In Focus

New York, June 23, 2025— Eight Azerbaijani journalists have received prison sentences ranging from 7 ½ to 15 years, as part of an ongoing series of media trials likely to obliterate independent reporting in the Caucasus nation. In a closed-door trial on Monday, columnist and peace activist Bahruz Samadov was sentenced by a court in…

Paris, June 17, 2025—Iran’s conflict with Israel has intensified media censorship in the Islamic Republic, with Iranian journalists warned not to comment online and a task force set up to prosecute those sharing “fake” news, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday, calling for press freedom to be respected. Two Iranian journalists, who spoke to…

Nazareth, June 17, 2025—Palestinian journalists in Israel covering the conflict with Iran that began June 13 have been accused of “working for the enemy,” barred from reporting sites, physically assaulted, and subjected to racial slurs. The attacks and restrictions against the Palestinian journalists are part of a broader pattern of obstruction and hostility toward the…

Berlin, June 3, 2025—What journalists called a “witch hunt” atmosphere against government critics in Serbia one year ago has since escalated into a rise in attacks and threats against the press, following a deadly railway station collapse in November 2024 that triggered a widespread anti-corruption movement. Initial protests demanding accountability for the tragedy have turned…

Mexico City, May 29, 2025—Mexican journalist Héctor de Mauleón will be watching Sunday’s historic judicial elections with interest — not simply because June 1 marks the first time that Mexicans get to vote for their judges but also because one of the candidates has barred him from reporting critically about her. On May 15, the…

Nairobi, May 16, 2025—Journalist Ahmed Awga has been in prison for over three weeks for interviewing a man who said his 16-year-old son Shafi’i Abdikarim Ali died following a police beating — one of at least seven journalists arrested in Ethiopia in the last month as the government tightens the screws on the media. After…

Kampala, Uganda, May 15, 2025 – Somali security personnel have arrested, assaulted, or harassed at least 41 private-media journalists since mid-March, in what local press rights groups have called a “painful experience” and an “alarming escalation” in attacks on the media. Most of these press freedom violations were connected to coverage of national security issues,…

New York, May 9, 2025— After 18 months, Azerbaijan’s vast media crackdown shows no signs of abating, as police arrested two independent journalists, Ulviyya Ali and Ahmad Mammadli, on the night of May 6-7. The arrests bring the total number of journalists and media workers jailed in Azerbaijan since late 2023 to at least 25,…

New York, May 8, 2025—As the third anniversary of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh’s murder nears, a documentary offering new evidence about her killing highlights the failure of American and international authorities in investigating the case and securing justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. The documentary “Who Killed Shireen?”, produced by U.S.-based media…

New York, April 8, 2025 —Moldova’s unrecognized Moscow-backed breakaway state of Transnistria is considering legislation that could add to an increasingly hostile atmosphere for media there, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. Journalists in Moldova and its breakaway republic have faced a slew of challenges this year, including detentions, violence and online harassment as tensions…