News

October 02, 2025 - Azerbaijan/USA -  U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has publicly appealed for the release of Ulviyya Guliyeva (also known as Ulviyya Ali), a journalist detained in Azerbaijan in connection with the so-called “Meydan TV case.” In her letter, Shaheen pledged to elevate Ali’s case on the international stage and to work diligently toward securing her freedom: “I will raise my voice on your case wherever possible and work to secure your release.” Shaheen framed her advocacy as part of a broader commitment to supporting political...

October 02, 2025 - Turkey - Veteran Turkish journalist Fatih Altaylı, arrested in June 2025 over allegations he threatened President Erdoğan, has refused to be silenced. From his cell, Altaylı continues to shape public debate through a form of “prison journalism,” issuing commentary and engaging in political reporting via letters funneled through his legal team to his YouTube show. Though confined in the high-security Silivri (now Marmara Prison) facility, Altaylı maintains an active editorial presence. His assistant reads out his missives to a broadcast audience, and other elements of his prior show have been retooled...

October 01, 2025 - Georgia/Switzerland - Swiss photojournalist Gregor Sommer was denied entry into Georgia on September 28, 2025, forcing him to return from Tbilisi after refusing to pay two fines totalling ₾10,000 (roughly USD 3,700) for alleged road obstruction during protests. Upon arrival, Sommer says he was detained at a border checkpoint where officials confiscated his phone and denied him access to a lawyer or a clear explanation for the fines.  He has visited Georgia several times before—reportedly “six or seven” occasions—and covered protests triggered by the government’s pause on EU accession talks. The...

October 01, 2025 - Mexico -  In the first year of Claudia Sheinbaum’s presidency in Mexico, ten journalists have been murdered, prompting Reporters Without Borders (RSF) to press her to fulfill earlier pledges to protect press freedom. RSF notes that although Sheinbaum has adopted a less adversarial tone toward the media than her predecessor, such improvements remain largely symbolic. The organization emphasizes that the killings occurred between October 2024 and September 2025, with nine of them happening in just seven months—underlining the rapid escalation in danger. Before taking office, Sheinbaum had signed a pledge developed...

October 01, 2025 - Russia -  Russian authorities detained Svetlana Khustik, a freelance journalist in Krasnoyarsk, accusing her of circulating “fake” information about Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A local court ordered she be held in custody for two months during the investigation, and she faces potential prison time under Part 2 of Article 207.3 of the Russian Criminal Code—with a maximum sentence of up to ten years. The charges are based on an interview she published in May 2023, which Russian authorities claim included false descriptions of the activities of the Russian military. According to...

October 01, 2025 - Sudan -  In El-Fasher, Darfur’s besieged capital, journalists face horrific conditions as the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) tighten their grip on the city. With the city encircled for over 16 months, media workers are simultaneously contending with starvation, targeted violence, and censorship. According to interviews conducted by CPJ, seven reporters based in El-Fasher described being deprived of food and necessities while under constant bombardment. Many spoke of how RSF fighters have used local informants to identify journalists, raided their homes, and demanded that families vacate. One female journalist recounted being intercepted...

October 01, 2025 - Palestine - The life of Yahya Barzaq, a freelance photojournalist working with TRT, was cut short in an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza. Barzaq, who had been covering the ongoing conflict with a focus on documenting the human toll, was reportedly in a café uploading his work when the strike hit. The attack killed him instantly, along with at least five other people nearby, while many more were wounded. The strike also damaged a carpentry workshop close to the blast site, further amplifying the devastation in a city already...

September 30, 2025 - Palestine - The deadly strike on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on August 25, which killed at least 20 people, including five journalists, has underscored the near-impossible conditions faced by reporters in Gaza. The journalists who died were not combatants but professionals working to document the war, and their deaths highlight the daily risks endured by those still trying to keep the world informed. Among the victims were Reuters contractor Hussam al-Masri, whose live feed went dark at the moment of impact, and Al Jazeera cameraman Mohammed Salama. Freelancers Mariam Abu...

