News

October 23, 2025 - Afghanistan -  An Afghan journalist named Javed Qureshi was arrested by Pakistani police in the city of Attock, as part of a broader enforcement campaign targeting undocumented Afghan refugees. According to an audio message recorded by Qureshi, he was taken into custody without prior notice by police in the Attock district. The detention occurs amid heightened tension along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border following recent clashes involving the Taliban and Pakistani security forces, which triggered an increase in round-ups and forced deportations of Afghans residing in Pakistan. Qureshi’s arrest is consistent with a...

October 23, 2025 - India -  India’s national human-rights watchdog, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), has taken suo motu cognizance of media-reported assaults on journalists in three states — Kerala, Manipur, and Tripura. The incidents occurred on 30 August 2025 in Kerala and Manipur and on 21 September 2025 in Tripura. In each case, the journalist victims were hospitalized, and FIRs were filed. In Tripura, a journalist attending a clothes-distribution event organized by a political party in Hezamara, West Tripura, was attacked by a group wielding sticks and sharp weapons and had his motorcycle...

October 23, 2025 - Ukraine/Russia -  Two Ukrainian media workers, journalist Olena Hubanova and cameraman Yevhen Karmazin, were killed in a Russian drone strike in the city of Kramatorsk, Donetsk region. The attack, carried out using a Lancet-type unmanned aerial vehicle, targeted the area on a working day as they were carrying out their reporting duties for Freedom TV Channel. According to the regional military administration, the journalists died at the scene, and the incident is now under official investigation to determine further details, including whether they were deliberately targeted. The deaths of Hubanova and...

October 22, 2025 - Philippines - Radio broadcaster Noel Bellen Samar, 54, was ambushed Monday morning while driving along Maharlika Highway in Barangay Morera, Guinobatan, Albay province. The unidentified gunman fired at him, striking his chest and abdomen. Samar was transported to a Legazpi medical facility, but succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday after undergoing surgery. Samar worked with Kadunong ITV and DWIZ News FM – institutions that provide critical information across the Bicol region. His death was swiftly condemned by the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS), which described the attack as not...

October 22, 2025 - Turkey -  A Turkish court has handed a 10-month suspended sentence to journalist Asuman Aranca for publishing parts of an expert report in the murder case of far-right figure Sinan Ateş. The sentence was given by the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance; though the term was pronounced, it is suspended and will only be enforced if Aranca commits a similar offense within the next five years. The case centers on the December 30, 2022, killing of Sinan Ateş in Ankara. Ateş had been a former leader of the ultranationalist...

October 22, 2025 - Turkey -  Journalist Öznur Değer, the news editor of the Kurdish-women-run agency JINNEWS, has been sentenced by a Turkish court in Mardin to three years, four months, and fifteen days in prison. The conviction stems from indictments that accuse Değer of “making propaganda for a terrorist organization,” linked to her coverage and social-media commentary about a drone strike in northern Syria that killed two Kurdish journalists. Değer’s arrest came in February 2025 when anti-terror police raided her family home in the Kızıltepe district, detaining her without the presence of her lawyers....

October 21, 2025 - Palestine -  Palestinian journalist Ahmad Abu Mutayr was killed on 20 October 2025 in an Israeli strike on Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, despite an active ceasefire agreement. Mutayr was reporting from the area when the attack occurred, marking yet another journalist casualty in a conflict that has claimed the lives of dozens of media workers. His body was later transferred to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where colleagues, family members, and fellow journalists gathered to pay their respects. Mutayr’s death comes amid a growing outcry from international press freedom organizations, human rights monitors,...

October 21, 2025 - Palestine - A fragile ceasefire that began on 10 October 2025 has eased large-scale combat in Gaza and the West Bank, yet journalists in both areas continue to face severe dangers. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports that despite reduced bombardments, attacks, arrests, and harassment of reporters persist. In Gaza, two journalists were killed and another was injured since the ceasefire took effect. One succumbed to gunfire amid internal armed clashes in Gaza City, and another died in an airstrike at a media production facility. Meanwhile, in the West Bank,...

October 21, 2025 - UK - The club formerly known as Huddersfield Town has officially renamed its press box at the Accu Stadium to the “Mel Booth Press Box,” in recognition of Mel Booth’s distinguished 35-year career covering the club for the Huddersfield Daily Examiner. Booth spent more than three decades reporting on the club’s fortunes, becoming a familiar and respected presence among fans, players, and staff alike. His journalism captured decades of change—from promotions and relegations to financial upheaval—and helped document the rich history of the club. His coverage extended beyond match reports, encompassing...

