News

June 27, 2025 - Kurdistan/Iraq -  Kurdish journalist Hassan Zaza was arrested by Syrian government security forces in Damascus, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). Zaza, a well-known Kurdish media figure, was reportedly seized by agents from the General Intelligence Directorate without prior warning, warrant, or explanation. His sudden detention marks another alarming episode in Syria’s ongoing repression of independent journalists and Kurdish voices. Zaza had been working in Damascus and was known for contributing to various Kurdish media outlets that report on human rights violations, political developments, and the lived...

June 27, 2025 - Syria -  Journalist Hassan (Hesen) Zaza, a prominent media figure in Syria, was detained on June 27, 2025, by security forces affiliated with the Syrian Transitional Government. A joint report from the Free Press Union (YRA) and ANF News confirms that Zaza was forcibly taken from his home, with his current whereabouts and the reasons for his detention remaining undisclosed. Zaza, a member of the YRA General Council and Syria’s representative to the International Federation of Arab Journalists, suffered a pre-dawn raid in the Rukn al-Din district of Damascus. The YRA condemned the...

June 26, 2025 - Brazil - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has revealed that it was one of several organizations secretly monitored by Brazil’s intelligence agency (ABIN) during Jair Bolsonaro’s presidency. RSF has demanded full disclosure of data collected and accountability for those responsible. According to RSF and statements from its leadership, a "parallel ABIN" — a clandestine surveillance structure created under Bolsonaro’s administration — targeted RSF along with at least 13 journalists and three media outlets. Surveillance included tracking internal communications and monitoring public campaigns concerning Bolsonaro. These revelations mirror findings in a comprehensive federal...

June 26, 2025 - Canada -  A new organization called Canadian Journalists for Justice in Palestine (CJJP) was officially launched, with simultaneous press events in Vancouver and Toronto. The group brings together Canadian journalists and media advocates committed to amplifying the plight of Palestinian reporters who have endured disproportionate violence, suppression, and fatalities in Gaza and the occupied territories. CJJP emerged against a harrowing backdrop: data from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) notes that at least 186 journalists and media workers have been killed across Gaza, Israel, Lebanon, and the West Bank over the...

June 26, 2025 - Turkey -  Mesopotamia Agency reporter Zeynep Durgut, known for her fearless coverage of Kurdish communities in southeastern Turkey, now faces intimidation after exposing a sex‑trafficking ring in Şırnak. Her February report detailed a long‑running investigation—initiated in 2013—into 25 suspects, including military non‑commissioned officers allegedly involved in trafficking women, girls, and minors from Syria’s Kurdish regions into forced prostitution. Following publication, Durgut received multiple threatening phone calls from relatives of key suspect Kenan Tatar. One caller warned: “We know who you are…we will not let you go…this won’t go unpunished”. Undeterred, she lodged...

June 26, 2025 - Venezuela -  FairPlanet published a revealing account of Venezuelan journalists from the investigative outlet Armando.Info who exposed one of the country's most brazen corruption scandals, only to be labeled as criminals and forced into exile. At the heart of the story is the PBS Frontline documentary A Dangerous Assignment: Uncovering Corruption in Maduro’s Venezuela, aired February 4, 2025. It delves into the so‑called “PDVSA Crypto” scandal involving former vice president and oil minister Tareck El Aissami and other PDVSA executives accused of using cryptocurrency and state contracts to enrich themselves. Armando.Info's founders,...

June 26, 2025 - Palestine -  Motaz Azaiza, a 26‑year‑old from Deir al‑Balah in Gaza, has become an unexpected global photojournalist since the outbreak of full‑scale war in October 2023. Before then, he led a modest life, capturing daily moments in Gaza for around 25,000 Instagram followers. When Israeli strikes began, his footage—raw, unfiltered, deeply human—went viral, rapidly amassing nearly 17 million followers, transforming him overnight into a visual chronicler of his people’s suffering. Wearing casual attire and gold‑rimmed glasses, Azaiza traveled to the U.S. this June to raise funds for UNRWA USA at a...

June 26, 2025 - Congo -  Serge Sindani—a defense reporter and director of the Kis24.info news site—was taken into custody by a senior Congolese army officer in Kisangani. His arrest followed his posting, two days earlier, of a distant photograph of Sukhoi military jets at Bangoka International Airport on his X (formerly Twitter) account, captioned simply: “RDC-Instant Kisangani — the city is calm and under control with our Sukhoi fighter jets. Happy Sunday”. Sindani is currently held in a military intelligence cell in Tshopo province, where Colonel Mwambi has accused him of filming military assets without...

