News

November 04, 2025 - Spain -  Veteran journalist José Ismael Martínez was violently targeted by a group of masked individuals while covering a protest on the campus of the University of Navarra in Pamplona on October 30. Martínez, working for the online outlet El Español and wearing a press badge, had been filming a gathering of far-left demonstrators when five or six hooded attackers surrounded him. They hurled objects, isolated him from his colleagues, cornered him, and kicked him while he was on the ground. Martínez eventually sought refuge with nearby riot police and was...

November 04, 2025 - UK/Tunisia/USA - British-Tunisian commentator and journalist Sami Hamdi, known for his outspoken commentary on the war in Gaza and pro-Palestinian advocacy, is at the centre of a diplomatic and human-rights dispute after suffering a serious health scare during his detention by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. His family and legal team say that Hamdi, 35, reported excruciating left-side abdominal pain while being held in an overcrowded cell at the McFarland, California, facility, prompting urgent medical attention only after repeated appeals and diplomatic pressure. Hamdi was detained on October...

November 04, 2025 - Palestine -  A thorough investigation by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reveals a troubling surge in restrictions placed on Palestinian journalists by Israeli authorities at the Al‑Aqsa Mosque compound during the 2025 Ramadan period. According to CPJ data, at least ten Palestinian media workers were issued exclusion orders barring them from entering the holy site, with some subjected to arrest, equipment confiscation, or indefinite bans ranging up to several months. Journalists interviewed by CPJ report being summoned to police stations under vague pretences of “threat to public order” or “undermining...

November 04, 2025 - Turkey -  Turkish authorities have blocked the social-media account of journalist Serdar Akinan on the platform X after he published posts alleging wrongdoing by a youth foundation led by Burak Erdoğan, son of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Akinan’s account was suspended under a court order citing “national-security” grounds, following his reports on the foundation’s financial links and public-contracting activities. The decision, dated November 4, came after Akinan posted documentation suggesting the youth foundation had benefited from government-linked tenders and lacked transparency in its operations. Local media lawyers say the blocking order...

November 03, 2025 - General -  An alarming trend in media staffing has sparked concern among journalism scholars, as hundreds of journalists across the United States face dismissal amid shrinking newsrooms and shifting economic models. According to an analysis shared by the media outlet, journalism professor Dr Christopher Marston warns that the wave of layoffs signals a deeper threat to the profession and to public access to reliable information. Marston points out that when so many experienced reporters lose their jobs simultaneously, the loss is not simply individual—it erodes institutional memory, undermines newsroom capacity for...

November 03, 2025 - General -  On the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC) issued a strongly worded statement highlighting the escalating threats to journalists worldwide, with a particular emphasis on women reporters who are at heightened risk from technology-facilitated abuse. The statement points to the growing use of artificial intelligence, deep-fake tools, non-consensual sharing of intimate images, and coordinated online campaigns aimed at discrediting women in media. These tactics are described as not merely digital harassment but as attacks that carry significant real-world consequences. The MFC...

November 03, 2025 - Afghanistan -  A leading Afghan media rights organization has issued a stark warning that approximately ninety percent of journalist killings in Afghanistan have gone uninvestigated. The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) revealed that over the past two decades, at least 130 journalists have been killed in the country, yet investigations into the vast majority of those deaths have never been opened.The AFJC’s statement, published to mark the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, highlights a deepening culture of impunity—particularly under the rule of the Taliban. The watchdog reported that...

November 03, 2025 - Ukraine/Russia -  A report from the Ukrainian government reveals that since the full-scale invasion by Russia began in February 2022, at least 116 journalists have been killed and 26 remain in captivity while reporting on the conflict. The figures were released by the country’s culture ministry and underscore the extreme risk media professionals face in covering one of the most dangerous war zones globally.These casualties comprise Ukrainian and international journalists who were working on the front lines or documenting occupation, shelling, aerial attacks, and rights abuses. Many of the deaths occurred...

