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January 21, 2025 - Turkey -  Six journalists were remanded in custody following coordinated house raids in Istanbul, Bodrum, and Artvin. The Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) reported that these journalists face charges of “membership in a terrorist organisation”—accusations allegedly based solely on their professional reporting activities. The detained include Ozan Cırık (Sendika.org), Dicle Baştürk, Eylem Emel Yılmaz, and Yavuz Akengin, who were initially taken into custody on June 13 and formally arrested three days later in Artvin. Meanwhile, three others—Semra Pelek, Melisa Efe (translator for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), and Ömer Bülenter—were released under judicial...

January 21, 2025 - Palestine/Israel -  Three Palestinian women journalists—Rula Hassanein, Bushra Al-Tawil, and Ashwaq Awad—were released from Israeli prisons as part of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Their release was among 90 Palestinian detainees freed in exchange for Israeli hostages under the first phase of the January 19 ceasefire deal. Bushra Al-Tawil, a journalist with J-Media Network and a member of the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS), was detained on March 7, 2024, and held under administrative detention without formal charges. She has been repeatedly arrested over the years and has spent over...

January 21, 2025 - General - The International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists (IDEI) is observed annually on 2 November. The date marks the 2013 killing of French journalists Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon in Mali. Established by UN General Assembly Resolution 68/163, the day aims to draw global attention to the alarming rate of violence against journalists and the lack of justice that often follows. Between 2006 and 2024, over 1,700 journalists have been killed worldwide, yet nearly nine out of ten cases remain unsolved, according to UNESCO’s Observatory of Killed...

January 21, 2025 - USA/Kazakhstan -  Two new U.S.-funded grant opportunities have been launched in Kazakhstan, focusing on youth empowerment and media protection. The initiatives are supported by the U.S. Mission to Kazakhstan and are open to Kazakhstani and U.S.-based nonprofit and educational organizations. The first opportunity, titled “Creating Opportunities through Market Development in Sports and Digital Skills”, offers funding between $10,000 and $40,000 (up to $100,000, depending on project scale). It targets youth aged 18–25, particularly outside major cities, and aims to build their professional capacity through sports and digital training programs. Projects should...

January 20, 2025 - USA -  President Trump issued Executive Order 14149 on January 20, 2025, prioritizing First Amendment protections by prohibiting federal agencies from infringing on constitutionally protected speech under the guise of combating “misinformation,” “disinformation,” or “malinformation.” It bans any federal actor or use of taxpayer resources that would unconstitutionally abridge American speech and mandates a four-year review of potential past misconduct. A key directive requires the Attorney General, in coordination with executive department heads, to investigate censorship-related activities allegedly tied to the Biden administration—especially involving pressure on social media platforms—and recommend corrective...

January 20, 2025 - Mexico -  Calletano de Jesús Guerrero, deputy director-general of Global Mexico, was shot dead in Teoloyucan, State of México, while in the parking lot of San Antonio de Padua parish. He was reportedly attacked by armed individuals on a motorcycle. Despite being under federal protection since 2014 due to ongoing death threats, Guerrero’s security failed. This makes him the second journalist killed in 2025 while under state-provided protection. His assassination intensifies concerns over the effectiveness of Mexico’s Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists. Organizations from RSF, UNESCO, CPJ, OAS/IACHR,...

January 20, 2025 - Peru - Gastón Medina Sotomayor, owner and editor of regional TV channel Cadena Sur TV, was gunned down in front of his home in Ica’s San Isidro district. Attackers on a motorcycle shot him multiple times as he prepared to leave for his morning broadcast. He died on arrival at the hospital, according to the National Association of Journalists (ANP). Medina was known for investigative reporting on local public corruption, including procurement irregularities at Ica's government and extortion schemes targeting transport workers, shopkeepers, and teachers. He received numerous threats, including a 2022 incident where perpetrators left...

January 20, 2025 - Palestine -  Palestinian journalist Rula Hassanein, released in January 2025 as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, has spoken out about the abuse she and other detainees suffered in Israeli prisons. Arrested in March 2024 while nursing her infant daughter, Hassanein was reunited with her child after nearly ten months of detention. In interviews following her release, she described routine strip searches, forced removal of her headscarf, and degrading treatment by Israeli authorities. “There were numerous violations against us as women,” she said, calling the experience humiliating and psychologically abusive. Video...

