News

July 03, 2025 - Ukraine/Russia/Crimea -  Seyran Saliyev, a Crimean Tatar activist and self-taught journalist, remains trapped within Russia’s punitive penal system, highlighting the broader repression of independent voices from occupied Crimea. Arrested on October 11, 2017, in the town of Bakhchisaray alongside fellow Crimean Solidarity members, Saliyev was accused of plotting sabotage for Ukraine’s intelligence services. In 2020, a Russian court sentenced him to 16 years in a penitentiary, citing his affiliation with Hizb ut-Tahrir—a banned group in Russia—despite the lack of credible evidence. Since July 2024, Saliyev has endured a relentless cycle of...

July 03, 2025 - Yemen -  Yemen has witnessed a dramatic escalation in crackdowns on journalists across multiple conflict zones. Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and other human rights groups have condemned the wave of arrests and abductions, demanding the immediate release of detained media workers. RSF reports that journalist Mozahim Bajaber, editor of Hadramout’s Al-Ahqaf Media platform, has been held for over two weeks despite an Interior Ministry order to release him. His arrest on June 18 followed social media posts critical of corruption in Hadramout’s leadership. Separately, at...

July 03, 2025 - Palestine -  Palestinian journalists continue to face escalating repression as Israeli forces and occupation authorities intensify efforts to suppress independent reporting from Gaza and the West Bank. Recent cases highlight a deliberate pattern of physical attacks, prolonged detentions, and legal harassment aimed at silencing Palestinian voices. On July 3, journalist Islam Al-Za’noun, a correspondent for Palestine TV, was injured by Israeli drone fire in Gaza while covering events on the ground. According to the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation and WAFA, Al-Za’noun was shot in the shoulder in what they described as a...

July 03, 2025 - Palestine -  An in-depth investigation by The Intercept reveals a disturbing pattern in which both Palestinian and international journalists covering the Gaza conflict are repeatedly targeted and killed, suggesting deliberate military tactics rather than collateral damage. The article compiles multiple cases indicating that journalists, press facilities, and media gathering places like cafés have been targeted in deliberate strikes. Ulterior motives are inferred from the deliberate targeting of clearly marked press vehicles and media hubs. For instance, in late June 2025, an IDF airstrike hit the Al‑Baqa café—a known gathering spot for...

July 03, 2025 - Syria -  In the wake of Bashar al-Assad’s fall in December 2024, Syrian journalists—both in exile and at home—are navigating a deeply uncertain new landscape. For those who fled during the regime’s brutal crackdown on dissent, the end of authoritarian rule presents both an invitation and a dilemma: should they return to rebuild journalism in a fractured homeland, or continue their work from the relative safety of exile? Many journalists who escaped Assad’s regime did so under the imminent threat of imprisonment or death. Today, some exiles feel compelled to return,...

July 02, 2025 - Iran -  In the aftermath of the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June 2025, Iranian authorities have intensified their crackdown on independent journalism through mass arrests, censorship, and unprecedented internet restrictions. The war, which left hundreds dead and regional tensions at a boiling point, has become a pretext for Iran’s hardline government to tighten its grip on information and suppress dissenting voices. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Iranian security forces detained scores of journalists, social media users, and activists accused of spreading “false information” or “undermining...

July 02, 2025 - Spain -  Spanish police have arrested two young men, aged 18 and 19, in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, for orchestrating a large-scale cyberattack that leaked personal data belonging to senior politicians, journalists, and public officials. The suspects, known online as “Akkaspace” and “Pakito,” are accused of committing crimes classified under Spain’s cyberterrorism laws, reflecting the severity and potential impact of their actions. The breach, discovered in early June 2025, exposed sensitive information including national ID numbers, addresses, phone numbers, and email accounts of prominent figures such as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez,...

July 02, 2025 - Zimbabwe -  Faith Zaba, editor of the independent weekly Zimbabwe Independent, was arrested in Harare and charged with “undermining the authority of or insulting the President.” The charge stems from a satirical column published in the paper’s “Muckraker” section on June 27, which criticized President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Zimbabwe’s leadership within the Southern African Development Community (SADC), labeling it a “trade union of dictators". Her arrest followed recent harassment of independent journalists, most notably Blessed Mhlanga of HSTV, who spent 72 days in pretrial detention earlier this year. Zaba is reportedly experiencing serious health...