June 26, 2025 - Cuba -  Independent Cuban journalists Yunia Figueredo and Frank Correa, both affiliated with the community news site Amanecer Habanero, have been subjected to threats, surveillance, and intimidation by Cuban authorities after refusing to comply with a police summons issued on June 23, 2025. Figueredo, the site’s director, received the official order to appear at a police station. When she refused, both she and Correa—who also reports for the outlet—began receiving anonymous phone calls warning them that they were under investigation for “dangerousness,” a vague legal charge in Cuba frequently used to...

June 26, 2025 - Slovakia - Slovakia’s media freedom took a sharp turn as Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government pushed through legislation dismantling the country’s independent public broadcaster RTVS. The new entity, Slovak Television and Radio (STVR), places media oversight in the hands of a council appointed largely by the ruling coalition and the Ministry of Culture, effectively granting the state direct influence over public news coverage. While the government insists the move was necessary to counter alleged political bias, the legislation has sparked national protests and international outcry. Journalists and staff at RTVS staged...

June 25, 2025 - Australia -  The Federal Court of Australia has ruled that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) unlawfully terminated journalist Antoinette Lattouf in December 2023, following her social media post highlighting a Human Rights Watch report on Israel’s alleged use of starvation tactics in Gaza. Lattouf, a Lebanese-Australian presenter, was midway through a five-day contract at ABC Sydney when she was abruptly dismissed after sharing the post on Instagram. Justice Darryl Rangiah determined that Lattouf’s dismissal breached the Fair Work Act, concluding that the ABC acted under pressure from an “orchestrated campaign by...

June 24, 2025 - Switzerland - Swiss police and prosecutors launched a raid in early June on the home and office of financial journalist Lukas Hässig, editor of the influential blog Inside Paradeplatz. Authorities seized his computer, phone, and documents as part of a criminal investigation under Article 47 of Switzerland’s Banking Act—a seldom-used legal provision that discloses confidential banking information, even when revealing wrongdoing, punishable by up to five years in prison and CHF 250,000 in fines. Hässig’s reporting, dating back to 2016, exposed alleged misconduct by Pierin Vincenz, the former CEO of Raiffeisen Bank, including...

June 23, 2025 - Philippines - Ali Jejhon Macalintal, a former freelance radio broadcaster and prominent LGBTQ+ and human rights advocate, was shot and killed inside a massage spa in Barangay Lagao, General Santos City, Philippines. The 35-year-old, known for her work with Radyo Bandera News FM and as a deputy secretary general of the human rights group Karapatan SOCCSKSARGEN, was also an active member of the LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Bahaghari. Macalintal had been using the spa space to offer acupuncture therapy and traditional healing services. According to local police, two assailants arrived on a...

June 23, 2023 - Ukraine /Russia - Ukrainian journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko, detained for over four years in Russian-occupied Crimea, was released on June 23, 2025, in what press freedom advocates have hailed as a rare but powerful victory for free expression. A contributor to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Krym. Realii, Yesypenko had been arrested by Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) agents in March 2021 while reporting in Simferopol. He was later convicted in a closed military court on charges of espionage and possession of explosives, accusations widely condemned as politically motivated. Yesypenko’s case drew international...

June 23, 2025 - USA -  Voice of America (VOA) and other U.S. government-funded international broadcasters are facing a dramatic overhaul under the leadership of Trump ally Kari Lake, prompting widespread concern over press freedom, international diplomacy, and journalistic independence. Nearly 639 employees—almost half of VOA's workforce—have received layoff notices, and numerous foreign journalists working under special U.S. visas have been told to prepare for dismissal or repatriation. Lake, appointed to oversee the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which manages VOA and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), has begun a sweeping reorganization, citing a...

June 23, 2025 - Ukraine/Russia -  In a chilling revelation, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) announced that it had foiled two assassination attempts on prominent Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Gordon, both allegedly orchestrated by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). The plots were reportedly ordered at the highest levels of the Russian state, with SBU officials claiming direct authorization from Russian President Vladimir Putin. The first attempt involved a criminal group from Dagestan, recruited and directed by the FSB to infiltrate Ukraine and eliminate Gordon. The operatives were reportedly promised a reward of $400,000 for successfully carrying out...

