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Journalists have been increasingly fleeing for safety, as shown in a newly published analysis of CPJ’s assistance data over the past three years.
To mark World Refugee Day on June 20, CPJ shed light on the crackdowns that cause journalists to flee and the urgent circumstances particular to journalists as CPJ continues to advocate for dedicated emergency visas.
Highlights:
- In 2022, CPJ provided help 206 times, an increase of 227% since 2020.
- So far, in 2023, CPJ has provided help 71 times, mainly from Afghanistan, Iran, and Nicaragua.
The spike in support—a crucial focus of CPJ’s work—underscores the growing number of journalists fleeing their home countries, and the growing need for assistance.
“Exile should be a last resort,” Westcott writes. “But it’s still a chance for freedom, which journalists need to survive and tell the stories that shape our world.”
🗺️ Explore journeys into exile taken by journalists who received support from CPJ between 2021 & 2023 with our interactive map.
📑 Read and share our Digital Safety Guide and Digital Security Checklist for journalists in exile.
Global press freedom updates
- CPJ to release report on rising threats to press freedom in Ecuador
- Bangladeshi journalist Golam Rabbani Nadim beaten to death after reporting on local politician
- Myanmar military revokes media license of Ayeyarwaddy Times
- Pakistani journalists abroad face terrorism investigations at home
- CPJ strongly condemns trespassing conviction of Asheville Blade reporters in North Carolina
- CPJ, partners call for charges against New York journalist Stephanie Keith to be dropped
- Tunisian authorities arrest journalist Zied el-Heni for allegedly insulting president
- Algerian appeals court increases prison sentence of journalist Ihsane el-Kadi
- Kenyan government minister Moses Kuria insults, threatens Nation Media Group
- Turkish editor Safiye Alagaş released after 1 year in pretrial detention; Journalist Sinan Aygül hospitalized after attack by Tatvan mayor’s bodyguards
Spotlight
On Thursday, June 22, journalist Nika Gvaramia was pardoned by Georgia’s President Salome Zurabishvili.
Gvaramia, founder and director of independent broadcaster Mtavari Arkhi, had been serving a 3.5-year prison sentence since May 2022 for alleged abuse of office during his previous role as director of another broadcaster.
Earlier this month, CPJ visited Georgia and pressed authorities to release Gvaramia. The visit included a meeting with Gvaramia’s wife, Sofia Liluashvili, outside the prison where Gvaramia was being held. Liluashvili told CPJ on Thursday that she was on her way to the prison after hearing about the pardon in the news.
“We are thrilled that Nika Gvaramia has been pardoned. He should never have been jailed, and his continued imprisonment stood at odds with the country’s purported commitment to press freedom,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ Europe and Central Asia program coordinator.
In April, CPJ and 10 other major rights organizations wrote to Zurabishvili, calling on her to release Gvaramia.
What we are reading (and watching)
- Not just words: How reputational attacks harm journalists and undermine press freedom — Chris Tenove, Global Reporting Centre
- 🎥 War reporting in Ukraine and Ethiopia — Ryan Kohls, Al Jazeera English
- Covering democracy: Protests, police, and the press — Joel Simon, Knight First Amendment Institute
- Who is shutting down the internet in 2023? A mid-year update — Zach Rosson and Felicia Anthonio, AccessNow
- Reviving news media in an embattled Europe — Jessica White, Freedom House
- How local officials seek revenge on their hometown newspapers — Emily Flitter, The New York Times
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