November 03, 2025 - Colombia -  Colombia’s highest criminal court has upheld the prison sentences of two former intelligence officers linked to the psychological torture of investigative journalist Claudia Julieta Duque. The decision from the Supreme Court of Colombia’s Criminal Cassation Chamber confirms the earlier rulings against Emiro Rojas Granados, ex-deputy director of the former state intelligence agency, and Néstor Pachón Bermúdez, a former agent, for their roles in a harassment campaign targeting Duque for her reporting. As originally determined in the first and second instance courts, Rojas Granados was sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment...

November 03, 2025 - Iraq -  A newly published report by the Nexîl Center for Journalist Rights and Freedoms reveals that at least 100 journalists in Iraq have been killed over the last ten years, underscoring the extreme dangers that media workers confront in the country. The study notes that among those fatalities, 30 occurred during the mass protest movement known as the Tishrin protests, yet none of the perpetrators have been publicly held to account. The Tishrin protests, referenced in the report, saw hundreds of Iraqi citizens killed and thousands wounded. In that mix...

November 03, 2025 - Qatar -  On the occasion of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, the Qatar Press Centre reaffirmed its commitment to press freedom and called on governments and international bodies to hold accountable those responsible for violence against media workers. The center emphasized that the day serves as a stark reminder that free expression remains under threat, and that many journalists around the world continue to be killed, detained, or abducted with impunity. In a statement, the center affirmed that protecting journalists is not optional but a moral...

November 03, 2025 - Ghana - On the annual International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, press-freedom advocates have pointed out the glaring absence of accountability in the 2019 killing of Ghanaian investigative reporter Ahmed Hussein‑Suale Divela. Nearly seven years after Suale was shot dead in Accra, none of the persons who directed or carried out the crime have been definitively identified, charged, or convicted, raising serious concerns about systemic impunity in Ghana’s media landscape. Suale was a member of the investigative journalism outfit Tiger Eye PI. His work focused on exposing corruption-linked...

November 03, 2025 - USA/Palestine -  In the wake of a fragile ceasefire, officials in the United States Department of State have quietly renewed pressure on the Gaza Strip embargo policy, asking Israel to permit foreign press into the territory now that large-scale hostilities have paused. Two senior U.S. officials told The Times of Israel that Washington has pushed the issue repeatedly this year, and that Donald Trump expressed readiness in August for journalists to enter Gaza, though he acknowledged the hazardous conditions. U.S. officials stress that while the request is active, it is not...

November 03, 2025 - Sudan - The takeover of the North Darfur capital El Fasher by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has exposed a severe deterioration in press freedom and journalist safety in Sudan. The takeover followed an 18-month siege and was accompanied by a communications blackout that has left many journalists unaccounted for. Local rights groups reported that at least 13 journalists went missing during the RSF’s advance and capture of the city, with some female journalists reportedly subjected to rape. Survivors describe a broader pattern of violence against civilians, including the targeting...

November 02, 2025 - General -  The global campaign for press freedom gained fresh momentum as major organizations issued urgent calls ahead of the annual International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, marking 2 November. Leading the charge, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) released a list of 34 “press-freedom predators” whose actions in 2025 epitomize the erosion of media rights worldwide. These individuals and entities span categories of political, security, legal, economic, and social suppression—from state actors like Vladimir Putin and Mohammed bin Salman, to private-sector manipulators such as Elon Musk. RSF emphasizes that...

November 02, 2025 - Brazil -  In the heart of the Pantanal wetlands, veteran local environmental correspondent Lucia Ferreira has spent weeks documenting an unprecedented outbreak of wildfires that threatens one of the world’s most biodiverse regions. Her accounts go beyond flame counts and satellite images to focus on firefighters on the front line, indigenous communities watching ancestral lands go up in smoke, and the urgent question of accountability in the face of climate change. According to recent reporting by the BBC, Ferreira’s work tracks the shifting conditions in the Pantanal, which have turned historically...

November 02, 2025 - USA/Palestine -  The prominent South African journalist Debora Patta has been dismissed from CBS News following fallout from a highly contested interview with former US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, which aired during coverage of the conflict in Gaza. The termination was announced shortly after Huckabee publicly accused the network of selectively editing his remarks to misrepresent his position on the humanitarian situation. According to multiple reports, Patta’s departure comes amid widespread layoffs that eliminated roughly 100 positions at CBS, a move reportedly connected to staffing changes under newly appointed editor-in-chief...