October 21, 2025 - Sahel -  In recent years, the Sahel region—particularly in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger—has seen increasing repression of independent expression. Journalists, civil society activists, and ordinary citizens face harassment, imprisonment, and even torture simply for raising critical views. In Burkina Faso, journalist Idrissa Barry was abducted in March 2025 by men identifying themselves as state gendarmes. His detention followed his public criticism of human-rights abuses by armed forces and civilian defense volunteers. In Mali, anti-corruption campaigner Clément Dembélé has been jailed since November 2023 despite a judge having dismissed his case, and...

October 21, 2025 - Ethiopia -  Journalists reporting from Ethiopia’s Tigray region continue to face grave threats even after the formal conclusion of the country’s civil war. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), freelance reporters and media crews are being met with detention, raids, equipment seizure, and direct life-threatening abuse. In one documented incident, a camera operator for the regional broadcaster Tigray Broadcasting Services (TBS) was singled out by an armed militia member who pointed a gun and shouted, “Stop filming or I will shoot you!” when the crew attempted to report on...

October 21, 2025 - Greece/Turkey -  Greek state-broadcaster journalist Nikos Aslanidis was turned away by Turkish immigration authorities on 21 October 2025 while attempting to join a press delegation in Istanbul. He had been traveling with a 100-member‐strong group from the Macedonia-Thrace Journalists’ Association, intended to participate in cultural visits, including to the Hagia Sophia, and engage with the Ecumenical Patriarch. Turkish authorities reportedly invoked a vague classification—describing him as a “national threat”—to refuse entry, without offering a detailed explanation or referencing criminal charges. Aslanidis works for ERT (Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation), and his exclusion has sparked...

October 21, 2025 - Palestine - A recent online exchange highlights escalating tensions between Israel’s military and Gaza-based media figures. Gaza-resident photographer and correspondent Fadi al‑Wahidi, who worked with Al Jazeera, publicly mourned his uncle Taj al‑Din al‑Wahidi, a senior field commander in the Palestinian organization Hamas’s Jabalia battalion, killed in operations in northern Gaza. In a social-media post, al-Wahidi announced his uncle’s passing, invoking religious language and the role his relative played in the conflict. In response, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokes-team publicly ridiculed al-Wahidi’s professional status, describing him and others in similar roles as “young men … sometimes...

October 20, 2025 – Russia – Russian investigators from the Investigative Committee of Russia have completed an inquiry into a foiled plot to assassinate Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the state-backed broadcaster RT. According to official statements, the conspiracy was orchestrated by a neo-Nazi terrorist cell linked to the banned organization “National Socialism/White Power”. Investigators say the cell’s leader, Mikhail Balashov, in collaboration with co-conspirator Egor Savelyev, agreed to murder Simonyan in exchange for approximately US $50,000. The scheme reportedly involved the collection of detailed information on Simonyan’s whereabouts and movements. Weapons and ammunition were...

October 20, 2025 – China/Africa – A major media training event kicked off in Beijing on 17 October 2025, where journalists from across Africa and other nations wrapped around the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) of China and the Research Training Institute (RTI). The two-week seminar, scheduled to run until 30 October 2025, brings together media professionals from countries including The Gambia, Nigeria, Botswana, Jordan, Turkey, Panama, and Barbados. In his opening remarks, NRTA official Chang Jin emphasized China’s view of the media’s role in shaping public opinion and cultural narratives, stressing themes of...

October 20, 2025 – Nigeria – Network Against Corruption and Trafficking (NACAT) has raised serious concerns over the continued detention of journalist and activist Fejiro Oliver in Delta State, pointing to what it calls a “coordinated effort” by state actors to bypass judicial rulings and suppress critical journalism. On 16 October 2025, a Federal High Court in Asaba granted bail to Fejiro Oliver in a case brought by the Delta State government. However, while he was arranging bail terms, the state government allegedly secured a reproduction warrant for re-arraignment before a Magistrate’s Court in Asaba....

