staged...

June 25, 2025 - Australia -  The Federal Court of Australia has ruled that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) unlawfully terminated journalist Antoinette Lattouf in December 2023, following her social media post highlighting a Human Rights Watch report on Israel’s alleged use of starvation tactics in Gaza. Lattouf, a Lebanese-Australian presenter, was midway through a five-day contract at ABC Sydney when she was abruptly dismissed after sharing the post on Instagram. Justice Darryl Rangiah determined that Lattouf’s dismissal breached the Fair Work Act, concluding that the ABC acted under pressure from an “orchestrated campaign by...

June 24, 2025 - Switzerland - Swiss police and prosecutors launched a raid in early June on the home and office of financial journalist Lukas Hässig, editor of the influential blog Inside Paradeplatz. Authorities seized his computer, phone, and documents as part of a criminal investigation under Article 47 of Switzerland’s Banking Act—a seldom-used legal provision that discloses confidential banking information, even when revealing wrongdoing, punishable by up to five years in prison and CHF 250,000 in fines. Hässig’s reporting, dating back to 2016, exposed alleged misconduct by Pierin Vincenz, the former CEO of Raiffeisen Bank, including...

June 23, 2025 - Philippines - Ali Jejhon Macalintal, a former freelance radio broadcaster and prominent LGBTQ+ and human rights advocate, was shot and killed inside a massage spa in Barangay Lagao, General Santos City, Philippines. The 35-year-old, known for her work with Radyo Bandera News FM and as a deputy secretary general of the human rights group Karapatan SOCCSKSARGEN, was also an active member of the LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Bahaghari. Macalintal had been using the spa space to offer acupuncture therapy and traditional healing services. According to local police, two assailants arrived on a...