January 20, 2025 - Iran -  Iranian journalist and documentary filmmaker Mehrdad Aladin was temporarily released on bail after nearly two weeks in detention. Aladin, affiliated with the Didban Iran news outlet, was arrested on January 7 following a summons to the preliminary court at Evin Prison in Tehran. Authorities did not disclose formal charges, and he was held without trial. He was released on bail set at 1 billion tomans (approximately USD 12,500). Human rights organizations, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), have called for his unconditional release and condemned his arrest as...

January 20, 2025 - Egypt/UK -  Australian journalist Peter Greste began a 21-day hunger strike outside the UK Prime Minister’s office in London to demand the release of Egyptian-British political prisoner Alaa Abd el-Fattah. Greste, who spent 400 days in an Egyptian prison in 2013 for his reporting with Al Jazeera, shared a prison block with Abd el-Fattah and credited him for helping him survive the ordeal. Alaa Abd el-Fattah, a prominent activist from Egypt’s 2011 revolution, has been imprisoned repeatedly over the last decade. He was most recently sentenced in 2021 to five years...

January 20, 2025 - Palestine/Israel -  Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023, at least 193 journalists and media workers have been killed by Israeli forces, according to data reported by The New Arab and confirmed by local media outlets. This marks one of the deadliest periods for journalists in modern history, with over 210 media personnel reportedly killed as of April 2025. Most of the victims were Palestinian journalists working under siege conditions with limited access to safety, resources, or protective gear. In response, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has submitted...

January 20, 2025 - India -  Journalists across India, particularly in small towns and rural regions, face escalating threats—including harassment, assaults, and brutal killings—signaling a chilling decline in press freedom under the current political climate. On January 1, 2025, investigative YouTuber Mukesh Chandrakar was found shot dead and dumped in a septic tank in Chhattisgarh after exposing local corruption tied to road contractors. A post-mortem revealed severe head, chest, back, and stomach injuries. Three suspects, including the contractor involved in his investigation, have been arrested; however, concerns persist over the safety sacrifices made by local...

January 20, 2025 - Cameroon - Cameroonian journalist Martinez Zogo was abducted, tortured, and murdered—his mutilated body found five days later near Yaoundé. Zogo, a well-known investigative broadcaster and director at Amplitude FM, used his daily radio show Embouteillage to expose high-level corruption, including alleged embezzlement linked to top officials and businessmen. Two years after his death, justice remains stalled. Although authorities arrested around 20 suspects—including senior intelligence officers and influential media tycoon Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga—the trial has been marred by delays, secrecy, and procedural controversy. The case is being handled by a military court,...

January 20, 2025 - USA -  President Trump issued Executive Order 14149, “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship”, aiming to halt any federal interference in constitutionally protected speech. The order prohibits federal agencies from using taxpayer resources or exerting covert pressure on private platforms to suppress speech, especially under labels like “misinformation,” “disinformation,” or “malinformation.” It also directs the Attorney General to investigate speech-suppression activities by the previous administration and recommend corrective action. Supporters, including the nonpartisan Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), endorsed the move, noting its potential to increase transparency,...

January 20, 2025 - Italy/Iran -  Italian war correspondent Cecilia Sala, 29, was arrested in Tehran on December 19, 2024, while reporting on assignment for Il Foglio. Despite holding a valid journalist visa, Iranian authorities accused her of violating national laws and detained her in Evin Prison, known for housing political prisoners and critics of the regime. During her 21-day detention, Sala was held in solitary confinement and subjected to extreme psychological pressure. She described spending nights on a concrete floor, under constant lighting, and without her glasses, which were confiscated upon arrest. She recounted...

January 19, 2025 - Russia -  In January 2025, Karelian journalist and poet Denis Pogrebnoy was fined 30,000 rubles (around €290) by the Petrozavodsk City Court for allegedly “discrediting the Russian army.” The charge stemmed from several posts he published on VKontakte between October 2022 and May 2024, including poems that criticized Russia’s war in Ukraine and expressed solidarity with imprisoned activists. One of the poems referenced the case of Aleksandra Skochilenko, the St. Petersburg artist sentenced to seven years in prison for replacing supermarket price tags with anti-war messages. Pogrebnoy’s poem read: “Seven years....

January 19, 2025 - Palestine/Israel -  Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces detained an Al Jazeera crew—including veteran journalist Givara Budeiri, a cameraperson, and another team member—while they were reporting near Ofer Prison in Beitunia, near Ramallah. The team was covering the release of Palestinian detainees as part of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Palestinian factions. Footage shows Budeiri reporting live just before she and her colleagues were forcibly taken away by uniformed officers. The crew was transported to a local police station, interrogated, and temporarily detained. Their equipment was reportedly confiscated...

