News

November 28, 2025 - Turkey -  A court in Istanbul has acquitted four journalists who had faced trial for covering mass protests earlier this year. This decision marks a significant moment for press freedom in Turkey. The defendants include photographer Yasin Akgul from Agence France-Presse (AFP) and journalists Ali Onur Tosun (NOW Haber) and freelancers Bulent Kilic and Zeynep Kuray. They had been arrested in March during dawn raids amid a sweeping wave of demonstrations triggered by the detention of opposition political figures. The charges against them centered on alleged violations of Turkey’s laws regulating...

November 28, 2025 - India -  The home of veteran Jammu journalist Arfaz Ahmad Daing in the Narwal area of Jammu was demolished by officials from the Jammu Development Authority (JDA) last Thursday, triggering uproar and sparking a political storm across the Union Territory. Authorities claim the structure sat on government land; the family and neighbours contest that the house was their longtime residence of nearly 35–40 years. Calls for accountability came swiftly. The region’s Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary demanded that JDA clarify who ordered the demolition, warning that responsible officers could face...

November 28, 2025 - Russia -  A new documentary is drawing stark attention to the fate of independent journalism in Russia through the eyes of those who risked everything to speak truth to power. The film My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow — made by Julia Loktev — offers a raw, immersive portrait of young journalists who continued to report on societal abuses even after being tagged as “foreign agents” by the Russian government. Loktev began filming in Moscow in October 2021, capturing daily life inside the independent media outlet TV...

November 27, 2025 - Turkey -  A court in Istanbul on November 26, 2025, sentenced veteran journalist Fatih Altaylı to four years and two months in prison after finding him guilty of “threatening” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The verdict stems from remarks Altaylı made in a June 2025 broadcast on his YouTube channel, where he referenced historical cases of Ottoman sultans being deposed or killed — comments prosecutors interpreted as a veiled threat against Erdoğan. Altaylı, 63, has been detained since June, days after the video went viral. The broadcast criticized a proposed lifetime...

November 27, 2025 - France -  A wave of solidarity has swept French media as more than 300 outlets unite in calling for the immediate release of sports journalist Christophe Gleizes, currently jailed in Algeria on charges critics say turn basic reporting into “terrorism.” Gleizes, 36, was arrested on May 28, 2024, while covering the storied football club Jeunesse Sportive de Kabylie (JS Kabylie) in the Kabylie region. Last June, a court in Tizi Ouzou sentenced him to seven years in prison for “glorifying terrorism” and “possessing propaganda publications harmful to national interests.” Advocacy groups argue...

November 26, 2025 - Nigeria -  Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called for the immediate release of journalist Friday James Alefia, who has been detained since September on cybercrime charges tied to his reporting on governmental corruption and land-grabbing allegations. According to the charge sheet reviewed by CPJ, Alefia, publisher of the online outlet Naija News Today, faces five counts, including “making false statements” via media and social-media platforms under the provisions of the Cybercrimes Act. He was arrested at his home in Ikorodu, Lagos State, and transferred to a detention facility in Gudu, Abuja....

November 26, 2025 - Yemen - The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate (YJS) — in collaboration with the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) — convened a solidarity meeting to support women journalists in Yemen confronting violence, incitement, and smear campaigns. The meeting aligned with the international campaign 16 Days of Activism Against Gender‑Based Violence. The gathering was prompted by growing concern over threats aimed at female media professionals. Among the concerns was the situation of a television journalist from Aljomhouriya TV, Ahad Yaseen, who has become the target of coordinated attacks by influential religious and political figures....

November 26, 2025 - Ecuador -  The city of Guayaquil was shaken on the morning of November 26, 2025, by the killing of Darwin Fernando Baque, a cameraman-turned-digital reporter and administrator of the news page Guayaquil al Rojo Vivo. According to police reports, Baque, 38, was fatally shot in the south-side neighbourhood of Florida 1 (Guasmo Sur) at approximately 00:30, after leaving a family gathering. Witnesses say two unidentified assailants approached Baque on a motorcycle and opened fire, inflicting multiple gunshot wounds. Investigators later recovered at least 12 spent 9 mm shell casings at the...

