News

December 4, 2024 - USA - The U.S. State Department sharply criticized Georgian authorities for their oppressive response to escalating pro-EU protests, including physical assaults and arrests targeting journalists. Spokesperson Vedant Patel declared that the “excessive use of force” against demonstrators—and the “assaults and arrests of journalists”—posed serious concerns for press freedom and press safety. The unrest began after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s announcement on November 28, suspending Georgia’s European Union accession negotiations until 2028. Widespread demonstrations quickly followed, met with heavy-handed tactics. Riot police and unidentified masked forces disrupted rallies using water cannons, tear...

December 4, 2024 - Media -  A wave of concern swept through Israel’s media landscape as journalists, editors, and opposition lawmakers accused the Netanyahu government of launching a coordinated campaign to weaken press freedom. During an emergency session at the Knesset, media professionals warned that a proposed media reform package would place dangerous levels of control in the hands of the government, threatening the independence of journalism in Israel. The reforms, championed by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi and backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, include proposals to privatize the Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation, commercialize Army...

December 04, 2025 - Niger - Nigerian security forces forcibly arrested Moussa Tchangari, a respected journalist and human rights advocate serving as General Secretary of Alternative Espaces Citoyens (AEC), immediately upon his return from Abuja, Nigeria. Accompanied by others, plainclothes operatives surrounded his residence without presenting any warrant, seized his belongings, and took him to an undisclosed location. Tchangari, a veteran activist with over two decades in journalism and civil society, had attended high-profile meetings in West Africa—including sessions in Abuja and Abidjan—focused on democracy and humanitarian crises. He also lectures on human rights at...

December 3, 2024 - India - Mohammed Zubair, the co-founder of Alt News, India’s prominent fact-checking website, faces renewed legal peril. On December 3, 2024, Uttar Pradesh police filed sedition charges against him under Section 152 of the newly enacted Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), accusing him of “endangering the sovereignty and unity of India” through social media content. The case focuses on a video Zubair shared in October 2024 on X (formerly Twitter), which captured Hindu preacher Yati Narsinghanand making derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad. Though the preacher was swiftly placed under house arrest, Zubair was accused...

December 3, 2024 - Mozambique - Following Mozambique’s disputed October 9, 2024, general election, widespread protests erupted nationwide over alleged fraud and ballot tampering by the ruling FRELIMO party. Journalists reporting on the unrest—especially in Maputo and other urban centers—faced targeted harassment, unlawful detention, physical assaults, and equipment confiscation. The International Press Institute (IPI), alongside press freedom organizations, condemned the illegal arrests and detention of media professionals during these protests. IPI stated that journalists were often blocked from covering events, detained without cause, assaulted by police or masked individuals, and had their cameras and phones...

December 3, 2024 - France - Marine Vlahovic, a prominent French journalist and pro-Palestinian documentarian, was found dead in late November 2024 on the rooftop terrace of her Marseille apartment. The 39-year-old journalist, known for her outspoken reporting on Palestine and her solidarity with Gaza’s people, had become a respected voice in European media for her coverage of the Middle East. Her sudden and unexplained death has sparked urgent calls from press freedom groups for a full, transparent investigation. Vlahovic had a long history of reporting from conflict zones, including a notable three-year period based...

December 3, 2024 - Syria - Three Syrian journalists were killed in early December 2024 while covering the intensifying conflict in Aleppo, underlining once again the deadly risks faced by media workers in Syria. According to Gulf Times, the journalists—Ahmed Al-Omar, Alaa Al-Abrash, and Mustafa al-Sarout—were each targeted in separate incidents during their reporting, with both aerial attacks and ground gunfire involved. Ahmed Al-Omar and Alaa Al-Abrash were killed when regime airstrikes hit Aleppo University Hospital, where they had been reporting on the human toll of the bombardment. The hospital, considered a civilian sanctuary, was...

December 3, 2024 - Georgia - A wave of assaults on journalists during pro-EU demonstrations in Tbilisi, Georgia, has drawn sharp condemnation from the International Press Institute (IPI) and 15 partner organizations. The attacks occurred in late November 2024 amid nationwide protests sparked by the Georgian Dream party’s announcement to suspend EU accession talks—a move seen by many as a rejection of democratic values and a pivot toward authoritarianism. According to monitoring networks, including the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) and Mapping Media Freedom, between 50 and 90 journalists were harassed, assaulted, or obstructed while...

