News

October 27, 2025 – Pakistan – Pakistani authorities are moving to indict veteran journalist Matiullah Jan in Islamabad on October 31 under the 1997 Anti-Terrorism Act and narcotics possession allegations, according to the human-rights monitoring group Human Rights Watch (HRW). Jan has long reported on police abuse in Pakistan, and his coverage has increasingly made him a target of state action. The HRW contends that the case is part of a broader pattern of silencing dissent and curbing press freedom. Authorities claim that on November 27, 2024, Jan was stopped at a checkpoint in Islamabad’s...

October 27, 2025 – Turkey – A Turkish court has issued a fresh arrest warrant and expanded espionage allegations against former İstanbul mayor and opposition figure Ekrem İmamoğlu, marking a significant intensification of legal action against him and associated figures. The court’s move follows an investigation into the 2019 mayoral campaign of İmamoğlu, prompted by correspondence between a detained cybersecurity consultant and campaign staff. Prosecutors say the correspondence suggests efforts to collect and exploit personal data of Istanbul residents, ostensibly to secure foreign funding and intelligence support ahead of a potential presidential bid. In addition...

October 27, 2025 – Palestine – A retired U.S. Army Colonel, Steve Gabavics, who took part in the investigation into the killing of the veteran Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh, claims that the U.S. government softened the language and conclusions of the final report. According to the New York Times account referenced by the network report, U.S. officials involved in the review believed there was evidence the journalist was intentionally shot by an Israeli soldier. Gabavics asserts that within the investigative team, there was a strong view that the bullet that struck Abu Akleh—who...

October 27, 2025 - USA/Malaysia - During a press event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at the 47th ASEAN Summit, President Donald Trump visibly showed impatience with reporters, brushing aside questions and admonishing journalists by name. According to media coverage, Trump interrupted a reporter with “Who’s that shouting?” when she attempted to ask a question, and later said in a tone of frustration, “Don’t shout,” before shifting to praising Brazil and its president. During the same encounter, Trump met with Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on the summit sidelines and handled questions about their...

October 27, 2025 - Rwanda -  A prominent Rwandan journalist has come under intense scrutiny from the country’s political leadership after publishing a series of investigative pieces that challenged the conduct of senior officials. According to wartime records and recent commentary, the government accused the journalist of undermining national unity and tarnishing the reputation of top-level political actors. As a result of this coverage, the journalist was summoned by the authorities and ordered to remove online posts that were deemed “inflammatory.” The case highlights the shrinking space for independent journalism in Rwanda, where the ruling...

October 27, 2025 - General -  The organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) shines a spotlight on thirty journalists worldwide who, over the past year, have suffered harassment, imprisonment, violence, or even exile simply for investigating environmental destruction — illegal mining, deforestation, land-grabbing, pollution, and the exploitation of natural resources. RSF underscores that reporters covering natural-resource issues operate under extreme constraints. Their findings show that from Cambodia to Brazil, from Ghana to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, journalists who highlight ecological crimes are routinely blocked from accessing sites, threatened by authorities, attacked by elements of...

October 27, 2025 - USA -  In a widely discussed press conference on 24 October 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump was confronted by a question from a French correspondent speaking English with a discernible French accent. The exchange quickly drew attention when Trump told the journalist he “could not understand a word she’s saying,” while simultaneously describing her accent as “beautiful." Social-media users and media observers responded sharply, pointing out the incongruity of Trump’s comment given that his spouse, Melania Trump, speaks English with a European accent. One social post asked: “How does he talk...

October 27, 2025 - Kurdistan/Iraq-  Shwan Adel, the director of NRT Channel, was released on bail in Erbil following a wave of appeals and public pressure directed at the Kurdistan Region’s leadership. His detention earlier in the day had sparked swift reactions from media rights groups, journalists, and civil society, who urged authorities to respect legal protections for press freedom. Adel’s arrest stemmed from a 15-day detention order issued by a court in Shaqlawa, although no official explanation for the decision was made public. Calls for his immediate release intensified after the Metro Center for...

October 26, 2025 - UK/USA -  A British journalist and political commentator, Sami Hamdi, was detained by U.S. federal authorities upon arrival at San Francisco airport, where officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed his visa revocation and ongoing custody. Hamdi, known for his outspoken criticism of both U.S. and Israeli policies regarding Gaza, was en route to speak at an event and was held amid what his supporters describe as coordinated pressure from far-right, pro-Israeli lobby groups. The Council on American‑Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned the detention as a “blatant affront to free...

