News

April 10, 2025 - Palestine/Israel -  In May 2025, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) publicly expressed solidarity with journalists worldwide who are facing oppression, censorship, and violence. This move came amid growing concerns over the safety and freedom of the press in many countries, where journalists face harassment, arbitrary arrests, and even killings for doing their work. PFUJ highlighted cases from various parts of the world where journalists continue to suffer under authoritarian regimes, conflict zones, and politically sensitive environments. They condemned attacks on press freedom as an attack on democracy itself and...

April 10, 2025 - Iran -  On April 9, 2025, Iranian journalist and human rights defender Vida Rabbani was conditionally released from Tehran’s Evin Prison after serving 32 months of a five-year sentence. Her release was granted under a provisional suspension of two years of her sentence by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court. Rabbani was initially detained in January 2020 while reporting on protests following the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Although her sentence was later suspended, she was rearrested during the 2022 protests over the...

April 10, 2025 - Belgium/Ukraine -  From April 9 to 11, 2025, the European Parliament’s Info Hub in Brussels hosted a poignant photo exhibition titled Imprisoned Freedom, dedicated to Ukrainian journalists unlawfully detained by Russian authorities. Organized by NGO Integrity UA, the Mission of Ukraine to the EU, the Institute of Mass Information, and media platform Promote Ukraine, with support from the International Renaissance Foundation, the exhibition aimed to shed light on the challenges faced by media professionals in occupied territories. The exhibition featured powerful narratives and images of at least 30 Ukrainian journalists currently...

April 10, 2025 - India -  On April 10, 2025, journalist and Right to Information (RTI) activist Raghvendra Bajpai was shot dead in Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh. Bajpai, a correspondent for the Hindi daily Dainik Jagran, was ambushed while crossing the Hempur railway overbridge along the Lucknow-Delhi National Highway. His assassination was the result of a murder plot allegedly orchestrated by a local temple priest, Vikas Rathore, also known as Shivanand Baba. According to police investigations, Bajpai had threatened to expose Rathore after witnessing him sexually assaulting a minor boy at his temple. Fearing public scandal...

April 10, 2025 - Russia -  On April 10, 2025, a Moscow court sentenced four journalists—Antonina Favorskaya, Artyom Kriger, Sergey Karelin, and Konstantin Gabov—to five and a half years in prison for alleged involvement with the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), which was designated as an extremist organization by Russian authorities in 2021. Favorskaya and Kriger were affiliated with the independent outlet SotaVision, known for covering protests and political trials. Gabov and Karelin worked as freelance journalists for international media organizations, including Reuters and the Associated Press. The journalists were accused of...

April 10, 2025 - Haiti -  On March 31, 2025, Haitian journalist Roger Claudy Israël and his brother Marco were abducted in Mirebalais during a violent offensive by the armed gang coalition Viv Ansanm. Israël, founder of local radio station RC FM and former correspondent for Radio Ginen, was targeted amid escalating violence against journalists in the region. A video released by the gang showed the brothers handcuffed and threatened with execution, highlighting the severe risks faced by media professionals in Haiti. The abduction prompted urgent calls for their release from organizations including Reporters Without...

April 09, 2025 - Belgium -  On March 6, 2025, Belgian freelance photojournalist Simon Clément was arrested at Lengpui Airport in Aizawl, Mizoram, after two empty bullet cartridges were discovered in his luggage during a routine security check. Clément, who had recently returned from Myanmar, claimed the spent casings were souvenirs from his time documenting conflict zones in Chin State. Authorities charged Clément under Section 25(1-B) of the Indian Arms Act, 1959, for possession of ammunition, and Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, 1946, for allegedly crossing into Myanmar without valid documentation. He was initially...

April 09, 2025 - India -  On April 11, 2025, freelance journalist Rupesh Kumar Singh completed 1,000 days of incarceration under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Singh was arrested on July 17, 2022, in Jharkhand on charges of alleged links to Maoist groups, a claim he and his supporters vehemently deny. His arrest followed a raid on his residence, during which electronic devices were seized. Subsequently, he was implicated in multiple UAPA cases, raising concerns about the misuse of anti-terror laws to stifle dissent. Singh is renowned for his investigative reporting on issues affecting...

