News

September 25, 2024 - Egypt/UK -  British-Egyptian blogger and activist Alaa Abdel Fattah remains imprisoned in Egypt despite completing his five-year sentence in September 2024, prompting renewed international condemnation. Press freedom organizations, including Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the International Press Institute (IPI), alongside a recent UN ruling, have declared his continued detention both arbitrary and illegal under international law. Alaa, a key figure in Egypt’s 2011 revolution and a longtime critic of government repression, was convicted in 2021 on charges of "spreading false news"—a broadly defined offense often used by Egyptian authorities to silence...

September 25, 2024 - China -  Hong Kong’s government has denied entry and refused a visa renewal for French photojournalist Louise Delmotte, who was working for the Associated Press. Her expulsion marks yet another troubling sign of the shrinking space for press freedom in the once semi-autonomous city. Delmotte had been based in Hong Kong since March 2023 and was widely recognized for her coverage of politically sensitive topics, including the trial of jailed pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai. According to reports, Delmotte’s work visa application was rejected without explanation earlier this year. On September...

September 25, 2024 - Croatia - A recent press freedom mission by the International Press Institute (IPI) and the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) has found that Croatia’s media environment is under serious threat from entrenched political interference, outdated laws, and economic instability. While Croatia is an EU member and its constitution guarantees freedom of expression, the practical reality for journalists and media outlets is increasingly precarious. One of the most pressing concerns is the misuse of defamation and insult laws. These criminal statutes are frequently used in strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs), designed...

September 24, 2024 - Cambodia - In a disturbing twist, Cambodian journalist Ouk Mao, who helped expose illegal deforestation in the Phnom Chum Rok Sat community forest, now finds himself accused of the very crime he uncovered. Mao, 49, was charged with deforestation and incitement—serious offenses in Cambodia that carry prison terms of up to 10 and 2 years respectively—after he reported on land seizures and forest destruction linked to powerful political and military interests. Mao’s investigative work revealed how the Lin Vatey company, allegedly connected to military figures, had taken over large swaths of...

September 24, 2024 - Iran -  Iranian security forces arrested Fardin Mostafaei, a 39-year-old Kurdish investigative journalist and administrator of the popular Telegram channel Saqqez Rudaw, in a café in Saqqez, Kurdistan Province. He has since been held at an undisclosed location, with authorities neither revealing charges nor location—a form of enforced disappearance. Mostafaei’s tensions with the state began in November 2023 when Saqqez's cyber police (FATA) summoned him following complaints from the city’s governor. He was interrogated for allegedly "spreading false information" and “disturbing public opinion” related to his reporting on local socio-economic issues. PEN...

September 24, 2024 - Mexico -  veteran reporter Mario Leonel Gómez Sánchez, a correspondent for El Heraldo de Chiapas, was gunned down outside his home in Yajalón, Chiapas—Europe's most violent region for the press in Mexico—reportedly shot by two men on a motorcycle. Gómez, 41, had long exposed organized crime and corruption in local government, including threats received in 2016 from a congressman’s associate after he reported on alleged abuses. Though three suspects were arrested and convicted years later—with one receiving 25 years and two others 19 years—the intellectual authors behind the murder remain unidentified. The Chiapas...

September 24, 2024 - Yemen -  In a milestone for press freedom and journalist protection, two Yemeni universities—Saba Region University in Marib and Al Mahrah University—have become the first in the country to adopt the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and UNESCO’s Media Safety Curriculum. The integration of this course into journalism programs marks a proactive step toward equipping future reporters with the tools and knowledge necessary to navigate the dangerous and politically unstable media landscape in Yemen. The curriculum, developed by IFJ and UNESCO with support from the Multi-Donor Programme on Freedom of Expression...

September 24, 2024 - Sahel - In a bold regional initiative, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), alongside 547 community radio stations across the Sahel, has launched an urgent appeal to protect local journalism from growing threats. The joint statement, released during a large-scale mobilization event in Bamako on September 24, 2024, underscores the vital role community radio plays in informing rural populations in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Chad—regions increasingly plagued by violence, extremism, and media suppression. Community radio stations in the Sahel are often the only accessible source of independent news for millions of people....

