News

April 11, 2025 - France/Georgia -  In April 2025, two French journalists were denied entry into Georgia after reporting on anti-government protests. This incident has sparked concern among press freedom organizations, including Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which called it a disturbing sign of Georgia’s growing authoritarianism. The journalists had previously covered demonstrations opposing a controversial "foreign agents" bill that critics say is aimed at silencing dissent and restricting civil society. The "foreign agents" bill requires media outlets and NGOs that receive more than 20% of their funding from foreign sources to register as organizations acting...

April 11, 2025 - Turkey - In April 2025, Turkish journalist Furkan Karabay was detained after publishing a report alleging that a judiciary official from the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) was involved in an assault. Karabay, known for his investigative work, had recently written about alleged misconduct involving state officials. His arrest has drawn criticism from press freedom groups, who see it as another alarming step in Turkey’s ongoing crackdown on journalists. Karabay’s case is not isolated. In recent months, Turkish authorities have escalated pressure on media professionals, particularly those reporting on government corruption,...

April 11, 2025 - Russia -  In April 2025, Russian journalist Artyom Kriger was sentenced to five and a half years in prison for allegedly participating in an extremist organization. The charges are tied to his supposed association with Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), which Russian authorities have labeled as extremist. Kriger’s sentencing, along with three other journalists—Antonina Favorskaya, Konstantin Gabov, and Sergei Karelin—has drawn widespread condemnation from press freedom organizations worldwide. Kriger, known for his work with the independent media outlet SOTAvision, had reported extensively on anti-Kremlin protests and the imprisonment and death of...

April 11, 2025, Iraq/Turkey - In April 2025, Turkish courts began prosecuting 189 individuals—mostly university students and journalists—arrested during mass protests sparked by the detention of Istanbul’s opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu. The protests, held on March 19, were some of the largest in Turkey in recent years, drawing thousands of participants across the country. Over 2,000 people were detained nationwide, with Istanbul seeing the highest number of arrests. Those on trial face charges of participating in unauthorized demonstrations and resisting police orders. If convicted, sentences could range from six months to four years in prison....

April 11, 2025 - Sudan -  The ongoing conflict in Sudan took a deadly turn for press freedom and civilian life as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) intensified their use of drone strikes. In March 2025, a drone attack by the RSF killed four members of a Sudanese state television crew along with two military-affiliated journalists. The group was reporting near the presidential palace in Khartoum, shortly after the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) reclaimed the area from RSF control. The attack marked a direct blow to journalists covering the war on the ground. The RSF’s...

April 11, 2025 - Nepal -  Nepal’s press freedom is under scrutiny following the deaths of two journalists—Suresh Rajak and Suresh Bhul—in separate incidents, with investigations into both cases facing significant delays. On March 28, 2025, Avenues Television cameraman Suresh Rajak was killed while covering a pro-monarchy protest in Kathmandu. Trapped inside a building set ablaze by demonstrators, Rajak was unable to escape as protestors reportedly hindered rescue efforts by pelting stones at firefighters. The Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) condemned the incident as a targeted attack on press freedom and has demanded a high-level,...

April 11, 2025 - Serbia -  The long-running case of Slavko Ćuruvija, a Serbian journalist murdered in 1999, reached a controversial conclusion in February 2024 when a Belgrade appeals court acquitted all four men previously convicted of orchestrating his killing. Ćuruvija, a fierce critic of then-President Slobodan Milošević, was gunned down outside his apartment during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. His death became one of the most emblematic cases of violence against journalists in post-war Europe. In 2019, a special court found four former members of Serbia’s State Security Service guilty of organizing and executing...

April 11, 2025 - Afghanistan/Australia -  In April 2025, Australian photojournalist Andrew Quilty was unexpectedly barred from attending a committal hearing at Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court. The hearing concerned former SAS soldier Oliver Schulz, who faces a war crime charge for allegedly murdering an Afghan man, Dad Mohammad, during a 2012 mission in Uruzgan province. Quilty, a prosecution witness, had been advised by both prosecution and defence lawyers to avoid attending due to his status as a witness. Despite this, he arrived at the court to cover the proceedings for The Monthly. Magistrate Greg...