July 01, 2025 - Syria -  The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) issued an urgent appeal for clarity and transparency after Hassan Zaza, a Kurdish journalist, was arrested in Damascus. Security forces reportedly took him from his home early on a Friday and transferred him to an undisclosed location. Zaza, who runs an online news outlet and has contributed to a television channel allied with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)—a group banned in neighboring Turkey—is being held under murky “security concerns.” Government spokesperson Mohammad al‑Saleh told CPJ that the detainment is unconnected to his journalistic...

June 30, 2025 - Palestine - Palestinian photojournalist Ismail Abu Hatab was killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted the Al-Baqa café along Gaza City’s beachfront. He was 32 years old. Known for his sharp eye and dedication to documenting life under siege, Abu Hatab became one of the latest casualties in a war that has increasingly turned journalists into frontline targets. That afternoon, the café was crowded with civilians—many seeking a brief respite, charging their phones, or connecting to scarce internet. Without warning, an airstrike tore through the area, killing at least 30 people...

June 30, 2025 - USA/Iran -  A leaked Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report challenged President Donald Trump’s public claims that U.S. airstrikes had “completely and obliterated” Iranian nuclear facilities as part of Operation Midnight Hammer on June 22. Instead, the preliminary assessment suggested the strikes set Iran’s nuclear program back by only a few months, raising serious doubts over Trump’s portrayal of success. The leak prompted a fierce backlash. Trump denounced the leaker as a “low-level loser,” accused major media outlets like CNN and The New York Times of pushing “fake news,” and instructed the...

June 30, 2025 - Mexico - Salomón “Shalom” Ordóñez Miranda, a 40-year-old Mexican journalist and photographer, was fatally shot on June 23, 2025, at around 8 p.m. in the town of Papah­tapan in Cuetzalan del Progreso, Puebla. He succumbed to at least two gunshot wounds at a nearby hospital, marking him as the seventh journalist killed in Mexico this year. Ordóñez Miranda founded and ran Shalom Cuetzalan Producciones, a Facebook-based local news outlet boasting around 75,000 followers, outnumbering the town’s estimated 50,000 residents. He primarily covered cultural events and local communal life without delving into corruption,...

June 29, 2025 - Turkey/Iraq/Kurdistan -  Filming began on Analogue, a new feature-length film dedicated to the memory of two journalists—Cihan Bilgin and Nazım Daştan—who were killed while reporting in Northern and Eastern Syria. Produced by journalist Enes Yıldız and directed by Selim Yıldız, the project aims to chronicle the past twelve years of conflict in the region, tracing the arc of Kurdish resistance amidst ongoing strife. The producers intend Analogue to memorialize all media workers who lost their lives covering the war in Rojava. In Yıldız’s words, participating in the film “was a duty,”...

June 29, 2025 - India -  Assam’s Public Health Engineering Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah ignited widespread controversy when he referred to a Guwahati-based journalist as a “tolor shrenir manush” — literally a “lower-class person” — during a press conference at the Gauhati Press Club. The remark came amid questioning about alleged misuse of state dairy promotion funds related to his private dairy farm housing Gir cows. The statement immediately triggered condemnation from journalist associations across Assam. Both the Media Association of Assam and the Guwahati Press Club denounced it as “insulting,” “undignified,” and “unconstitutional,” urging...

June 29, 2025 - Algeria -  French sports journalist Christophe Gleizes has been sentenced to seven years in prison in Algeria, a ruling that has sparked widespread condemnation from press freedom advocates and international observers. The 36-year-old freelance journalist was arrested in May 2024 in the northern Algerian region of Kabylie, where he was reporting on the local football club JS Kabylie. He had entered the country on a tourist visa, which authorities later used as part of the case against him. Gleizes was charged with “glorifying terrorism” and “possessing propaganda materials harmful to national...

June 28, 2025 - Syria -  The Media Directorate of North and East Syria publicly denounced the detention of journalist and activist Hasan Zaza in Daramsuq (Damascus), characterizing it as a flagrant assault on press freedoms and fundamental human rights. Zaza, known for his active role in defending media independence and ensuring accurate reporting, was arrested by Syrian government security forces without any legal warrant—a move the Directorate called a direct violation of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, specifically Article 19, which defends freedom of...

June 28, 2025 - India -  Varanasi’s Lanka police station registered First Information Reports (FIRs) against six journalists connected to various media outlets, accusing them of distorting and circulating a video that depicted the routine cleaning of the statue of Bharat Ratna Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya near the Banaras Hindu University gate. Authorities claim the video was manipulated with caste-based commentary to incite communal tensions and disturb public order. The journalists—Arshad Alam (admin of the WhatsApp group “Khabar Banaras”), Abhishek Jha (NBT Online), Abhishek Tripathi (Hindustan), Sonu Singh (Dainik Jagran), Shailesh Chaurasia (TV journalist), and...