September 24, 2024 - Afghanistan -  The Taliban have intensified their clampdown on press freedom by banning all live political broadcasts in Afghanistan, marking a chilling escalation in their control over the country’s media landscape. The directive, issued on September 21, 2024, by the Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture, mandates that all political and current affairs programs be pre-recorded and vetted before airing. Broadcasters must also select their guests from a pre-approved list of 68 individuals and submit detailed plans of their programs in advance. This unprecedented restriction extends to both television and radio,...

September 23, 2024 - General -  United Nations Summit of the Future in New York, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), backed by 123 civil society organizations, called for urgent and concrete action to safeguard press freedom globally. Their appeal came days before the Summit opened on September 22 and emphasized that democratic principles and sustainable development cannot survive without free, independent media. The focus was on the UN’s “Pact for the Future,” a landmark document intended to guide global cooperation and sustainable development in the coming decades. CPJ acknowledged that the latest version of...

September 23, 2024 - Belarus -  Belarusian authorities have detained and sentenced journalist Yauhen Nikalayevich in what press freedom advocates are calling a clear act of retaliation against independent journalism. The 2024 arrest and subsequent sentencing mark yet another alarming chapter in Belarus’s ongoing suppression of critical voices under President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime. Nikalayevich, a former video reporter for Media Polesye, was initially targeted in 2020 after covering mass protests in Pinsk demanding Lukashenko’s resignation. He was arrested, reportedly beaten, and served 10 days in administrative detention before fleeing the country and ceasing his journalistic...

September 23, 2024 - Somalia -  Somalia is still grappling with a severe crisis: attacks on journalists persist while perpetrators rarely face justice. According to the International Press Institute (IPI), an alarming number of journalists killed in Somalia have never seen their killers prosecuted. In November 2023, IPI and the Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) formally urged national institutions—including the Attorney General’s Office, the National Media Council, and the Ministry of Information—to prioritize journalist safety and thoroughly investigate at least 11 documented killings dating back to 2016. Despite constitutional guarantees of media freedom and commitments under...

September 23, 2024 - Kurdistan/Turkey -  Turkish authorities have launched a formal investigation into Kurdish journalist Rabia Önver, accusing her of “publicly spreading disinformation” after she reported on alleged corruption, narcotics trafficking, and prostitution involving officials in Hakkari province. The case marks a troubling escalation in the Turkish government’s use of its 2022 disinformation law to suppress independent journalism. On September 20, 2024, police reportedly raided Önver’s home in Hakkari under a prosecutor’s warrant, confiscating digital equipment and seeking her arrest, though she was not present at the time. The investigation was triggered by her reporting...

September 23, 2024 - India -  Broadcast journalist Salman Ali Khan, aged 35 and affiliated with a local TV channel and YouTube, was tragically shot dead by three unidentified assailants on motorcycles near a hospital in Rajgarh district, Madhya Pradesh, on the evening of September 17, 2024. He was riding with his nine-year-old son when attackers opened fire; Khan was rushed to the hospital but died upon arrival. Earlier in February 2023, Khan had suffered a violent assault, attacked with a sword and knife, possibly motivated by a personal feud, which also injured his brother. The International...

September 23, 2024 - Afghanistan -  The Taliban began jamming broadcasts of Afghanistan International (AITV), a London-based station delivering independent news to Afghan audiences. Starting September 5, Kabul viewers experienced intermittent “no signal” messages, while video evidence confirmed intentional disruption of the station’s satellite feed. CPJ condemned the move, labeling it “a new low” and urging the Taliban to halt its interference with AITV’s broadcasts. CPJ Program Director Carlos Martínez de la Serna warned that the use of “sophisticated technology” for jamming is alarming and emblematic of expanding efforts to silence independent journalism. An investigative report...

September 23, 2024 - Sri Lanka -  Election of Anura Kumara Dissanayake as Sri Lanka’s new president, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has issued a direct and urgent appeal, urging him to commit to restoring press freedom in a country where journalists have long endured censorship, harassment, and violence. Sri Lanka currently ranks 150th out of 180 countries in RSF’s World Press Freedom Index, reflecting a deep and ongoing erosion of media rights. RSF’s statement, released on September 23, highlights the deteriorating state of journalism under the previous government, where legislation such as the Prevention of...