October 20, 2025 – Russia - A Russian journalist detained in Azerbaijan earlier this year has been released and has returned to Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced. The individual, Igor Kartavykh, executive director of the Russian state-affiliate agency Sputnik Azerbaijan, was arrested in June in Baku as part of a broader operation targeting the outlet amid escalating diplomatic tensions between Moscow and Baku. Kartavykh’s release reportedly follows high-level diplomatic discussions between Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev held in Dushanbe. One source cited by Reuters suggested the deal included the release of a detained Azerbaijani...

October 20, 2025 - General - At its 81st General Assembly, convened in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) flagged a deeply troubling trend: journalism across Latin America and the Caribbean is under intensifying threat. After four days of panels and presentations, the assembly’s final communique warned of an increasingly hostile environment for the media, rooted in official discourse that stigmatizes journalists, alongside shrinking legal protections and rising impunity. Delegates representing media outlets from more than two dozen countries detailed multiple forms of pressure on the press: verbal attacks from political...

October 21, 2025 - Palestine -  As the conflict in the Gaza Strip enters a new chapter, journalists based in the West Bank are increasingly vocal about the threats to their work and safety. The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism reports that media professionals operating in the occupied territories are facing intensifying restrictions — from denial of access, to targeted harassment and legal and physical risks. These journalists describe a shrinking space for reporting: while covering an area in evolution, they are confronted with the enforcement of military-style controls on movement, heavy surveillance,...

October 20, 2025 - UK -  In a recent statement, the BBC’s Director-General Tim Davie declared that staff working within the newsroom are prohibited from wearing “Black Lives Matter” T-shirts. He clarified that while the organization firmly opposes racism, staff must maintain impartiality and avoid visible political affiliations. During an appearance at a literature festival in Cheltenham, Davie said news reporters should not combine their professional role with campaigning: “You cannot have any assumption about where people are politically. You leave it at the door, and your religion is journalism in the BBC.” He drew...

October 20, 2025 - Canada -  The Canadian union Unifor has announced its support for the upcoming International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists on November 2, 2025, underscoring the essential role journalists play in democratic societies. Unifor emphasizes that despite journalistic efforts to expose wrongdoing, hold power to account and inform citizens, many media workers continue to face threats, legal intimidation, harassment and deadly attacks—often without any accountability for the perpetrators. The union calls for several concrete changes to protect journalists, including: Crafting laws that specifically punish doxxing, online harassment, surveillance, and physical attacks on media workers. Ensuring law enforcement...

October 20, 2025 - Australia/Malaysia - The Shah Alam High Court in Malaysia has ruled that Australian journalist and commentator Murray Hunter is liable for defamation in a civil suit brought by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). The judgment, delivered on 15 October 2025, arose from a series of publications between April and November 2024 in which Hunter allegedly made false and harmful claims about the regulator’s conduct. Hunter, who resides in Thailand, said he learned of the ruling via an online court system and was never served notice of the legal action...

October 20, 2025 - Belarus - A Belarusian journalist, Pavel Dabravolski, has been formally charged with high treason. This crime carries a potential prison sentence of up to 15 years under Article 356 (Part 1) of the Belarusian Criminal Code. Dabravolski, aged 35, was arrested on 22 January 2025 shortly after returning to Minsk from abroad. Before his detention, he worked at the independent news agency BelaPAN, which Belarusian authorities declared an “extremist formation” in 2021. Press freedom groups, including the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), have recognized Dabravolski as a political prisoner, citing a wider...

October 20, 2025 - Philippines - Philippine authorities are under pressure to swiftly investigate the shooting of radio journalist Noël Bellen Samar, 54, a broadcaster with Kadunong ITV and DWIZ in the Bicol region. The incident occurred on the Maharlika Highway in Barangay Morera, Guinobatan, Albay province, and Samar sustained four gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen, reportedly fired from a .45-caliber pistol. He was rushed to the Bicol Regional Hospital and Medical Center for emergency surgery. Following the attack on 20 October 2025, the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) condemned the...

October 20, 2025 - Bangladesh -  A journalist working for the Bangladeshi daily Amar Desh was physically attacked on 19 October 2025 while reporting inside the headquarters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in the Gulshan-2 area of Dhaka. The reporter, identified as Jahidul Islam, was covering internal nomination activity among BNP aspirants from the Sylhet division when a confrontation broke out. According to Islam’s account, at around 4:30 pm, he began filming the commotion inside the BNP office when several individuals suddenly dragged him into another room, struck him repeatedly, shattered his mobile phone,...