June 22, 2025 - Turkey - Perihan Sevda Erkılınç, a journalist for the left-wing outlet Özgür Gelecek, is facing severe health risks in Bakırköy Women's Prison due to the denial of essential medical treatment. Arrested during a police raid on April 29, 2025—days before May Day protests—Erkılınç was taken into custody without formal charges and remains detained over seven weeks later. Erkılınç suffers from asthma and celiac disease, a serious autoimmune condition that requires a strict gluten-free diet. Despite this, prison authorities have failed to provide consistent medical care or appropriate food. Upon her arrest,...

June 22, 2025 - Iran -  Iran is facing serious international criticism after reports emerged that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) abducted the family of a London-based journalist working for Iran International, a Persian-language news channel. The incident, believed to have occurred between June 21–22, is being viewed as a retaliatory act over the outlet’s coverage of the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict. According to Iran International, the journalist—whose identity is being withheld for safety reasons—received a chilling phone call from her father, who was clearly under duress. “I’ve told you a thousand times to resign,”...

June 21, 2025 - Palestine/Australia - Alistair Kitchen, a 33-year-old Australian writer and former Columbia University postgraduate student, was deported from the United States in what rights groups are calling a politically motivated move tied to his reporting on pro-Palestinian student protests. Kitchen was detained for nearly 12 hours by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at Los Angeles International Airport before being denied entry and sent back to Australia. Kitchen had traveled to the U.S. intending to visit friends in New York and continue his writing. However, upon arrival, CBP agents reportedly questioned him...

June 21, 2025 - Palestine -  The BBC has decided not to air Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, a documentary focusing on the targeting of medical workers during the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict. The decision, announced in June 2025, has triggered widespread criticism from journalists, filmmakers, and press freedom advocates who accuse the BBC of censorship and political bias. Produced by Basement Films, the documentary was commissioned by the BBC and initially scheduled to air in February. However, internal concerns over impartiality, especially in the wake of an earlier controversy involving another Gaza documentary, led to its...

June 21, 2025 - Palestine -  Palestinian photojournalist Belal Khaled has revealed searing insights into the ongoing Gaza conflict, highlighting the devastating human cost and the critical role journalists play in bearing witness. Speaking during a visit to South Africa in June 2025, Khaled shared emotional testimony about life on the front lines, where documenting the truth comes at immense personal risk. Khaled described walking through destroyed neighborhoods, photographing families torn apart by Israeli airstrikes, and capturing images of children playing among rubble. His work goes beyond visuals—it tells deeply human stories of survival, loss,...

June 21, 2025 - Turkey -  Prominent Turkish journalist Fatih Altaylı was detained on June 22, 2025, over allegations that he threatened President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a recent YouTube broadcast. The arrest marks another alarming chapter in Turkey’s ongoing crackdown on dissent and press freedom. Altaylı, a veteran journalist with decades of experience in mainstream Turkish media and over 1.5 million YouTube subscribers, has been a vocal critic of the government. In his recent video, he referenced a poll showing overwhelming public opposition to Erdoğan serving as president for life. He remarked that Turkey...

June 21, 2025 - Belarus -  Belarus has unexpectedly released several high-profile political prisoners, including opposition leader Sergei Tsikhanouski and journalist Iryna Karnye, in what observers are calling a rare gesture from the Lukashenko regime. Their release, confirmed on June 24, 2025, comes after years of international condemnation of Belarus’s human rights abuses and suppression of dissent. Sergei Tsikhanouski, a popular video blogger turned political activist, was arrested in May 2020 while attempting to run against President Alexander Lukashenko. His arrest barred him from the election, prompting his wife, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, to run in his...

June 21, 2025 - General -  In a powerful statement delivered during an event in Lima, Peru, Pope Leo XIV reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s commitment to a zero-tolerance policy on abuse, vowing to address not only sexual abuse but also spiritual, psychological, and institutional abuse. Speaking at a theatrical performance honoring investigative journalist Paola Ugaz—who helped expose abuse within the Peruvian religious group Sodalitium Christianae Vitae—Pope Leo emphasized that abuse in any form is an affront to human dignity and the mission of the Church. Pope Leo declared that “no abuse can be tolerated,” urging...

June 20, 2025 - Azerbaijan - In a sweeping blow to press freedom, a court in Baku has sentenced seven independent journalists to prison terms ranging from 7½ to 9 years. The journalists, including Farid Mehralizada of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and six others from Abzas Media, were convicted on charges including illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion, and currency smuggling. The case has been widely condemned by international human rights and press freedom organizations, which view the charges as politically motivated. Abzas Media is known for its investigative reporting on government corruption and human rights...