April 11, 2025 - Pakistan -  The killing of journalist Allah Dino Shar in Thari Mirwah, Khairpur district, Sindh, has sparked widespread outrage and protests across the region. Shar, who worked for Hum News, was found dead on April 10, 2025, in an open field, bearing multiple wounds caused by a sharp weapon. His murder has been described by colleagues and rights advocates as a targeted attack, highlighting the persistent dangers faced by journalists in Pakistan. Soon after the discovery of Shar's body, journalists in Khairpur and surrounding towns, including Kumb, Gambat, Ranipur, and Pir-Jo-Got,...

April 10, 2025 - Ethiopia -  In March 2025, Ethiopian authorities detained seven journalists from the Ethiopian Broadcasting Service (EBS), accusing them of terrorism. The arrests followed the broadcast of a controversial episode of the program Addis Meiraf, which aired on March 23. The show featured Birtukan Temesgen, a woman who alleged she had been abducted and raped by men in military uniforms in 2020. Days after the broadcast, Temesgen appeared on state television and retracted her statement, prompting EBS to issue a public apology and remove the episode. The journalists, who included editors, producers,...

April 10, 2025 - India -  On March 30, 2025, journalist Sumit Jha from the news outlet South First was detained by Hyderabad police while covering student-led environmental protests at the University of Hyderabad. The demonstrations were in response to the Telangana government's decision to clear 400 acres of forested land adjacent to the university campus for auction, potentially for IT development. The protests intensified when bulldozers arrived on campus to commence land clearing. Students, fearing irreversible environmental damage, attempted to halt the machinery and were met with police intervention. During the confrontation, Jha, despite...

April 10, 2025 - Turkey -  On April 10, 2025, two high-profile Turkish investigative journalists, Timur Soykan of BirGün and Murat Ağırel of Cumhuriyet, were detained by police in Istanbul. Authorities charged them with blackmail and threats, claims their newspapers argue are retaliation for critical reporting. The arrests were based on a complaint filed by a jailed media executive, who alleged the journalists attempted to extort him over the sale of Flash Haber TV. Both Soykan and Ağırel are known for exposing corruption, organized crime, and government scandals. Their detention sparked outcry across Turkey’s media...

April 10, 2025 - Palestine/Israel -  In May 2025, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) publicly expressed solidarity with journalists worldwide who are facing oppression, censorship, and violence. This move came amid growing concerns over the safety and freedom of the press in many countries, where journalists face harassment, arbitrary arrests, and even killings for doing their work. PFUJ highlighted cases from various parts of the world where journalists continue to suffer under authoritarian regimes, conflict zones, and politically sensitive environments. They condemned attacks on press freedom as an attack on democracy itself and...

April 10, 2025 - Iran -  On April 9, 2025, Iranian journalist and human rights defender Vida Rabbani was conditionally released from Tehran’s Evin Prison after serving 32 months of a five-year sentence. Her release was granted under a provisional suspension of two years of her sentence by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court. Rabbani was initially detained in January 2020 while reporting on protests following the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Although her sentence was later suspended, she was rearrested during the 2022 protests over the...

April 10, 2025 - Belgium/Ukraine -  From April 9 to 11, 2025, the European Parliament’s Info Hub in Brussels hosted a poignant photo exhibition titled Imprisoned Freedom, dedicated to Ukrainian journalists unlawfully detained by Russian authorities. Organized by NGO Integrity UA, the Mission of Ukraine to the EU, the Institute of Mass Information, and media platform Promote Ukraine, with support from the International Renaissance Foundation, the exhibition aimed to shed light on the challenges faced by media professionals in occupied territories. The exhibition featured powerful narratives and images of at least 30 Ukrainian journalists currently...

April 10, 2025 - India -  On April 10, 2025, journalist and Right to Information (RTI) activist Raghvendra Bajpai was shot dead in Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh. Bajpai, a correspondent for the Hindi daily Dainik Jagran, was ambushed while crossing the Hempur railway overbridge along the Lucknow-Delhi National Highway. His assassination was the result of a murder plot allegedly orchestrated by a local temple priest, Vikas Rathore, also known as Shivanand Baba. According to police investigations, Bajpai had threatened to expose Rathore after witnessing him sexually assaulting a minor boy at his temple. Fearing public scandal...