November 26, 2025 - General - Al Jazeera Media Network has secured a string of prestigious awards, including its first-ever International Emmy Award, underscoring the network’s global influence and journalistic impact in 2025. At the 53rd International Emmy Awards held on November 24, 2025, in New York, Gaza: Search for Life — the episode of the Arabic-language series The Story Continues (in Arabic, “للقصة بقية”) — won the Emmy in the News category. Selected against 64 international nominees, Al Jazeera stood out as the only Arab network to reach the final shortlist this year. The award-winning...

November 25, 2025 - Turkey - Ali Barış Kurt, a journalist imprisoned in Turkey, has had his conditional release postponed by six months, according to recent reports from 24–25 November 2025. Kurt was handed a two-year and four-month sentence earlier this year, a conviction upheld by the highest court. He was sent to Maltepe No. 1 L-Type Prison on 8 February 2025 after the ruling. The decision to delay Kurt’s release came from the Prison Administration and Observation Board, which cited his alleged “lack of remorse” and claimed he remained a “security risk.” According to...

November 25, 2025 - Turkey -  A criminal case has been launched against two Kurdish journalists — Öznur Değer and Osman Akın — for publishing a report that alleged torture by security forces during a 2024 raid in the village of Marînê, in the Nusaybin district of Mardin province. According to the indictment, their article accused a senior gendarmerie commander of torture, naming Kamil Aksoy, and the prosecutor’s office argues that the piece constitutes “targeted defamation” rather than protected journalism. The report in question was published on July 16, 2024. It detailed serious allegations, including...

November 25, 2025 - Palestine -  Shadi Abu Sido, a journalist from Gaza recently released after 20 months of detention by Israeli forces, has shared harrowing details of his time in custody. His account — first published on November 24, 2025 — reveals a prolonged period of physical and psychological torture beginning in March 2024, when Israeli forces raided Al‑Shifa Hospital and rounded up thousands of Palestinians, including journalists. According to Abu Sido, what began as a detention escalated into what he later called “20 months of psychological warfare.” During his confinement, he suffered repeated...

November 25, 2025 - Palestine -  International journalists remain barred from independently entering the Gaza Strip more than two years after the war began. On November 25, 2025, the Foreign Press Association (FPA) and other media-rights groups learned that the Supreme Court of Israel had again granted the government’s request to maintain the ban, prolonging the media blackout for the foreseeable future. When the war erupted in 2023, the authorities closed Gaza’s borders to foreign press, citing security concerns. The FPA challenged the ban on indoor courts, arguing for independent coverage. That petition was rejected,...

November 25, 2025 - USA -  Media organisations in the United States are confronting an intensifying legal campaign from former President Trump, who is leveraging lawsuits and threats to challenge reporting he deems unfavourable. According to a recent piece in TheWrap, major outlets including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Guardian now face an increasingly hostile climate as editorial decisions come under scrutiny. In a public statement to TheWrap, Patrick Healy — assistant managing editor for trust and standards at The New York Times — noted that the old model of...

November 25, 2025 - Afghanistan/Pakistan -  Afghan journalist Noorullah Akbari was arrested by Pakistani police on November 23, 2025, in the Faisal Town neighborhood of Islamabad, according to multiple media-rights sources. He was subsequently transferred to a temporary holding center known as “Haji Camp,” where migrants are often detained before deportation. This arrest appears to be part of a broader crackdown on Afghan migrants and refugees in Pakistan, a campaign that has significantly intensified in recent months. The sweep has targeted not only undocumented migrants but also Afghan media workers, raising serious concerns about the safety...

November 25, 2025 - Russia/Ukraine - A harrowing escalation in attacks on media workers has unfolded on the Ukrainian front lines. In October 2025, a UNITED24Media news crew came under fire from a Russian First-Person-View (FPV) drone. The assault was described as an “ambush”: the drone struck a car carrying journalists, forcing them to leap from the vehicle seconds before impact. The attack illustrates a disturbing evolution in the threats faced by frontline reporters. That same month saw tragic consequences: Antoni Lallican, a French photojournalist working with UNITED24Media, was killed by a Russian FPV drone...

November 25, 2025 - Turkey -  A new wave of death threats has once again put the safety of Turkish-Cypriot journalists under the spotlight. On 24 November 2025, Pınar Barut — editor-in-chief of the online outlet Özgür Gazete Kıbrıs — revealed that she and her family have been targeted with serious threats. Threatening messages demanded a ransom of one million US dollars per person within two days and warned that failure to pay would result in violence, including burning her home and workplace. The senders also threatened her children and spouse, referencing personal details such...