December 3, 2024 - Slovakia - A coalition of international press freedom organizations, led by the International Press Institute (IPI), issued a stark warning on Slovakia’s deteriorating media landscape following a mission held on November 25–26, 2024. The findings underscore a systematic erosion of press independence, driven by government-led legal changes and political interference. Central to this trend is Prime Minister Robert Fico’s populist Smer-led coalition, which has pushed through reforms weakening key institutions. Authorities disbanded the Special Prosecutor’s Office tasked with investigating corruption and assassinations—a move that, they argue, hampers justice for the 2018...

December 3, 2024: - Lebanon  - Lebanese media veteran Ali Hassan Ashour, a journalist with Al‑Nour Radio, was killed during an Israeli military operation in southern Lebanon amid the ongoing Israel–Hezbollah conflict that began on October 8, 2023. Al‑Nour Radio confirmed his death today, referring to him as a “martyr” of Israeli aggression. Although details remain scarce—the exact date, time, and location of the strike were not released—multiple credible sources align in reporting that Ashour died amid renewed Israeli bombardments targeting Hezbollah positions. His death brings to ten the number of journalists known to have been killed by...

December 3, 2024 - France - Ariane Lavrilleux, a French investigative reporter with Disclose, is scheduled to appear before a Paris court on January 17, 2025, in connection with her groundbreaking 2021 exposé on “Operation Sirli”—a clandestine French military mission in Egypt. She faces charges of “appropriation and disclosure of a national defence secret,” punishable by up to five years in prison and a €75,000 fine. The investigation stems from her November 2021 report connecting French military intelligence to alleged extrajudicial killings of hundreds of Egyptian civilians, detailed through documents marked “confidentiel défense” sourced from the...

November 3, 2024 - France - Marine Vlahovic, a French journalist and accomplished documentarian known for her deeply empathetic reporting on the Middle East and unwavering support for Palestinian voices, died suddenly on November 25, 2024, at her Marseille home. Discovered collapsed on her rooftop terrace by concerned friends—who had not received replies to her calls—Vlahovic was just 39 years old. Her passing sparked immediate alarm. After an initial autopsy revealed no clear indicators of foul play, French authorities opened an investigation and awaited toxicology results. Press freedom advocates, including Women Press Freedom, have demanded a "full and...

December 2, 2024 - Congo - The M23 rebel group raided the Mpety Community Radio Station (RCMP) in Walikale territory, North Kivu, in a brazen attack that highlighted the escalating dangers facing journalists in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. That evening, M23 fighters destroyed station equipment and abducted reporter and sports presenter Yoshua Kambere Machozi, whom they later murdered. His body was discovered on November 6 along a riverbank near Katobi, approximately four kilometers from Mpety. Evidence from local witnesses and human rights observers suggests Machozi was “slit… with a knife” before his body was dumped...

December 2, 2024 - Lebanon - Lebanese journalist and Sky News Arabia analyst Daoud Rammal was physically assaulted in southern Lebanon—specifically in his hometown of Doueir, Nabatieh district—while reciting prayers at his mother's grave. The attack occurred approximately six months ago and has been widely linked to Hezbollah members, amid a broader pattern of intimidation targeting independent journalists in Lebanon. Rammal publicly condemned the assault as intended to "silence" his critical voice. In his statement, he vowed that the experience would "only strengthen my determination to continue fighting until the very end… regardless of the pressure...

December 1, 2024 - Egypt - Prominent Egyptian journalist and satirist Sayed Saber was forcibly taken from his home by state security forces and held overnight at an undisclosed location before appearing before the Supreme State Security Prosecution in Cairo the following morning. Authorities have ordered a 15‑day detention, ostensibly to investigate his recent social media posts that sharply criticized Egypt’s military rule, describing it as “fascism”. Saber, an established journalist and author known for his satirical tone, is also affiliated with the Al-Karama Party, carrying on the Nasser-era Arab nationalist and socialist legacy. While formal...

December 1, 2024 - Tbilisi - RFE/RL Georgian Service producer Beka Beradze was arrested and physically assaulted by security forces near Georgia’s parliament in Tbilisi during anti-government demonstrations. According to his lawyer, Beradze was walking with friends—off duty and not actively reporting—when he was suddenly seized by masked officers, beaten on the head, and taken to a police van. Beradze recounted that officers became more aggressive upon realizing he was a journalist. He was held in a police minivan for nearly an hour, during which he was repeatedly beaten. His forehead bore visible injuries, and he...