June 27, 2025 - Palestine -  Palestinian journalist Ahmad Hasan Saad was reportedly killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza’s Al‑Tuffah neighborhood, near the Shaaban Al‑Rees School in eastern Gaza City. Iranian outlet MizanOnline cited Shehab News, describing how Israeli airstrikes hit a group of civilians, resulting in 10 deaths and multiple injuries, among them, Saad, who was covering the scene when he was martyred. Additional details from the Stop Murdering Journalists project—backed by Databases for Palestine—readily identified Saad’s full name: Ahmad Hasan Saad. The group confirmed he was killed on June 27 by mortar or tank fire, alongside his...

June 27, 2025 - Kenya -  The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) has expressed deep concern over escalating threats to media freedom in Kenya, warning that recent actions by the government are part of a dangerous pattern of repression that could reverberate across the continent. In a public statement issued on June 27, 2025, SANEF specifically condemned the Kenyan Communications Authority for its role in targeting independent media houses, including through signal disruptions and equipment seizures during politically sensitive periods. According to SANEF, these actions appear designed to suppress dissent and restrict the public's...

June 27, 2025 - Kyrgyzstan -  Kyrgyzstan’s parliament passed two sweeping laws that dramatically weaken protections against torture and severely restrict independent media, prompting urgent warnings from rights groups and international bodies. The first law dissolves the National Center for the Prevention of Torture, established in 2012 as an independent oversight body under Kyrgyzstan’s obligations under the UN Anti-Torture Convention. It merges this role into the Ombudsman’s office, undermining its autonomy and diminishing its preventative authority. Human Rights Watch (HRW) emphasized that UN experts had previously praised the Center as “a model for Central Asia”...

June 27, 2025 - Philippines -  At a United Nations Human Rights Council side event in Geneva on June 27, 2025, a powerful handwritten letter from detained Filipino journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio was read aloud by UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan. It marked the first time Cumpio, imprisoned since February 2020, was able to speak to the international community. Her message was both personal and political—a condemnation of the charges against her and a cry for justice after over five years behind bars without trial. Cumpio, then 21, was arrested in a police raid in...

June 27, 2025 - China/Ukraine -  Chinese journalist Lu Yuguang was injured during a Ukrainian drone strike near the village of Korenevo in Russia’s Kursk region, close to the Ukrainian border. Lu, a seasoned correspondent for Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV, suffered head injuries while covering military activity with a film crew. Russian authorities claim the drone was launched by Ukraine and accuse Kyiv of deliberately targeting journalists to suppress media coverage. Lu, 63, reportedly declined hospitalization and treated his wounds himself. A video released by Russian state media shows him bandaged but composed, vowing to...

June 27, 2025 - Brazil -  Nearly 50 years after journalist Vladimir Herzog was tortured and killed by Brazil’s military dictatorship, the Brazilian government has officially recognized its responsibility and agreed to compensate his family. The landmark decision, finalized in June 2025, comes after decades of denial, judicial inaction, and public protest. Herzog, a Jewish journalist and editor-in-chief of TV Cultura, was summoned for questioning in 1975 over alleged ties to communism. He never returned. His battered body was later staged in a jail cell to appear as a suicide—a claim widely discredited and condemned...

June 27, 2025 - USA - On June 27, 1995, 27-year-old television news anchor Jodi Huisentruit, working at KIMT-TV in Mason City, Iowa, disappeared under mysterious and disturbing circumstances. That morning, after assuring her assistant she would make the 6 a.m. broadcast, she never arrived. What remained of her: signs of a struggle by her red Mazda Miata, strewn personal items including a bent car key and high heels, and only lingering questions. Neighbors reported hearing possible screams and sighting a suspicious white Ford Econoline van in the parking lot between 3:50 and 4:30 a.m.—a detail that...

June 27, 2025 - Germany/Russia -  Germany has firmly rejected recent accusations by Russia claiming that Russian journalists are being harassed within German borders. On June 27, 2025, the German Foreign Ministry labeled Moscow’s statements as “unfounded” and reaffirmed the country’s commitment to the rule of law and press freedom. A German government spokesperson emphasized that all journalists in Germany, including foreign correspondents, are protected by constitutional rights and operate under transparent legal standards. The diplomatic dispute escalated after the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned German Ambassador Alexander Graf Lambsdorff in Moscow, alleging that Germany had...