September 30, 2025 - General -  A coalition of seventeen international press freedom and journalist organizations has launched a coordinated campaign urging European governments to take decisive action in response to the unprecedented killing of journalists in Gaza. In open letters sent on September 30, 2025, to the leaders of Germany, Italy, and the Czech Republic, the groups demanded that the European Union suspend its Association Agreement with Israel, arguing that the scale of violence against the press has reached intolerable levels. The organizations—including ARTICLE 19, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the Committee to Protect Journalists...

September 30, 2025 - General - At the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s recent Center for Journalism Ethics conference, media professionals convened to dissect the evolving tactics of censorship in today's information landscape. Timothy Karr, Senior Director of Strategy and Communications at The Free Press, opened the discussion by arguing that journalism should be treated as a public good. He contended that while media owners must manage sustainable businesses and journalists must uphold truth, government intervention becomes essential when the market fails to safeguard robust reporting. Joining the conversation, Sewell Chan, former editor of the Columbia Journalism...

September 30, 2025 - USA -  A U.S. federal judge has ordered an immediate halt to plans by the Trump administration to terminate 532 full-time employees at the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the parent body overseeing Voice of America (VOA). In a ruling issued September 29, Judge Royce Lamberth criticized the agency’s leadership and acting CEO Kari Lake for showing “concerning disrespect” toward earlier court orders and for failing to present a credible compliance plan. The layoffs had been scheduled to take effect shortly afterward. The court’s intervention is grounded in an April...

September 30, 2025 - Palestine -  The International Press Institute (IPI), together with a coalition of press freedom and human rights organizations, has issued a strong appeal urging European Union member states to support concrete action in response to the killing of journalists in Gaza. The groups argue that the deaths of media workers constitute serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, and that the EU must not remain passive in the face of escalating impunity. Central to the joint appeal is a demand that the EU suspend its Association Agreement with Israel...

September 30, 2025 - India -  Indian journalist Rajeev Pratap (36), who ran the YouTube channel Delhi Uttarakhand Live, was found dead on September 28 after being missing since September 18. His body was recovered from the Joshiyara barrage on the Bhagirathi River in Uttarkashi district. Disappearance, Discovery & Official Findings CCTV footage traced his movements on the night he vanished: seen at Uttarkashi bus stand around 11:20 pm, later crossing Gangori Bridge in a friend’s car. The next morning, the same vehicle was located further downstream in a damaged state near Syun village. His...

September 30, 2025 - Palestine -  Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has lodged its fifth formal complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing the Israeli military of repeatedly committing war crimes against journalists operating in the Gaza Strip. Since October 2023, RSF has filed a series of complaints to the ICC (on 31 October 2023, 22 December 2023, 27 May 2024, 24 September 2024, and now the latest) to press for accountability over attacks on media professionals. Their newest submission presents fresh evidence indicating that many journalists in Gaza have been deliberately targeted because of...

September 30, 2025 - Pakistan -  Veteran journalist and television anchor Imtiaz Mir has passed away, succumbing to injuries sustained in a shooting in Karachi’s Malir district last week. Mir, who worked with Metro 1 News and hosted the show “Aaj Ki Baat With Imtiaz Mir,” was en route home in a car driven by his brother when assailants on two motorcycles opened fire. The attack, which occurred in the Malir Kala Board area, left him critically wounded along with his brother. Both were taken to Liaquat National Hospital, but Mir’s condition deteriorated, and he died...

september 30, 2025 - China -  Chinese journalist Dong Yuyu, 63, is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence after being convicted of espionage in November 2024. His son, Dong Yifu, insists the case is not about legitimate criminal wrongdoing but rather a politically motivated measure to suppress a dissenting voice. Dong was initially detained in February 2022 during a lunch with a Japanese diplomat in Beijing—an event that triggered the subsequent espionage charges. Over three years later, his appeal remains unresolved, and the delay has raised concerns from his family and press-freedom advocates alike. In...

September 30 - Peru -  On September 29, 2025, tensions erupted in Puno, Peru, after Congressman Héctor Valer of the Somos Perú party physically and verbally attacked reporter Max Lanza. The clash occurred after Lanza challenged Valer over remarks he made classifying protest fatalities in 2022–2023 as “communists.” Footage shared on social media captures the moment Valer reacts violently. Initially leaving the scene, the congressman returns and spits at the journalist before launching insults and pushing him. The aggressive behavior surprised many observers, especially in the setting of a public engagement. Valer’s hostility appeared triggered by...

