News

August 21, 2025 - Ghana - In a joint interview, JURIST Chief of Staff for Africa Lana Osei and Associate Editorial Director Alanah Vargas speak with veteran Ghanaian journalist Kwaku Sakyi-Danso as he reflects on his 24-year career covering Ghana’s Parliament during the media’s evolution from military to civilian rule. He speaks candidly about the threat untrained bloggers pose to public trust, the ethical responsibilities of accredited journalists, and his growing focus on regional parliamentary affairs. Sakyi‑Danso has covered the ECOWAS Parliament for 24 years, charting Ghana’s shift from military rule to civilian governance. He...

August 21, 2025 - Palestine - Israeli special forces arrested Muath Amarna, a Palestinian journalist who had previously lost an eye in 2019 while covering events. He was detained while traveling along the road between Bethlehem and Hebron in the southern West Bank and taken to an undisclosed location. In a separate operation in Qusra town, south of Nablus (northern West Bank), Israeli forces wounded one person with a rubber-coated metal bullet, and several others suffered from tear gas inhalation. Forces reportedly fired tear gas and rubber bullets at youths and residential areas, and even...

August 21, 2025 - USA/Palestine -  The U.S. State Department has terminated its top press officer for Israeli‑Palestinian affairs, Shahed Ghoreishi, following a series of internal disputes over messaging concerning Gaza and Israel. Ghoreishi, a contractor in the Bureau of Near East Affairs, had drafted talking points that included condemnation of the proposed forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza and condolences for journalists killed there—both of which were later rejected by department leadership. These disagreements reportedly led to his dismissal. Ghoreishi’s proposed line in a public statement stated: “We do not support the forced displacement...

August 21, 2025 - Serbia/Albania - radio correspondent Đuro Slavuj and driver Ranko Perenić of Radio Priština vanished while travelling to cover the return of kidnapped monks at Sveti Vrači monastery in western Kosovo. Their blue Zastava 128 vehicle and all traces of them disappeared after they entered a region under KLA control, marking one of the earliest journalist disappearances during the conflict. Nearly three decades later, their fate remains unresolved. Every year on the anniversary of their disappearance, journalists, families, and members of the Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS) gather at the site of...

August 21, 2025 - USA/Palestine -  Seventeen U.S. senators, including prominent figures like Brian Schatz, Elizabeth Warren, Tim Kaine, and Bernie Sanders, have formally written to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, demanding urgent U.S. action over Israel’s lethal attacks on journalists in Gaza. Their statement directly followed a deadly Israeli airstrike that killed several Al Jazeera journalists—most notably Anas al-Sharif—bringing the total number of journalist fatalities in Gaza since October 2023 to at least 238, according to Gaza Government Media Office records. The senators voiced deep concern over the lack of credible evidence supporting Israel’s...

August 21, 2025 - USA -  Mario Guevara, a Salvadoran-born, Spanish-language journalist based in Georgia, has filed legal action against U.S. authorities, asserting that his ongoing detention by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) amounts to retaliation for his reporting and livestreaming of immigration enforcement activities. On June 14, while covering a “No Kings” protest near Atlanta and clearly identifying as press, Guevara was arrested by local police. Although criminal charges—including unlawful assembly and obstruction—were swiftly dropped, ICE took him into custody and transferred him to immigration detention. In early July, an immigration judge granted him...

August 21, 2025 - Palestine -  Israeli special forces carried out raids across the occupied West Bank that culminated in the arrest of veteran journalist Muath Amarna and left several others injured. Amarna, who had previously lost an eye while covering earlier hostilities in 2019, was detained while traveling on the road between Bethlehem and Hebron and taken to an undisclosed location. During these operations, Israeli forces aggressively used rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas in Qusra town, south of Nablus. Clashes erupted, resulting in injuries to multiple Palestinians—one young man was treated at a...

August 21, 2025 - USA -  On August 20, 2025, federal immigration agents clashed violently with demonstrators outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in downtown San Francisco. The confrontation erupted after protesters gathered at 100 Montgomery Street to oppose the detention of an asylum-seeker inside the nearby immigration court. Witnesses reported that ICE officers escalated the situation by deploying pepper spray, batons, and tasers against the crowd, which included both activists and members of the press. Local outlet Mission Local reported that at least one protester was detained during the clash. Disturbingly,...