December 1, 2024 - Syria - As military escalations continue across Syria, journalists remain among the most vulnerable groups, facing mounting threats from all sides of the conflict. A December 1, 2024, report by The Levant News outlines the dire conditions under which Syrian reporters operate, including frequent attacks, arbitrary arrests, forced exile, and growing state censorship. In northern and northeastern Syria—particularly in regions like Manbij, Kobani, and around Aleppo—journalists risk their lives covering shifting frontlines. In recent weeks, Turkish airstrikes and clashes involving rebel factions like Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) have intensified, killing at...

December 1, 2024 - Pakistan - Pakistani security forces killed three militants allegedly involved in the assassination of journalist Khalil Jibran during a targeted operation in the Sultan Khel area of Landi Kotal, Khyber District. The Frontier Corps launched the operation based on intelligence reports linking the suspects to Jibran’s murder and the killings of two police officers in separate incidents. Khalil Jibran, a senior journalist and former president of the Landi Kotal Press Club, was murdered on June 18, 2024. He was returning home after dinner with friends when armed men intercepted his vehicle,...

November 30, 2024 - Pakistan - Senior journalist and TV presenter Matiullah Jan was granted bail on November 30, 2024, by an Islamabad Anti‑Terrorism Court (ATC), along with a surety bond of PKR 10,000, following his arrest in a high-profile drug possession and terrorism case sparked three days earlier. On November 27, investigative reports state that Jan and his colleague Saqib Bashir were seized by unidentified individuals in black uniforms from a hospital parking lot while probing alleged casualties during a protest by supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Bashir was released after three hours, but...

November 30, 2024 - Sudan - Emmanuel Monychol Akop, editor-in-chief of The Dawn Daily in Juba, was detained without charge by South Sudan’s National Security Service (NSS) on November 28, 2024, after responding to a summons to its Juba headquarters. No warrant was presented, and the newspaper’s staff had no clarity on the reasons for his arrest. Under South Sudanese law, detainees must be brought before a court within 24 hours—an obligation NSS did not meet in this case. In the weeks following his disappearance, neither Akop’s family nor The Dawn staff could establish his...

November 29, 2024 - China - Shanghai authorities detained Zhang Zhan—widely known for her reporting from Wuhan in early 2020—under the charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” a vague offense frequently used against dissidents. This re‑arrest followed her release in May after completing a four-year sentence stemming from her independent pandemic coverage. Zhang’s initial imprisonment began in December 2020 when she was convicted of “fabricating” stories about Wuhan’s pandemic response, including claims that residents paid COVID‑19 testing fees and were provided rotten food during quarantine. She pleaded not guilty, and human rights groups noted Shanghai...

November 30, 2024 - Palestine - Since the war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, Palestinian journalists have faced unprecedented danger. As of December 1, 2024, the Gaza government media office reported 191 journalists killed—a number since revised upward to 192 and 193 in official counts. On November 30, journalist Mamdouh Ibrahim Qanaita, an editor at Al‑Aqsa Channel, was killed in a drone strike while leaving the Baptist Hospital courtyard in Gaza City. Eyewitnesses say he was shot in the head, and the Gaza government media office denounced it as part of “systematic targeting”....

November 29, 2024 - China/Europe - The European Parliament overwhelmingly adopted a resolution condemning Hong Kong and Chinese authorities for the ongoing erosion of fundamental rights under the National Security Law (NSL). Passed by 473 votes to 23 with 98 abstentions, the resolution urgently calls for the “immediate and unconditional release” of jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai and other detained journalists and pro-democracy activists. The resolution highlights numerous violations: over 200 people have been arrested under the NSL, and legal abuse continues. Lai, who has been in custody since August 2020, faces life imprisonment and has...

November 29, 2024 - Nigeria - Investigative journalist and FIJ founder Fisayo Soyombo was detained by the Nigerian Army’s 6th Division during an anti–illegal oil-bunkering raid at a site near Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The army confirmed his arrest, alleging he was among the individuals apprehended at the operation site, and seized his devices. Soyombo’s employer, the Foundation for Investigative Journalism, initially reported his disappearance and expressed deep concern about the seizure of his equipment and lack of communication, warning that as a journalist, his safety might be jeopardized. The arrest provoked widespread criticism. Media watchdogs,...

November 29, 2024 - Palestine/UK - British Foreign Secretary David Lammy faced strong backlash after stating there were “no journalists in Gaza” during a UK Parliament session—a remark widely denounced as inaccurate and insensitive. The comment drew immediate attention from Middle East Eye, which questioned Lammy’s awareness of the journalists killed or working amid the conflict. Lammy’s assertion sparked criticism, particularly from British and international media watchdogs, who pointed out that numerous Palestinian journalists were active in Gaza despite facing extreme danger. Social media, including Twitter/X, quickly echoed dismay over what was seen as a...