October 25, 2025 - Palestine -  The Gaza Strip has become one of the world’s most restricted zones for international journalism, as the State of Israel persistently bars foreign reporters and fact-finding teams in what Euro-Med describes as a “systematic policy to erase evidence of genocide and war crimes.” The organization states that journalists and independent investigators are routinely denied entry or removed from Gaza, while foreign forensic teams and autopsy specialists are prevented from accessing mass-death sites, critical equipment, and victims’ remains. This approach, Euro-Med says, aims to ensure that crime scenes are destroyed...

October 25, 2025 - General -  The International Press Institute (IPI) formally adopted a landmark resolution at its 75th General Assembly, calling on national governments to urgently expand safeguards and support mechanisms for journalists forced into exile. The resolution emphasizes that exile should not equate to silencing: journalists displaced by repressive regimes must be enabled to continue independent work, maintain safe connections with home-communities, and receive protection for themselves and their families. IPI’s policy document identifies three critical layers of action. First, states must prevent forced exile by strengthening domestic legal frameworks, guaranteeing a safe...

October 25, 2025 - Palestine/Turkey -  At the concluding session of the Gaza Tribunal held in Istanbul, Palestinian journalists, medical professionals, and witnesses gave powerful recorded testimony alleging deliberate attacks by Israeli forces on media workers, medical personnel, and non-combatants in the Gaza Strip. Among the journalists whose testimonies were presented were Mohammad Qraiqea and Hossam Shabat, both of whom were killed shortly after their recordings. Qraiqea said that “all the journalists, without exception, are under the threat of the Israeli attack.” He described burying his own mother following her death by shelling near Al-Shifa Hospital....

October 24, 2025 - Algeria/France - The appeal trial of French sports journalist Christophe Gleizes has been set for 3 December 2025 by the Tizi Ouzou Court of Justice, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Gleizes was originally sentenced on 29 June to seven years’ imprisonment after being charged with “glorifying terrorism” and “possessing publications for propaganda harmful to national interest” linked to his reporting in Algeria. Gleizes, known for his work for publications such as So Foot and Society, was arrested on 28 May 2024 while researching the Algerian football club Jeunesse Sportive de...

October 24, 2025 - Afghanistan -  An Afghan journalist, Mohammad Agha Sailani, was released from police custody in Islamabad early on Thursday, marking a sudden reversal after his detention by Pakistani authorities. He had been held in connection with enforcement operations targeting undocumented Afghan refugees in Pakistan’s capital region. The detention had been strongly condemned by the Afghanistan Media Support Organization, which described it as a “grave violation of press freedom” and of the rights of refugee journalists. That group had called for Sailani’s immediate and unconditional release, noting that the Pakistani authorities provided no...

October 24, 2025 - Turkey -  Turkish authorities have opened investigations into several journalists covering the suspicious death of university student Rojin Kabaiş and blocked access to related media reports, raising serious concerns about press freedom and transparency. Kabaiş, a 21-year-old student at Yüzüncü Yıl University in Van, disappeared on 27 September 2024, and her body was found 18 days later on the shore of Lake Van. Her death was initially ruled a suicide, but subsequent forensic work revealed DNA traces from two different men on her body, including one inside the vaginal area and...

October 24, 2025 - Ethiopia -  The Ethiopian Media Authority issued a letter on 23 October 2025 informing the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle that it would temporarily suspend the accreditation of its Amharic-language local correspondents in Ethiopia. The authority alleged that the journalists had repeatedly violated Ethiopia’s broadcasting regulations—specifically referencing Proclamations 1238/2013 and 1185/2021—and failed to uphold professional ethics, coupled with warnings and discussions that the authority said had gone unheeded. According to published reports, the warning regime began when the authority summoned the reporters for feedback, issued verbal and written notices, and finally initiated...

October 24, 2025 - India - Veteran journalist Lakshmi Narayan Singh, 54, widely known as “Pappu,” was brutally killed on Thursday evening in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. The attack took place near the Harsh Hotel, where Singh was ambushed by a group of assailants armed with a large knife. The attackers inflicted more than twenty deep wounds to his neck, abdomen, and arms before fleeing the scene. Singh, who was related to former High Court Bar Association president Ashok Singh, was rushed to Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital but died from his injuries shortly after arrival. Police...

