News

August 9, 2025 – Pakistan/USA – Pakistani journalist Asad Ali Toor was prevented from travelling to the United States to participate in the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) after being stopped at Islamabad International Airport. Immigration officials informed him that his name was on Pakistan’s Exit Control List (ECL), barring him from leaving the country. No official explanation was provided for his inclusion on the list. Toor denounced the move as an attack on press freedom, saying, “In Pakistan, journalism and speaking truth to power have been turned into crimes… Yes, I...

August 8, 2025 – United Kingdom - During ongoing anti-immigration demonstrations across the UK, GB News reporter Sophie Reaper and her camera operator were confronted with physical aggression from a protester in Whitehall, London. The incident occurred amid heightened tensions as protestors targeted the media presence, some chanting "GB News, off our streets" upon recognizing the broadcaster’s team. Video footage shows a man slapping the hand of the GB News camera operator, raising serious concerns about journalist safety while covering these volatile events Greater Manchester and other regions have similarly seen volatile anti-migrant protests as...

August 8, 2025 – European Union – The European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), a landmark EU regulation designed to protect press freedom and media pluralism, has come fully into force across all member states. The law, first adopted in April 2024, aims to safeguard journalists from political interference, promote transparency in media ownership, and limit government surveillance of media workers. Under the EMFA, editorial independence is legally protected, with strict rules ensuring that public service media outlets are free from political pressure and receive sustainable, adequate funding. The law requires media companies to disclose ownership...

August 8, 2025 - Afghanistan - Afghanistan’s media landscape continues to deteriorate under Taliban rule, with increasing censorship, arbitrary detentions, and systematic repression of journalists, particularly those working independently or in exile. According to 8 Am. Media, censorship has all but eliminated freedom of expression. Female journalists face the dual burden of general restrictions plus gender-based constraints. Several have been detained in provinces like Takhar and Ghazni over critical social media posts or collaboration with foreign media, their whereabouts largely unknown. Journalists also report that official sources now only supply information serving Taliban interests, suppressing...

August 8, 2025 – Turkey – Turkish authorities have ordered the blocking of veteran journalist Fatih Altaylı’s YouTube channel, citing national security and public order concerns. The decision, issued by the İstanbul 6th Criminal Judgeship of Peace on August 7, targets both the homepage of the channel and a specific video featuring former MP Emin Şirin. In the video, Şirin discusses political matters involving Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli and Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan, which the court claimed posed risks to national security and could constitute criminal activity. Altaylı, detained...

August 8, 2025 – Belarus – Belarusian journalist Danil Palianski, 27, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of high treason, in a move widely condemned by press freedom advocates as part of an ongoing crackdown on independent media in the country. The verdict, delivered by the Minsk City Court in a closed trial, accused Palianski of “providing assistance to foreign organisations” deemed harmful to Belarus’ national security. Authorities have not disclosed the specifics of the alleged treason, but rights groups believe the charges are politically motivated and linked to his reporting....

August 8, 2025 – Lebanon - Lebanese journalist Mohammad Shehadeh, director of the online platform Hawana Lebanon, was killed in an Israeli drone strike on the Zahrani Road in Nabatieh district, southern Lebanon. According to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA), the targeted strike hit Shehadeh’s vehicle, killing him instantly. Civil defense teams later recovered his body from the wreckage. The attack took place along a key route connecting Sidon and Nabatieh, an area that has been under heightened tension due to ongoing cross-border hostilities. Shehadeh was a respected media figure known for his work...

August 7, 2025 – Bangladesh - Md Asaduzzaman Tuhin, a 38-year-old staff reporter for Daily Protidiner Kagoj in Gazipur, was brutally murdered on Thursday night in the Chandana Chowrasta area. While filming armed men with locally made weapons pursuing a young man, Tuhin was spotted by the group, who then chased and hacked him to death with machetes, according to CCTV footage examined by local police. Shocking video of the attack circulated widely on social media, prompting immediate outrage from the media community and human rights advocates. The cruelty of the act, targeting a journalist...

August 7, 2025 - India -  Two men accused of the murder of journalist Raghvendra Bajpai were killed in an encounter with Uttar Pradesh Police’s Special Task Force (STF) and local police in Sitapur. The accused, identified as brothers Raju Tiwari, also known as Rizwan, and Sanjay Tiwari, also known as Shibu or Shakeel Khan, were both carrying a bounty of ₹1 lakh each. According to police, the encounter occurred when the STF, acting on intelligence, intercepted the two men travelling on a motorcycle in the Pisawa area. Officials said the accused opened fire on...

August 7, 2025 – Pakistan - Pakistani journalists and media organisations have condemned a notice issued by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) to investigative reporter Muhammad Akbar Notezai. The notice is linked to his investigative article in Dawn, published more than a year ago, which detailed allegations of administrative mismanagement, misuse of authority, and corruption in Balochistan. Critics say this move is a direct attack on press freedom, arguing that a newspaper article should not fall under the jurisdiction of a cybercrime agency. The NCCIA, launched in May to replace the cybercrime division...

August 7, 2025 – India - A distressing video captured in Batala, Punjab, shows two Punjab Police commandos brutally assaulting journalist Balwinder Kumar Bhalla, also known as Balvinder Singh. As he approached them to ask questions about their duty, one officer, clad in uniform, and another in plain clothes, grabbed him, delivering repeated punches and kicks. The attack continued even after Bhalla collapsed into a street puddle, with one officer mercilessly kicking him in the head, leaving him unconscious before walking away. In response to widespread public outrage and the viral video, authorities took immediate...

August 6, 2025 – Palestine/UK – Two major statements released this week have condemned the ongoing targeting, starvation, and killing of journalists in Gaza. One letter, signed by British lawmakers and supported by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), expresses deep concern over the systematic attacks on Palestinian media workers. Another, led by Al Jazeera and endorsed by over 150 media organizations and advocacy groups, demands an end to the forced starvation and deliberate killings of journalists in the besieged enclave. The UK letter calls on all parties in the conflict to adhere to international...

August 6, 2025 – Georgia -  Renowned Georgian journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli, co-founder of the independent outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti, has been sentenced to two years in prison by the Batumi City Court. The sentence follows her conviction for slapping Batumi Police Chief Irakli Dgebuadze during a protest earlier this year. Initially charged with the more severe crime of assault, carrying a penalty of up to seven years, the charge was reclassified just before sentencing to "resistance, threats or violence against a public order defender," resulting in the two-year term. Her sentence has triggered widespread condemnation...

August 6, 2025 - South Africa -  On August 3, 2025, investigative journalist Pieter-Louis Myburgh of the Daily Maverick was offered a bribe of R60,000 in cash by two high-ranking officials of South Africa’s Independent Development Trust (IDT). The attempt was caught live on camera at a wine farm near Stellenbosch, where the suspended CEO of IDT, Tebogo Malaka, and the state agency’s spokesperson, Phasha Makgolane, tried to pay off Myburgh to prevent the publication of a report into a controversial R836 million oxygen plant contract. The oxygen plant deal has been under intense scrutiny...

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...