The Torch

The Torch

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Jailed journalist numbers near record high in 2023

Israel has emerged as one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists following the October 7 start of the Israel-Gaza war, CPJ’s 2023 prison census has found. Israel ranked sixth—tied with Iran—behind China, Myanmar, Belarus, Russia, and Vietnam, respectively. Overall, CPJ documented 320 journalists behind bars for their work as of the census date December…

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CPJ and partners call on President Biden to protect journalists in the Israel-Gaza war

This week, CPJ repeats our call: The continuous killings of journalists and their family members by Israeli army fire must end: journalists are civilians, not targets. On Sunday, an Israeli drone strike killed Al-Jazeera journalist Hamza Al Dahdouh—who was the son of Al-Jazeera Gaza bureau chief Wael Al Dahdouh and the fifth member of his…

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Journalists to cover record election year in 2024

This year, billions of voters will make their way to the polls for a record election year in a world fraught with polarization and mis- and disinformation. We rely on journalists to unearth the facts that help us make decisions about our leaders, and journalists are facing increasing challenges to doing this vital work. In…

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Year in review: The most-read press freedom stories of 2023

As we approach the end of a truly volatile year, CPJ has documented physical attacks, imprisonment, and legal harassment against the press accelerate relentlessly in frequency and severity, and we have seen more journalists than ever fleeing into exile. Journalists face increasingly hostile environments in conflict zones, as more journalists have been killed in the…

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Screenshot of video

‘Unparalleled’: Israel-Gaza war takes record toll on journalists

A new analysis released today by CPJ shows that more journalists have been killed in the first 10 weeks of the war than have ever been killed in a single country over an entire year. As of December 20, 2023, at least 68 journalists and media workers have been killed since the October 7 start…

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Media crackdown escalating in Azerbaijan

The December 13 detention of investigative journalist Hafiz Babali is the latest in a crackdown against the press in Azerbaijan. He is at least the seventh member of the press arrested in retaliation for his work in Azerbaijan in the past month. Azerbaijani authorities have ordered Babali along with four journalists of the anti-corruption news…

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CPJ calls for accountability in Israeli strike on journalists

Reports released today by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse (AFP) into the October 13 strike on journalists in southern Lebanon found that the attack, which killed Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah and injured six others, was likely a deliberate assault by the Israel Defense Forces on civilians, which would constitute a war…

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Aziz Orujov

Four Azerbaijani journalists arrested in two weeks

In the last two weeks, four journalists associated with critical news platforms have been arrested in Azerbaijan. Aziz Orujov, director of the popular television channel Kanal 13, is the latest to be detained amid rising tensions around the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia. A Baku court ordered Orujov — who was previously jailed in…

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Journalists Hamdan Dahdouh, Youmna Al-Sayed, and Wael Al Dahdouh in Gaza, on October 31, 2023.

Reflecting on what CPJ is grateful for in 2023

As 2023 begins to wind down, journalists around the world continue to face multilayered challenges to do their jobs. Yet some press freedom developments inspire us, strengthen us, and make us grateful. Here is a short list: CPJ is grateful to the journalists covering the Israel-Gaza war who continue to bring us vital news despite…

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CPJ celebrates five journalists at the 2023 International Press Freedom Awards

They champion independent reporting despite government crackdowns, kidnapping, exile, and the rising criminalization of their work. On November 16, CPJ will recognize four remarkable journalists with our 2023 International Press Freedom Awards for their invaluable contributions to an informed society empowered with facts. ⚡️ Togolese journalist Ferdinand Ayité is an investigative journalist and a staunch…

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