News

May 14, 2025 - Turkey -  Turkish women journalists continue to face relentless online abuse, fueled by a persistent culture of impunity and insufficient institutional protection. A recent investigation reveals that coordinated attacks, including sexist slurs, threats of violence, and digital harassment, are increasingly used to silence female voices in journalism. These attacks not only threaten the physical and emotional well-being of journalists but also undermine press freedom in Turkey. A 2025 report by the International Press Institute (IPI) highlights that nearly all women journalists surveyed in Turkey have faced some form of online abuse....

May 13, 2025 - Palestine -  Abubaker Abed, a 22-year-old Palestinian journalist from Deir al-Balah in Gaza, recently made the painful decision to leave Gaza after enduring extreme hardship during the ongoing conflict. Known for his courageous reporting on the humanitarian crisis in the region, Abed has documented the devastating impact of war, including severe food shortages and the risk of famine affecting millions of Palestinians. In an interview with Democracy Now! on May 13, 2025, Abed described his evacuation as an “agonizing decision.” Despite his deep commitment to his community and work, the dire...

May 14, 2025 - General -  Lawyers who defend journalists face increasing harassment and legal attacks globally, raising serious concerns about press freedom and the rule of law. A recent study by the American Bar Association’s Center for Human Rights, Media Defence, and the Thomson Reuters Foundation documented over 40 cases in 10 countries—including Turkey, Russia, China, and Guatemala—where lawyers have been targeted for representing journalists or defending media freedoms. These legal professionals often encounter criminal charges such as terrorism, corruption, or spreading “false news” soon after taking on cases related to journalists. Such accusations...

May 13, 2025 - Palestine -  Hassan Islayeh, a Palestinian journalist, has been killed in an Israeli airstrike while receiving medical treatment at a hospital in Gaza, marking another grave escalation in the targeting of media workers during the ongoing conflict. The journalist, who had previously been injured in an earlier attack, was reportedly undergoing care at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah when an Israeli missile struck the facility. The blast killed him and wounded several others, once again raising alarm over Israel's conduct in its military operations and the safety of journalists in...

May 13, 2025 - Zimbabwe -  On May 13, 2025, Takudzwa Gift Washaya, a young journalist from Zimbabwe, was abducted and brutally assaulted in Harare. Washaya, who is affiliated with the opposition party Citizens' Coalition for Change (CCC), was taken from his home in Sunningdale by armed men driving a black Toyota GD6. The assailants injected Washaya with an unknown substance before subjecting him to a violent physical attack. He was later found unconscious, suffering from severe facial swelling and multiple bruises, as shown in disturbing photographs shared by the CCC. The assault has sparked...

May 12, 2025 - India/Pakistan -  Tensions between India and Pakistan have flared once again following the arrest of two individuals in Delhi accused of leaking sensitive information to a Pakistani intelligence official at the country’s High Commission. Indian authorities allege the suspects were part of a broader espionage network aimed at extracting classified defense-related data, including through deceptive contact with Indian journalists. According to Indian law enforcement, the two accused were in regular communication with a Pakistani official who posed as an Indian Army officer. Investigators believe that under the guise of sharing defense...

May 12, 2025 - India/Pakistan/ Kashmir -  Journalists in Kashmir and across India have been warned about a coordinated cyber-espionage campaign allegedly orchestrated by Pakistani operatives aiming to extract sensitive information through fake WhatsApp profiles. According to Indian police and defense sources, the operation—dubbed “Operation Sindoor”—involves individuals impersonating Indian military officials or high-profile civilians to lure journalists into disclosing confidential data. The Jammu and Kashmir Police issued a public alert on May 12, cautioning local journalists and media professionals about a series of phishing attempts carried out via WhatsApp. These attempts include messages from unknown...

May 12, 2025 - Palestine - Independent MPs in the UK have sharply criticized members of the parliamentary press lobby for their perceived failure to adequately report on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, accusing mainstream journalists of ignoring or downplaying what has been described as a genocide. In a striking act of protest on May 10, a group led by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn distributed a handbook titled Journalism in a Genocide to political reporters at Westminster, calling on them to reassess their professional responsibilities. The handbook, created by the media watchdog Declassified UK,...