November 24, 2025 - Mexico -  Max Emiliano Negrete González, a community journalist documenting the lives and land-rights struggles of Indigenous communities in southern Mexico City, has reported receiving death threats via Instagram. According to the account, an anonymous sender warned him that he had “eight days to live.” Negrete indicated that the threats might be connected to his coverage of land and territorial defence issues in the Xochimilco district. He suggested that individuals with ties to local government or political operators could be behind the intimidation. Since September 2024, Negrete has been formally protected...

November 24, 2025 - Philippines - Sixteen years after the massacre that claimed 58 lives — including 32 journalists and media workers — families of the victims continue to decry what they describe as broken promises and incomplete justice. On November 23, 2025, relatives of slain journalists gathered in Buluan, Maguindanao del Sur, to mark the tragic anniversary. Among them was Jergin Dela Cruz‑Malabanan, the eldest daughter of journalist Gina Dela Cruz, who was among those murdered. Dela Cruz-Malabanan said that despite decades of legal proceedings, accountability remains elusive. The core of the families’ grievance...

November 24, 2025 - Congo - In the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) latest alert dated November 24, 2025, Michael Tenende — a journalist in the Democratic Republic of the Congo — was threatened with arrest by Anne‑Marie Tshiabu, the mayor of Kabinda in Lomami province, after his reporting criticised her governance. Tenende says that on October 29, the mayor called him three times and sent six messages accusing him of publishing “false information” about the hygiene conditions at her official residence. The messages included insults directed at his family and warnings that she would...

November 24, 2025 - Russia/Ukraine -  A new monitoring update by the Institute of Mass Information (IMI) reports that Russian forces have committed 868 confirmed crimes against journalists and media outlets in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began. The latest batch of violations, recorded in October–November 2025, includes at least ten new crimes — among them an assassination attempt, armed drone strikes on reporters, attacks on television towers and newsrooms, and legal pressure exerted on media professionals. In this period alone, three media workers lost their lives: a photographer and media producer, a media-services manager...

November 24, 2025 - Brazil - Journalists across Brazil have voiced strong alarm after remarks by retired Army Colonel Márcio Saldanha Walker, delivered on November 14, 2025, at a public-security event in the state of Alagoas. During the event, the colonel suggested that authorities should “summon” reporters for questioning or that state intelligence services should “explore the lives” of journalists — comments widely interpreted as a threat to media freedom. The statements triggered immediate condemnation from major press-journalist organisations, including Sindjornal (the Union of Professional Journalists of Alagoas) and Fenaj (the National Federation of Journalists),...

November 24, 2025 - Palestine -  For over two years, Somaya Jawabra — a Palestinian journalist — has been confined to her home under open-ended house arrest following her release from prison while pregnant in November 2023. Jawabra was initially detained by Israeli authorities in Nablus on November 5, 2023, accused of “incitement,” and released days later on bail. As part of her release conditions, she was placed under house arrest, barred from internet use, and required to remain under supervision along with members of her family. Despite having served her original sentence, Jawabra’s house...

November 24, 2025 - USA -  Freelance photojournalist Dave Decker was among more than 30 individuals arrested on November 22, 2025, while covering a protest outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) center in Miami-Dade County. Decker was on assignment for multiple outlets when he documented law enforcement officers detaining demonstrators. Despite wearing press credentials and identifying himself as media, he was handcuffed without warning. Authorities charged him with trespassing after prior warning and resisting an officer without violence. In addition, his camera gear and vehicle were impounded; his equipment was put into custody and...

November 24, 2025 - Palestine - A heated controversy has erupted after Motasem Ahmad Dalloul, a Gaza-based journalist, was publicly accused of being a “fake reporter” by the Israeli Foreign Ministry. On November 23, 2025, the ministry shared a post citing a newly introduced location-tagging feature on X, claiming that Dalloul’s account was flagged as posting from Poland rather than the Gaza Strip and that, therefore, his reporting could not be trusted. In response, Dalloul released a video filmed inside Gaza — near what remains of his home in the Zeitoun neighborhood — in which...