April 09, 2025 - Nigeria -  On April 7, 2025, a peaceful demonstration organized by the 'Take It Back' Movement in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, escalated into violence when police officers allegedly assaulted journalists covering the event. The protest aimed to oppose the federal government's declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State and the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and 27 state lawmakers. Journalists from various media outlets, including Channels Television, AIT, Classic FM, and Nigeria Info, reported being targeted by police while performing their duties. Charles Opurum of Channels TV...

April 09, 2025 - Palestine -  In an April 2025 article, Palestinian journalist Tareq S. Hajjaj strongly refuted Israeli military claims that his colleague, journalist Hassan Eslayeh, was a Hamas operative. Eslayeh was severely injured in an Israeli airstrike, losing two fingers. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) alleged that Eslayeh had taken part in the October 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel, but Hajjaj maintains these claims are false and unsubstantiated. Eslayeh has worked extensively with both local and international media, providing frontline coverage of the Gaza conflict. According to Hajjaj, on October 7, Eslayeh...

April 09, 2025 - Palestine -  On April 7, 2025, an Israeli airstrike struck a tent sheltering journalists near the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, killing two Palestinian journalists and injuring at least eight others. Among the victims was Ahmed Mansour, a reporter for Palestine Today, who suffered severe burns and died the next day after being filmed engulfed in flames. The tent had been used as a makeshift media workspace and was located in an area that journalists say was clearly identified and regularly used by members of the press. Mansour’s...

April 09, 2025 - Sweden/Turkey -  In April 2025, Turkish courts upheld the pretrial detention of two journalists—Swedish reporter Kaj Joakim Medin and Turkish broadcaster Sedef Kabaş—fueling renewed concerns about press freedom in the country. Both journalists were charged under Turkey’s controversial laws on “insulting the president,” which critics say are increasingly used to stifle dissent. Kaj Joakim Medin was arrested on March 27, 2025, after landing in Istanbul to report on large-scale protests triggered by the detention of opposition mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. Turkish authorities accused Medin of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and being...

April 08, 2025 - Palestine -  On April 7, 2025, an Israeli airstrike hit a tent used by journalists near the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, killing two journalists and injuring at least eight others. The targeted tent was part of a press camp set up by local and international journalists reporting on the ongoing conflict. Witnesses said the area was marked and known to host media workers, making the strike especially alarming. Journalist Hilmi al-Faqawi, who worked for Palestine Today TV, was killed instantly in the blast. His colleague, Ahmed Mansour,...

April 08, 2025 - Palestine - Since the onset of Israel's military campaign in Gaza in October 2023, at least 211 journalists have lost their lives, according to the Gaza Government Media Office. This alarming figure underscores the escalating dangers faced by media professionals in the region. The recent death of journalist Ahmed Mansour, who succumbed to severe burns sustained during an Israeli airstrike on a media tent, marked the 211th casualty among journalists in the conflict. The Palestinian National Council (PNC), the highest decision-making body of the Palestine Liberation Organization, has condemned these attacks,...

April 08, 2025 - Palestine - On April 7, 2025, an Israeli airstrike targeted a tent near the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, killing two journalists and injuring several others. The tent, clearly marked and known to host media personnel, was engulfed in flames following the strike. Journalist Ahmed Mansour, a reporter for Palestine Today, suffered severe burns and succumbed to his injuries the following day. His death brought the total number of journalists killed in Gaza since October 2023 to at least 211, according to the Gaza Government Media Office. The...

April 08, 2025 - Ukraine -  Viktoriia Roshchyna, a 27-year-old Ukrainian journalist, dedicated her career to exposing the harsh realities of Russia's occupation of Ukrainian territories. Her fearless reporting, particularly on the systemic torture and unlawful detention of civilians, led her to the occupied regions of Zaporizhzhia in August 2023. During this trip, she vanished, and her fate remained unknown until April 2024, when Russia confirmed her detention. In October 2024, the Russian Ministry of Defence informed her family of her death in captivity. Roshchyna's body was returned to Ukraine in February 2025 as part...

April 08, 2025 - Sudan -  Since the outbreak of civil war in Sudan in April 2023, at least seven journalists have been killed, with one reported missing and several others detained, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has severely compromised press freedom, with both factions accused of deliberately targeting media professionals. Among the notable casualties is Halima Idris Salim, a journalist for Sudan Bokra, who was fatally struck by an RSF vehicle while reporting in Omdurman on October 10,...