August 21, 2025 - USA/Palestine - A group of 17 United States Senators has formally urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to press the Israeli government to ensure the safety of journalists in Gaza and facilitate access for international media into the region. The appeal comes just one week after a tragic Israeli strike that resulted in the deaths of several journalists. In their letter, the senators emphasised that “banning and censoring media organizations and targeting or threatening members of the press is unacceptable and must stop.” They called on the U.S. to make clear...

August 20, 2025 - Chile/Peru - Olfran Domingo Rivas Ramos, alias "Pancho," has been apprehended in Santiago, Chile, as a suspect in the January 20 assassination of Peruvian journalist Gastón Medina Sotomayor. Rivas Ramos was detained by Chilean authorities during a routine traffic stop in Maipú—even though he had been wanted in connection with Medina’s killing—after being found carrying drugs and using false identification. He allegedly admitted to belonging to the criminal gang Los Piratas de Aragua. His arrest holds significant promise for advancing justice in a case that has haunted Peruvian media freedom. Medina,...

August 20, 2025 - Palestine -  In his August 20, 2025, commentary, freelance journalist Dario Sabaghi exposes how recent strikes on media workers in Gaza—most notably the August 10 attack on an Al Jazeera crew—underscore a troubling, long-standing pattern of violence that empowers entrenched impunity. Sabaghi argues that the deliberate targeting of journalists not only thwarts independent reporting but also normalizes such attacks, emboldening Israeli forces to continue them without fear of accountability. He observes that these assaults echo past incidents in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, signaling that such violence is systemic—part of a broader...

August 20, 2025 - China -  The National Press Club (NPC) has announced that it will present its 2025 President’s Award to Dong Yuyu, a veteran Chinese journalist and former editor sentenced to seven years on espionage charges. NPC President Mike Balsamo asserted, “Journalism is not espionage. Dong Yuyu is being punished for his work and his words.” He called on Chinese authorities to release Dong immediately and cease criminalizing standard newsgathering and professional interactions with foreign colleagues. Dong’s son, Yifu, is slated to accept the award on his behalf and deliver remarks during the...

August 20, 2025 - USA -  Veteran Boston journalist Lisa Hughes, a longtime anchor at WBZ-TV (CBS Boston), has filed a $4 million lawsuit against CBS, alleging that she was removed from her anchor role because she is white. Hughes, an Emmy-winning reporter with more than two decades at the station, claims the decision reflects a discriminatory application of the network’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) agenda rather than a fair employment decision. According to the lawsuit, Hughes had consistently high ratings and an established reputation as a respected anchor. However, in 2022, CBS executives...

August 20, 2025 - Sri Lanka/India -  Tamil photojournalist and human rights defender Kanapathipillai Kumanan, based in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province, has become the focal point of renewed state harassment. On August 7, 2025, Kumanan was issued a summons by the Counter Terrorism Investigation Department (CTID) to appear for questioning on August 17, with no official rationale provided. It is believed the summons relates to his social media posts and recent reporting on mass grave excavations at Chemmani (Chemmani) and Kokkuthodvai, which unearthed over 140 skeletal remains over 41 days—images that spread widely through advocacy...

August 20, 2025 - Iraq/Kurdistan -  Investigative journalist Sherwan Sherwani, formerly editor of Bashur magazine and known for reporting on corruption in Iraqi Kurdistan, received yet another prison sentence—four years and five months just weeks before his scheduled release. This ruling came on August 19, 2025, at an Erbil court, effectively delaying his release from prison in September 2025, according to his lawyer, Mohamed Abdallah. Sherwani’s legal troubles trace back to his October 2020 arrest, when he was charged with “espionage” and “incitement to protest and destabilize the region.” In February 2021, he received a six-year prison...

Source: CPJ - Nairobi, August 20, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply alarmed by the abduction of Ethiopian newspaper editor Yonas Amare, the arbitrary detention of journalist Khadar Mohamed Ismael, and the incommunicado detention of radio host Abdulsemed Mohammed. On August 13, masked men reportedly wearing military uniforms abducted Yonas, who works with the privately owned Reporter newspaper, from his home in Sheger City on the outskirts of the capital, Addis Ababa, according to multiple news outlets and colleagues who spoke with CPJ on condition of anonymity, citing safety concerns. Eyewitnesses said that the men who abducted Yonas first went...

20 August 2025 – Erbil Kurdish investigative journalist Sherwan Sherwani has been handed a new prison sentence just days before his expected release, in a move widely condemned as politically motivated. An Erbil court ruled that Sherwani must serve an additional four years and five months in prison, extending his incarceration that began in 2020. According to his lawyer, the timing of the verdict is a deliberate attempt to keep him behind bars, despite his nearing release date. Plans to appeal the ruling have already been announced. A History of Repeated Sentences Sherwani, a well-known...