April 10, 2025 - Russia -  On April 10, 2025, a Moscow court sentenced four journalists—Antonina Favorskaya, Artyom Kriger, Sergey Karelin, and Konstantin Gabov—to five and a half years in prison for alleged involvement with the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), which was designated as an extremist organization by Russian authorities in 2021. Favorskaya and Kriger were affiliated with the independent outlet SotaVision, known for covering protests and political trials. Gabov and Karelin worked as freelance journalists for international media organizations, including Reuters and the Associated Press. The journalists were accused of...

April 10, 2025 - Haiti -  On March 31, 2025, Haitian journalist Roger Claudy Israël and his brother Marco were abducted in Mirebalais during a violent offensive by the armed gang coalition Viv Ansanm. Israël, founder of local radio station RC FM and former correspondent for Radio Ginen, was targeted amid escalating violence against journalists in the region. A video released by the gang showed the brothers handcuffed and threatened with execution, highlighting the severe risks faced by media professionals in Haiti. The abduction prompted urgent calls for their release from organizations including Reporters Without...

April 09, 2025 - Belgium -  On March 6, 2025, Belgian freelance photojournalist Simon Clément was arrested at Lengpui Airport in Aizawl, Mizoram, after two empty bullet cartridges were discovered in his luggage during a routine security check. Clément, who had recently returned from Myanmar, claimed the spent casings were souvenirs from his time documenting conflict zones in Chin State. Authorities charged Clément under Section 25(1-B) of the Indian Arms Act, 1959, for possession of ammunition, and Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, 1946, for allegedly crossing into Myanmar without valid documentation. He was initially...

April 09, 2025 - India -  On April 11, 2025, freelance journalist Rupesh Kumar Singh completed 1,000 days of incarceration under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Singh was arrested on July 17, 2022, in Jharkhand on charges of alleged links to Maoist groups, a claim he and his supporters vehemently deny. His arrest followed a raid on his residence, during which electronic devices were seized. Subsequently, he was implicated in multiple UAPA cases, raising concerns about the misuse of anti-terror laws to stifle dissent. Singh is renowned for his investigative reporting on issues affecting...

April 09, 2025 - Nigeria -  On April 7, 2025, a peaceful demonstration organized by the 'Take It Back' Movement in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, escalated into violence when police officers allegedly assaulted journalists covering the event. The protest aimed to oppose the federal government's declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State and the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and 27 state lawmakers. Journalists from various media outlets, including Channels Television, AIT, Classic FM, and Nigeria Info, reported being targeted by police while performing their duties. Charles Opurum of Channels TV...

April 09, 2025 - Palestine -  In an April 2025 article, Palestinian journalist Tareq S. Hajjaj strongly refuted Israeli military claims that his colleague, journalist Hassan Eslayeh, was a Hamas operative. Eslayeh was severely injured in an Israeli airstrike, losing two fingers. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) alleged that Eslayeh had taken part in the October 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel, but Hajjaj maintains these claims are false and unsubstantiated. Eslayeh has worked extensively with both local and international media, providing frontline coverage of the Gaza conflict. According to Hajjaj, on October 7, Eslayeh...

April 09, 2025 - Palestine -  On April 7, 2025, an Israeli airstrike struck a tent sheltering journalists near the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, killing two Palestinian journalists and injuring at least eight others. Among the victims was Ahmed Mansour, a reporter for Palestine Today, who suffered severe burns and died the next day after being filmed engulfed in flames. The tent had been used as a makeshift media workspace and was located in an area that journalists say was clearly identified and regularly used by members of the press. Mansour’s...

April 09, 2025 - Sweden/Turkey -  In April 2025, Turkish courts upheld the pretrial detention of two journalists—Swedish reporter Kaj Joakim Medin and Turkish broadcaster Sedef Kabaş—fueling renewed concerns about press freedom in the country. Both journalists were charged under Turkey’s controversial laws on “insulting the president,” which critics say are increasingly used to stifle dissent. Kaj Joakim Medin was arrested on March 27, 2025, after landing in Istanbul to report on large-scale protests triggered by the detention of opposition mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. Turkish authorities accused Medin of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and being...

April 08, 2025 - Palestine -  On April 7, 2025, an Israeli airstrike hit a tent used by journalists near the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, killing two journalists and injuring at least eight others. The targeted tent was part of a press camp set up by local and international journalists reporting on the ongoing conflict. Witnesses said the area was marked and known to host media workers, making the strike especially alarming. Journalist Hilmi al-Faqawi, who worked for Palestine Today TV, was killed instantly in the blast. His colleague, Ahmed Mansour,...