October 24, 2025 - Sri Lanka/India -  The press-freedom organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has issued a public call urging Sri Lanka’s authorities to halt the systematic harassment of veteran Tamil photo-journalist Kanapathipillai Kumanan, who has long documented human-rights violations in the country’s northeast. Kumanan, based in the Mullaitivu district, has covered issues such as military land seizures, mass grave exhumations, and enforced disappearances affecting Tamil-speaking communities since the end of the civil war in 2009. According to RSF, the journalist has been subjected to a renewed campaign of intimidation that appears to be directly...

October 24, 2025 - USA -  Federal officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched a public reprimand of Chicago Tribune reporter Gregory Royal Pratt after he posted on X that agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were operating on 26th Street in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood. DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin reposted the message and asked, “Why is a Chicago Tribune reporter telegraphing the location of federal law enforcement?” The episode quickly ignited criticism from press freedom advocates and journalism organizations, who argued the government’s framing risks suppressing legitimate...

October 24, 2025 - Lebanon -  Lebanese journalist Sami Kleib has cautioned that although officials are offering many assurances of stability, they may be misleading given what he perceives as an imminent escalation in Israeli military activity in Lebanon. He states that his sources suggest South Lebanon and other regions used by Hezbollah or considered its base of support are likely to face intensified operations from Israel. Kleib argues that instead of broad open warfare, Israel appears to be planning a calibrated plan of action aimed at degrading Hezbollah’s military-political capabilities. He expects a surge...

October 24, 2025 - General -  The International Press Institute (IPI) has announced its 2025 recipients of the Press Freedom Hero and Free Media Pioneer awards.  Among those honored is the late Palestinian photo-journalist Mariam Abu Dagga, recognized posthumously as one of this year’s Press Freedom Heroes. The Free Media Pioneer Award for 2025 goes to independent media outlets in Hungary, acknowledged for their inventiveness and perseverance under intensified political and economic pressures. Mariam Abu Dagga, who documented events in Gaza and contributed to major international news agencies, was killed in August 2025 while covering...

October 24, 2025 - Crimea -  Crimean-Tatar citizen journalist and political prisoner Amet Suleymanov, who is serving a 12-year sentence in a Russian maximum-security penal colony, has seen his health deteriorate rapidly under incarceration. His wife, Lilia Liumanova, reported that during her visit on 24 June 2025 to the detention facility in Vladimir, Russia, she observed dangerously elevated blood pressure reaching approximately 230 mmHg and visible bodily symptoms, including a widespread rash and dental problems. Suleymanov suffers from serious and chronic heart conditions, including arterial and mitral valve insufficiency, and had previously been recommended for...

October 23, 2025 - Russia -  Ukrainian journalist Anastasiia Hlukhovska has reportedly been held by Russian authorities for over two years without formal charges while enduring brutal treatment, an investigation by Slidstvo.Info revealed. On 20 August 2023, Hlukhovska was taken from her apartment in Melitopol by officers of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB), who seized her electronic equipment and institutional records. Nevertheless, Russian authorities later claimed they had no information about her detention. Sources interviewed by Slidstvo.Info, including a fellow detainee who shared a cell with Hlukhovska in a basement facility...

October 23, 2025 - Palestine -  Palestinian journalist Plestia Alaqad has published her debut memoir, The Eyes of Gaza: A Diary of Resilience, which draws directly from diary entries she wrote during the first 45 days of the 2023 Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip after the October 7 attack by Hamas. Her book opens a raw and immediate window on life under bombardment, displacement, and survival. At just 21 when the war broke out, Alaqad had already begun using social-media video dispatches to tell the world about daily life in Gaza. Then her narrative...

October 23, 2025 - Turkey -  Journalist Ercüment Akdeniz was ordered released from pre-trial detention by the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court, after spending roughly eight months (243 days) behind bars in connection with an investigation tied to the Peoples' Democratic Congress (HDK). Akdeniz had been detained since 21 February 2025 under charges that included alleged “membership in a terrorist organization”, linked to his reporting and association with HDK-linked persons. During his hearing on 23 October, the court released him under judicial control, imposing a travel ban rather than the continuation of his detention. The...