January 19, 2025 - India -  Journalist Bijaya Kumar Pradhan was brutally assaulted in Kulthipali village, Balangir district, Odisha, while investigating alleged corruption related to the construction of a ₹10 lakh retaining wall. Pradhan, a TV reporter, had gone to the village to document irregularities in the project when he was attacked by a group led by the accused contractor Gajendra Dalai. According to eyewitnesses and viral video footage, Pradhan was tied up, beaten severely under a tree, and paraded through the village. The attackers confiscated his mobile phones, microphone, camera, and cash. They allegedly...

January 19, 2025 - Palestine/Israel -  According to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, 193 journalists were killed by Israeli forces in Gaza throughout 2024, marking one of the deadliest years for media workers in modern history. The figure was echoed by several media watchdogs, including Al Mayadeen, which cited 194 fatalities, along with at least 86 injuries and 64 arrests of journalists by Israeli forces. In addition to human losses, 54 media offices were reportedly bombed or destroyed. Many of the slain journalists were Palestinian reporters working in Gaza under extremely dangerous conditions, often without protective...

January 19, 2025 - Niger -  Nigerien journalist Seyni Amadou, editor-in-chief of Canal 3 TV, was arrested following the broadcast of a satirical news segment criticizing government officials. The program humorously ranked ministers, describing Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine as the most competent, while labeling others as the “soft underbelly” of the military-led regime. In response, the Ministry of Communication suspended Canal 3 for one month and revoked Amadou’s press card for three months. Amadou’s detention sparked swift condemnation from media unions and press freedom organizations, including CAP-Medias-Niger and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Critics...

January 19, 2025 - China -  In July 1967, British journalist Anthony Grey, then the Reuters correspondent in Beijing, was placed under house arrest by Chinese authorities in a retaliatory diplomatic move. His confinement lasted an extraordinary 26 months, from July 1967 until October 1969, making it one of the most prolonged detentions of a foreign journalist in modern history. Grey’s arrest came in response to the British colonial administration in Hong Kong detaining Hsieh Ping, a journalist with China’s Xinhua News Agency, during anti-British riots. Beijing viewed the detention of Chinese journalists in Hong...

January 19, 2025 - Ukraine/Russia - In 2024, Russian forces escalated their assault on media freedom in Ukraine, killing 24 Ukrainian media workers and committing over 150 violations against press freedom, according to data from Ukraine’s Institute of Mass Information (IMI). The report marks a sharp increase in the dangers faced by journalists amid the ongoing full-scale invasion. Of the 24 media workers killed, two were actively working as journalists at the time of their deaths. Among them was Victoria Roshchyna, a Zaporizhzhia-based journalist who died while in Russian custody on October 10, after being...

January 19, 2025 - Turkey -  On January 19, 2007, Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was assassinated in front of his newspaper Agos in Istanbul. The 52-year-old editor had long been a target of nationalist hostility for advocating Armenian-Turkish reconciliation and openly discussing the Armenian Genocide. His murderer, Ogün Samast, a 17-year-old Turkish nationalist, was arrested and later sentenced to over 20 years in prison. In November 2023, Samast was released on parole after serving nearly 17 years. Eighteen years later, justice remains elusive. Though Samast and a few accomplices were convicted, the masterminds and state...

January 19, 2025 - Nigeria -  In two disturbing events highlighting Nigeria’s infrastructure and security crises, residents in Aba, Abia State, experienced a sudden blackout after gas pipeline vandalism, while in Ogun State, a prophet was brutally killed during a church service. On January 19, 2025, vandals targeted gas pipelines supplying the Geometric Power Plant in Aba, disrupting what had been a month-long streak of uninterrupted electricity for the city. The attack, aimed at illegally tapping crude oil from nearby lines, inadvertently severed the gas supply essential for power generation. According to Aba Power Ltd.,...

January 18, 2025 - Kurdistan -  In 2024, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq recorded a 22% decline in violations against journalists, according to a report by the Metro Center for Journalists’ Rights and Advocacy. A total of 182 cases were documented, down from 231 in 2023, signaling modest progress in journalist safety. However, rights groups caution that the environment for independent journalism remains fragile. The violations included: 27 cases of physical assault or threats 24 arbitrary arrests carried out without legal warrants 17 incidents of confiscated media equipment 60 cyberattacks, including online harassment and smear...