May 12, 2025 - Nigeria -  In 2024, press freedom in Nigeria took a troubling downturn as at least 56 journalists were attacked, harassed, or detained while covering protests and unrest across the country, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The sharp rise in violence against the press has drawn international condemnation and raised alarm about the state of media freedom in Africa’s most populous country. The incidents, which were concentrated during waves of protests in the latter half of 2024, included cases of physical assault, arbitrary arrests,...

May 12, 2025 - Haiti -  In Haiti, journalists are increasingly under siege as gang violence spreads unchecked and state institutions collapse. The story of Velondie Miracle, a young Haitian reporter, captures the urgent crisis facing the country’s press. After surviving an abduction and narrowly escaping execution by gang members, Miracle is now in hiding. Her experience is not unique—dozens of journalists have been threatened, attacked, or killed simply for doing their jobs. Miracle was reporting on community struggles in Port-au-Prince when she was kidnapped. She believes her attackers targeted her for her coverage, which...

May 12, 2025 - General-  On World Press Freedom Day 2025, global institutions and national governments turned attention to the role of women in media, emphasizing equality, inclusion, and safety for female journalists. Events across South Asia and beyond reflected growing concerns about the underrepresentation of women in media leadership and their disproportionate exposure to harassment and violence in the field. In Nepal, government officials, journalists, and human rights activists gathered at an event organized by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology to celebrate the press's role in strengthening democracy. Speakers stressed the importance...

May 12, 2025 - General -  Pope Leo XIV recently expressed profound solidarity with journalists who are imprisoned worldwide, calling attention to the grave challenges they face. During a public address, he stressed the essential role journalists play in upholding democratic values, defending human rights, and ensuring transparency in governance. The Pope's remarks were a reminder of the critical importance of press freedom in society, emphasizing that it is vital for the public to have access to information that is truthful and unbiased. In his statement, Pope Leo XIV condemned the growing trend of suppressing...

May 12, 2025 - Cambodia -  A Cambodian environmental journalist, Long Kimmarita, has faced a disturbing series of threats and attacks, underscoring the rising dangers faced by reporters in the country. Over recent months, Kimmarita has endured intimidation, surveillance, and verbal harassment, largely due to his reporting on illegal logging and environmental destruction in protected areas. These incidents reflect a growing trend of hostility toward journalists in Cambodia, particularly those who expose corruption or challenge powerful interests. Kimmarita, who writes for the Khmer Times, has reported extensively on land grabs and forest crimes linked to...

May 12, 2025 - South Africa -  The case of the missing journalist Canny Maphanga and her partner continues to draw national attention in South Africa, with legal proceedings gaining momentum and media interest intensifying. On Monday, the Johannesburg High Court is scheduled to hear an urgent application from media organizations requesting permission to cover the upcoming bail proceedings of five suspects connected to the couple’s disappearance. The media’s legal push highlights growing public concern and the broader implications for press freedom and transparency. Canny Maphanga, a seasoned journalist, and her partner went missing several...

May 12, 2025 - Russia -  Russian journalist Ekaterina Barabash made a daring escape from Moscow to Paris in April 2025, aided by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Barabash, a seasoned film critic and former contributor to Radio France Internationale, had been under house arrest since February 2025 for her outspoken criticism of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. She faced charges of spreading "false information" about the Russian military, which carried a potential sentence of up to ten years in prison. The Russian government had also labeled her a “foreign agent” due to her vocal stance against...

May 11, 2025 - Syria/USA -  The remains of American journalist Austin Tice have been discovered in Syria, more than 12 years after his abduction. Tice, a former U.S. Marine and freelance journalist, was taken hostage in August 2012 while reporting on the Syrian civil war. His disappearance became one of the most prominent cases involving a missing journalist, and despite various reports suggesting he was alive, his remains were only recently confirmed. A joint American-Qatari search team found his remains in a cemetery in Aleppo. While the discovery brings a tragic closure to a...

May 10, 2025 - Russia -  In May 2025, Russian journalist Ekaterina Barabash made headlines after executing a daring escape from house arrest in Moscow, reemerging in Paris with the assistance of Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Barabash, a 64-year-old film critic and former contributor to Radio France Internationale and the independent outlet Republic, faced a potential 10-year prison sentence for social media posts condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Her Facebook posts between 2022 and 2023 criticized the devastation caused by the war, including civilian deaths and the destruction of cities. Detained in February 2025 upon...