August 19, 2025 - Palestine -  On Monday, August 18, 2025, Israeli forces carried out heavy shelling across the Gaza Strip, striking both residential areas and displacement sites. Among the victims was Islam al-Kumi, a Palestinian journalist who lost his life when Israeli tanks bombarded a house belonging to the al-Ghazi family in the Sabra neighborhood of western Gaza. The strike killed al-Kumi and a woman, while others in the home sustained injuries. His death marks another devastating loss for Palestinian journalism, as reporters continue to face immense risks while documenting the war’s toll on...

August 19, 2025 - USA - A lawsuit was filed against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), alleging the deployment of excessive force against protesters and journalists during immigration-related protests in Los Angeles. The suit, spearheaded by organizations like the ACLU of Southern California and the Los Angeles Press Club, accuses DHS agents of targeting peaceful demonstrators with rubber bullets, pepper balls, tear gas, and flash‑bang grenades, often without warning—even when journalists clearly displayed press credentials. Journalists were notably among the casualties: at least 20 to 27 media professionals reportedly suffered injuries from less-lethal munitions,...

August 19, 2025 - Yemen -  On August 16, 2025, Yemeni security forces raided the home of Jamana News Agency journalist Hamoud Hazz’a in Al‑Jufaina camp, Marib Governorate. His mobile phone and laptop were confiscated, and he was taken to an undisclosed location with no legal basis cited. Before the raid, Hazz’a had posted on Facebook that security personnel were stationed outside his home and that the Fourth Security Zone force had forcibly broken down his door, terrifying his family. Following his arrest, Hazz’a was transferred from political security detention to military prosecution and presented...

August 18, 2025 - Palestine -  In a deeply disturbing revelation, Al Jazeera reported that the remains of journalist Marwa Musallam were found 45 days after she was buried alive in the rubble of an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City. The harrowing incident reportedly occurred in July 2025, when an Israeli strike collapsed the building where Musallam was located. Despite her cries for help, rescue efforts were thwarted by ongoing bombardment and the denial of access to the area for emergency crews. Her remains were only recovered in mid‑August, roughly six weeks after the attack....

Cape Town, August 17, 2025 – More than 2,000 South African journalists and media workers marched through Sea Point, Cape Town, demanding protection for Palestinian colleagues in Gaza and denouncing what they described as Israel’s deliberate targeting of the press. The demonstration, organized by Journalists Against Apartheid (JAA) and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, drew wide support from civil society, including Mothers4Gaza, South African Jews for a Free Palestine, and Healthcare Workers 4 Palestine. Catalyst: Al-Shifa Hospital Strike The march was sparked by the August 10 airstrike on a tent outside Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City,...

August 18, 2025 - Vietnam -  In a powerful and revealing interview, independent journalist Doan Bao Chau declares: “My case clearly shows there is no press freedom in Vietnam.” Speaking to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), he asserts that the charges leveled against him are entirely fabricated and politically motivated. According to Chau, authorities accused him—in a message delivered to his wife—of leading the so‑called “Vinh Long State Party,” a claim he firmly rejects. He insists, “I have never been involved in any political party,” affirming instead that the real issue is his journalistic work: highlighting...

August 18, 2025 - Palestine -  In her compelling Guardian commentary published on 18 August 2025, Nesrine Malik elevates the resilience, dignity, and professionalism of Gaza’s journalists—even as they face targeted violence and relentless danger. Malik introduces Tamer Almisshal, the veteran's head of Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau, who has witnessed the deaths of key colleagues—Hamza al-Dahdouh, Samer Abu Daqqa, and Anas al-Sharif—yet continues to lead a newsroom gripped by trauma, hunger, and loss. Malik warns that the targeting of these journalists appears deliberate, part of a broader strategy enforced by Israeli operations to silence first-hand accounts...

August 18, 2025 - General -  The war in Gaza has become the deadliest conflict for journalists ever recorded, with more than 270 killed, most of them Palestinians. Despite repeated condemnations and legal efforts, traditional methods to protect journalists have proven ineffective. A recent initiative by the Columbia Journalism Review gathered media thinkers and press freedom advocates to propose urgent new approaches, arguing that symbolic protest, direct accountability, and institutional innovation are necessary to confront Israel’s ongoing suppression of independent reporting. The proposals stress that journalists and media organizations must move beyond passive statements and...