April 08, 2025 - Guatemala -  Nelton Rivera, a prominent Guatemalan journalist and co-founder of Prensa Comunitaria, is facing a concerted online smear and threat campaign aimed at discrediting his investigative reporting on corruption. Since February 2025, social media accounts known as “net centers” have been disseminating manipulated images and false narratives about Rivera, including doctored photos depicting him behind bars alongside imprisoned journalist José Rubén Zamora. These posts falsely accuse Rivera of collaborating with organized crime and call for his arrest, escalating in frequency and intensity through March and April. The smear campaign coincides...

April 08, 2025 - Palestine -  On April 7, 2025, an Israeli airstrike deliberately targeted a tent sheltering journalists near Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, resulting in the death of Palestinian journalist Helmi Al-Faqaawi and another individual. Several other journalists were injured, with some sustaining serious wounds. This attack sparked immediate condemnation from human rights groups and press freedom organizations worldwide. The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor denounced the strike as a calculated assault on the press, carried out with full awareness of its consequences. The organization emphasized that such attacks aim to silence...

April 08, 2025 - Azerbaijan -  In a further blow to media freedom in Azerbaijan, authorities have recently initiated legal actions against independent journalists, underscoring a widening campaign to suppress critical voices. Three separate cases spotlight the tactics used to intimidate and penalize reporters who challenge official narratives. The first case involves an investigative journalist who was summoned for questioning under charges of “illicit funding of non-governmental organizations.” Prosecutors allege that his reporting on alleged financial irregularities within civil society groups amounted to collusion with foreign entities—a charge that carries severe penalties. Colleagues say the...

April 08, 2025 - Source: CPJ -  Zimbabwean authorities should stop their victimization of broadcast journalist Blessed Mhlanga, who, after 43 days in jail, was denied bail for the third time on Monday, and must ensure that charges against him are dropped immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. Mhlanga, a journalist for privately owned Heart and Soul Television, has been detained since February 24 on incitement charges for interviewing a war veteran who called for President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s resignation. “The repeated denial of bail is yet another example of the injustice that Blessed Mhlanga has been forced to endure for simply...

April 08, 2025 - Source: CPJ -  The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about deteriorating media safety amid surging violence in Haiti, in which at least one journalist was kidnapped and two were almost lynched. Roger Claudy Israël, owner of local radio station RC FM, and his brother were kidnapped in the central city of Mirebalais by Viv Ansanm gang members who threatened to execute their captives in an April 4 video. Viv Ansanm, or Living Together in Creole, is an alliance of former rival gangs who joined forces in 2023 and took control of most of the capital Port-au-Prince. Gangs attacked Mirebalais on March 31,...

April 08, 2025 - Source: OC Media -  Saba Sordia, a journalist for the online magazine Indigo, who was arrested on charges of disobeying police orders, has been released from administrative detention.  The prosecution, however, is still seeking to issue an administrative fine against him. Tbilisi City Court judge Zviad Tsekvava announced at Tuesday’s hearing that the final decision in the case will be delivered on 17 April. Sordia was detained on Sunday in the street in Tbilisi by law enforcement officers after they checked his identity and searched his bag. On Monday, his detention was...

April 08, 2025 - Source: RFERL -  Detained Azerbaijani journalist and economist Farid Mehralizada testified in court on April 8 that his imprisonment was politically motivated, tied directly to his critical reporting for RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service, known locally as Azadliq Radiosu. During his appearance at the Baku Court of Serious Crimes, Mehralizada, 30, detailed the events surrounding his arrest on smuggling charges in late May 2024. He described being blindfolded and taken to an unknown location before ending up at the Baku City Police Department, where he said he faced physical and psychological pressure to unlock his...

April 8, 2025 - Georgia - In April 2025, Georgian journalist Saba Sordia, affiliated with the online magazine Indigo, was detained by police near the Marjanishvili metro station in Tbilisi. The incident began when officers stopped Sordia for an identity check and proceeded to search his bag. Sordia complied with the request but objected when officers attempted to open a specific pocket, insisting he would do it himself. This disagreement led to his arrest on charges of disobeying a lawful police order under Article 173 of the Administrative Offenses Code. Following his arrest on April...