May 10, 2025 - Qatar/Syria/USA -  A Qatari-led mission has launched a search operation to recover the remains of U.S. hostages killed by the Islamic State (IS) in Syria. The mission, which began on May 7, is being carried out with the support of U.S. personnel and focuses on locating the bodies of hostages who were executed by IS during its control over parts of Syria from 2014 to 2017. Three sets of unidentified remains have been found so far, and the mission's primary goal is to recover the body of aid worker Peter Kassig,...

May 10, 2025 - Somalia -  Somalia remains one of the most dangerous countries for journalists, with a history marked by violence, repression, and systemic threats to media freedom. The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) recently released its 14th annual State of the Media Report, highlighting the persistent challenges faced by Somali journalists. Notably, 2024 marked the first year since 2005 without a journalist's death, yet the report underscores ongoing issues such as arbitrary arrests, physical assaults, and online harassment. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports that over 50 media professionals have been...

May 10, 2025 - Niger -  Three radio journalists have been arrested by military authorities in Niger following their reports on a growing diplomatic rift between Niger's ruling junta and its international allies, specifically Russia and Turkey. The arrests have sparked widespread condemnation from press freedom advocates and civil society organizations, who argue that the detentions are a blatant attempt to suppress media independence and control public discourse. The journalists, working for Radio Anfani, a private media outlet based in Niamey, were reportedly detained by the country’s General Directorate of External Security. Their arrest came...

May 09, 2025 - General -  On May 3, 2025, the PEN World Voices Festival concluded with a poignant closing night event titled Under Siege: The Perils of Journalism in an Age of State Repression. Held at Judson Memorial Church in New York City, the discussion spotlighted the escalating threats faced by journalists worldwide as governments intensify efforts to suppress independent reporting. Moderated by Summer Lopez, Interim Co-CEO and Chief Program Officer for Free Expression at PEN America, the panel featured three distinguished journalists: Rana Ayyub – Indian journalist and columnist for The Washington Post,...

May 09, 2025 - Russia -  Russian journalist Veronika Orlova, a correspondent for the independent news channel SOTAvision, was sentenced to 13 days of administrative detention after filming a protest near the Kremlin on May 6, 2025. The protest, led by activist Grigory Saksonov, featured a sign comparing Russian President Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler. Orlova was arrested by security forces while she was walking near the Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge in Moscow, where she had been documenting the demonstration. The journalist was charged with disobeying police officers, a common accusation used to detain protestors and...

May 09, 2025 - India/Pakistan-  On May 6, 2025, Hilal Mir, a veteran journalist from Srinagar, was detained by the Counter-Intelligence Kashmir (CIK) wing of the Jammu and Kashmir Police. Authorities allege that Mir disseminated "extremist and distorted content" on social media, aiming to disturb public order and promote secessionist ideology. The detention centers around a Facebook post shared by Mir on May 1, which featured a photograph of an elderly woman amidst debris, reportedly from homes demolished by security forces in south Kashmir. Accompanying the image was a poem reflecting on the suffering of...

May 09, 2025 - Germany -  On May 3, 2025, journalists, scholars, and artists convened at the Haus am Dom cultural center in Frankfurt to commemorate World Press Freedom Day. The event, titled “Sichtbar verstummt?” (“Visibly Silenced?”), marked the inaugural session of the “Frankfurter Gespräche” (“Frankfurt Talks”) series. Co-hosted by Haus am Dom and the International Journalists Association (IJA)—a press organization established by Turkish journalists in exile in Germany in 2017—the gathering focused on the escalating challenges faced by journalists, particularly those in exile, amidst increasing political repression and digital censorship. The discussions highlighted the...

May 09, 2025 - Turkey -  Ayşemden Akın, editor-in-chief of the Turkish Cypriot online newspaper Bugün Kıbrıs, is facing serious threats to her life following a series of investigative reports exposing alleged corruption and organized crime involving high-ranking officials in Turkey and the Turkish-occupied north of Cyprus. The situation escalated after her primary source, Cemil Önal, was assassinated in the Netherlands on May 1, 2025. Akın's investigative series, titled "Halil Falyalı Lives," delved into the enduring influence of the late casino tycoon Halil Falyalı, who was murdered in 2022. In her reports, Akın highlighted allegations...