September 22, 2024 - UN -  At the United Nations Summit of the Future in September 2024, expectations were high that global leaders would commit to robust protections for freedom of expression and access to information. However, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Article 19, the summit ultimately delivered a diluted outcome, prioritizing rhetoric over decisive action. RSF sharply criticized the final Pact for the Future and accompanying Global Digital Compact, describing them as “a missed opportunity” for advancing journalism and democratic information governance. These documents—adopted by UN member states on September 22—mention protecting journalists...

September 22, 2024 - Palestine -  Heavily armed and masked Israeli soldiers launched a pre-dawn raid on Al Jazeera's office in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank. The raid was broadcast live, showing troops forcibly entering the bureau and handing a 45‑day closure order to bureau chief Walid al‑Omari, citing alleged “incitement to and support of terrorism”. Journalists were instructed to evacuate with only personal belongings; cameras, documents, and archives were confiscated. Tear gas was reportedly deployed, and soldiers dismantled a poster of the late Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Al Jazeera condemned the raid as a “criminal...

September 20, 2024 - China -  Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned the re-arrest of Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, calling it a renewed act of repression against independent journalism in China. Zhang, a former lawyer who rose to prominence for her reporting from Wuhan during the initial COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, was detained again in August 2024, just three months after completing a four-year prison sentence for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” Zhang’s earlier imprisonment followed her courageous documentation of the lockdown in Wuhan, where she livestreamed images, interviewed locals, and challenged the official...

September 20, 2024 - Russia -  Russian authorities escalated their crackdown on independent journalism, issuing fines to 11 journalists and imposing legal restrictions on two media outlets under the guise of “anti-state” legislation. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), these actions are part of a broader effort to suppress dissenting voices amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. Journalists were fined under a range of repressive laws, including those governing so-called “foreign agents,” “undesirable organizations,” and wartime “disinformation.” Among them was Aida Ivanova, editor-in-chief of the Siberian outlet SakhaDay, who was fined for sharing...

September 20, 2024 - France -  In a bold initiative to protect independent journalism and support displaced media professionals, France has launched the “Voices in Exile” program, making Paris a central hub for exiled journalists. Spearheaded by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Canal France International (CFI), SINGA, and the Maison des Journalistes—with support from the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs—the program offers a comprehensive support system for journalists forced to flee repressive regimes. Officially launched in September 2024, the three-year initiative will support four cohorts of displaced journalists through a nine-month process, including a...

September 20, 2024 - Poland -  Poland is experiencing a rare window of opportunity to restore and strengthen press freedom, according to a recent fact-finding mission by the International Press Institute (IPI) and its Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners. In a report released following their September 2024 visit to Warsaw, the delegation acknowledged early improvements but emphasized the urgent need for comprehensive and ambitious reforms to secure long-term media independence. Recent steps taken by Poland’s new government have included reducing political influence over public media, ending biased state advertising practices following the sale of...

September 20, 2024 - Azerbaijan -  Bahruz Samadov, a prominent researcher, peace activist, and freelance journalist, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison in a closed‑door trial by Baku’s Grave Crimes Court, following treason charges stemming from his August 2024 detention. Initially arrested on August 21 while visiting family in Baku, Samadov was accused of passing unspecified information to Armenia—charges he vehemently denies. Prosecutors sought a 16‑year sentence; Samadov is reported to have attempted suicide and begun a hunger strike amid trial proceedings, highlighting the dire conditions he faced. Samadov, born in 1995, holds a doctoral degree...

September 20, 2024 - Iran -  The Free Narges Coalition—a partnership of PEN America, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Front Line Defenders, and the Narges Mohammadi Foundation—is urging Iran for the immediate and unconditional release of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian prepares to address the United Nations General Assembly on September 24, 2024. Mohammadi, a senior figure in Iran’s human rights and press freedom movement, has been detained in Evin Prison since November 2021. Her health has severely deteriorated: her coronary artery, already stented in 2021 for a 75 percent blockage, has worsened; she...

September 20, 2024 - Malaysia -  Malaysia’s Federal Court dismissed British investigative journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown’s final appeal in a civil defamation case tied to her 2018 book The Sarawak Report, which investigated the massive 1MDB corruption scandal. The court ruled that the appeal lacked sufficient merit to be heard, thereby upholding a lower court's decision ordering Rewcastle Brown and two others to pay RM 300,000 (approximately USD 71,000) in damages and RM 120,000 in legal costs to the Sultanah of Terengganu, who claimed she was defamed in the book. The court also imposed an...