November 02, 2025 - Pakistan -  A comprehensive review from the Pakistan Press Foundation indicates that 2025 has been a particularly dangerous year for journalists in Pakistan, with at least 137 documented incidents targeting media professionals between January and October. The cases span a wide spectrum of intimidation tactics, including physical assaults, detentions, legal harassment, and organized raids. In the course of its findings, the PPF noted 35 instances of physical violence or ill-treatment, alongside at least five journalists being held in custody and two recorded abductions. Legal pressures are mounting as well: authorities have...

November 02, 2025 - France - A French correspondent says he was expelled from Russia after his reporting triggered hostile responses from authorities. According to the journalist, who has asked to remain unnamed for the moment, his investigations into military operations and sensitive issues related to the war in Ukraine drew heightened scrutiny. He claims that Russian officials pressured his media outlet and ultimately revoked his accreditation, effectively forcing his departure. His experience illustrates an increasingly harsh climate for foreign media operating in Russia. He recounted how the costs of reporting in Russia became unsustainable...

November 02, 2025 - General - On the occasion of the 2025 International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists (IDEI), the global press-freedom organization Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has issued a forceful appeal for a structural overhaul of how killings and attacks on journalists are investigated and prosecuted. The group’s statement, issued on 30 October 2025, points out that despite mounting evidence of targeted violence against media workers, the rate of accountability remains unacceptably low. The CPJ emphasizes that the arbitrary killing of journalists is not just a tragedy for individuals and...

November 01, 2025 - UK/USA -  The wife of British journalist and commentator Sami Hamdi has spoken out after her husband was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at San Francisco International Airport during a U.S. speaking tour. His visa was revoked, and he was held without a clear explanation, drawing sharp concerns about press freedom and due process. Soumaya Hamdi said she had only one thirty-second phone call with her husband, during which he told her he was being held at an ICE detention center in McFarland, California, and had a court...

November 01, 2025 - Afghanistan -  Afghan freelance journalist Sayed Rashid Kashifi has been released after nearly seven months in detention under Taliban authorities. His release on November 1 follows mounting calls from media rights groups demanding an end to the ongoing detention of journalists in Afghanistan. Kashifi had been arrested in April 2025 by agents of the General Directorate of Intelligence on accusations of collaborating with international media outlets. His arrest, carried out without a warrant, led to his transfer between multiple detention facilities, including the notorious Directorate 40 and Kabul’s Pul-e-Charkhi Prison. The...

November 01, 2025 - Belarus - In a poignant turn of events, journalist Katsiaryna Andreyeva—who has become a symbol of press freedom under assault in Belarus—continues to serve an eight-year prison sentence, while her partner, Ihar Ilyash, has now also been jailed after remaining in the country to support her. According to the reporting, Andreyeva was arrested in late 2020 following a livestream from Minsk and subsequently convicted on charges of treason and extremism. Ilyash chose not to leave Belarus during the protests and his wife’s detention, and his arrest marks a wider crackdown on...

November 01, 2025 - Palestine/USA - An American journalist who participated in the aid mission organized by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) has revealed harrowing accounts of torture while held in an Israeli detention facility. Noa Avishag Schnall, a Jewish-American reporter aboard a Gaza-bound vessel intercepted by Israeli forces, said she witnessed and personally endured physical and psychological abuse alongside Palestinian detainees. Her testimony is captured in a video shared on social media, where she described the ordeal in stark detail. According to her account, Schnall and fellow detainees were subjected to intimidation, threats, and...

November 01, 2025 - Bangladesh -  Journalists across Bangladesh mobilized for nationwide rallies on Saturday, united under the call “No Wage Board, No Media,” and presented a 39-point charter of demands. The demonstrations, organized by the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ), convened in major cities including Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Barishal, Khulna, Gazipur, Mymensingh, and Narayanganj. At the rally in front of the Jatiya Press Club in Dhaka, BFUJ Secretary-General Kader Gani Chowdhury formally submitted the demands, while Dhaka Union of Journalists President Shahidul Islam and Jatiya Press Club President Hasan Hafiz addressed the...