September 30, 2025 - USA -  A confrontation unfolded at New York’s 26 Federal Plaza, where masked ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents shoved credentialed journalists during the course of an operation, resulting in one reporter being hospitalized. Video footage shows agents moving through a public elevator, during which they apparently pulled a reporter out and pushed others standing nearby. One journalist, L. Vural Elibol of Anadolu Agency, struck his head and was later immobilized with a neck brace and taken out on a stretcher. Two more—Olga Fedorova and Dean Moses—were also shoved to the...

September 29, 2025 - France -  Sixteen French journalism schools have launched an unprecedented joint campaign calling for the immediate release of Christophe Gleizes, a French sports reporter currently serving a prison sentence in Algeria. The initiative, endorsed by RSF (Reporters Without Borders), seeks to intensify public pressure and draw global attention to his case. Gleizes, 36, who contributes to So Foot and Society, was arrested in May 2024 while reporting on Algeria’s JS Kabylie football club and its connections to political figures. In June 2025, a court convicted him on charges of “glorifying terrorism”...

September 29, 2025 - Australia -  A recent press release by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) reveals that several Australian journalists have been targeted, harassed, and effectively censored by lobby groups after producing work critical of Israel’s war in Gaza. The IFJ, together with its local affiliate MEAA (Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance), has denounced these tactics, urging Australian media outlets and regulatory bodies to uphold freedom of expression and ensure access to information remains protected. One prominent case involves Antoinette Lattouf, a Lebanese-Australian journalist. The Federal Court found on June 25, 2025, that...

September 29, 2025 - Egypt/UK/Palestine -  The Egyptian Journalists’ Syndicate, led by Khaled El-Balshy, has publicly condemned the BBC’s actions against Egyptian journalist Mohad ElSharkawy, calling them “arbitrary and unjust.” According to Ahram Online, ElSharkawy was relieved of prospective duties at the BBC after the network accused him of being “anti-Semitic” following his social media posts about Palestine. ElSharkawy, who had cleared tests and interviews for a senior producer position on the BBC programme Dars, says he had even received a firm start date before the BBC reversed course and withdrew the offer. He claims...

September 29, 2025 - USA -  Two journalists from Cincinnati CityBeat, Madeline Fening (investigative reporter) and Lucas Griffith (photo intern), are soon going to trial in Kenton County, Kentucky, after being arrested in July while covering a protest. The incident occurred on July 17, 2025, when activists marched across the Roebling Suspension Bridge to voice opposition to the detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of Ayman Soliman, an Egyptian cleric and former journalist currently fighting deportation. Fening was filming police dispersal efforts when an officer moved in, handcuffing her despite clearly visible recordings...

September 29, 2025 - Ukraine - Ukrainian journalist and human rights advocate Maksym Butkevych has been honored with the 2025 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, in recognition of his enduring courage in the face of repression. Butkevych, a co-founder of both Hromadske Radio and the ZMINA Human Rights Center, has long championed civil liberties and inclusive civic action in Ukraine. When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, he joined the armed forces as a platoon commander—despite his prior commitment to nonviolent principles. In 2022, Russian forces captured Butkevych and, in a highly controversial trial, sentenced him to...

September 29, 2025 - Peru -  Peru’s National Association of Journalists (ANP) has sharply denounced the Peruvian National Police (PNP) for initiating criminal proceedings against Karla Ramírez, head of investigations for the TV program Panorama, and her reporting team. Ramírez and her group had conducted calls to police officers and senior PNP officials as part of an investigative piece—a standard journalistic method to obtain comment and accountability. The police, however, have characterized these efforts as “harassment,” accusing her of slander and defamation. The ANP contends that these charges represent a deliberate attempt to criminalize legitimate...

September 29, 2025 - Palestine -  Journalists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, a civilian maritime mission bound for Gaza, face escalating dangers amid ongoing conflict and a tightening blockade. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has sounded a strong warning about the precarious security conditions confronting media workers on this mission. The flotilla, organized by humanitarian, religious, cultural, and civil society groups, departed from multiple Mediterranean ports to break the maritime siege on Gaza, establishing a sea corridor for aid, and drawing attention to the humanitarian crisis. Several journalists, including at least seven from North...