Category: Press Freedom

Our weekly roundup of press freedom news, highlighting the latest attacks on journalists, their right to publish, and our right to know. Here’s the news for the week of May 2.

Two Palestinian journalists killed by Israel in Northern Gaza

Two Palestinian journalists, Yahya Subaih and Nour El-Din Abdo, have been killed in separate attacks on Gaza city and eastern Gaza.

According to International Federation of Journalists and the Palestinian Journalistic Syndicate, at least 129 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed since the beginning of Israel’s assault on Gaza.

English police extend terrorism investigation against Richard Medhurst

Independent journalist Richard Medhurst was arrested last year in August, at London’s Heathrow Airport and detained by Austrian police in February this year in Vienna. The Austrian secret police raided his house and took all his devices, which they are still in the possession of.

The terrorism investigation against him by English police has been extended for the 3rd time, said Medhurst on his post on X.

Medhurst also claims that the email communication between UK’s Attorney General’s Office and the Israeli Deputy Ambassador raises questions about the impartiality of the Crown Prosecution Service and the degree of foreign meddling in the UK’s judiciary. The emails show that Israeli Deputy Ambassador was provided with contact information of UK prosecutors and counterterrorism police, in the same period that Medhurst and other British reporters and activists were arrested by CT police in a government crackdown.

Journalism under threat globally, warn press freedom groups

On World Press Freedom Day, free press groups warn about press freedom worrying decline in many parts of the world.

Committee to Protect Journalists concludes that “more journalists were killed in 2024 than in any other year since the CPJ began collecting data more than three decades ago”. At least 124 journalists and media workers were killed last year, almost 70% of them Palestinians killed by Israel.

“All of the 2024 killings point to the increased dangers facing reporters and media workers – and the threat that poses to the flow of information worldwide.”

Reporters Without Borders’s World Press Freedom Index classifies the global state of press freedom as a “difficult situation”, for the first time in its history. The Index highlights the media’s growing economic fragility. Among the five indicators used to evaluate the Index’s countries, the economic indicator saw the most significant decline.

“The data measured by the RSF Index’s economic indicator clearly shows that today’s news media are caught between preserving their editorial independence and ensuring their economic survival.

Our weekly roundup of press freedom news, highlighting the latest attacks on journalists, their right to publish, and our right to know. Here’s the news for the week of April 25.

Department of Justice rescinds protections for journalist-source confidentiality

Attorney General Pam Bondi has revoked protections issued by former Attorney General Merrick Garland that offered procedural protections for members of the media from having their records seized or being forced to testify in the course of leak investigation.

“The Bondi memo appears to have rescinded a specific provision protecting journalists from Justice Department subpoenas, court orders and search warrants based on the ‘receipt, possession, or publication’ of classified information. This change would make it easier for Justice Department attorneys to pursue journalists to identify confidential sources in reporting that involves leaks”, writes Gabe Rottman of RCFP for MSNBC.

The second Trump administration’s 100th day in office

Examining Trumps first 100 day in office, U.S. Press Freedom Tracker finds that the White House is leading a multipronged assault on journalists and the First Amendment by limiting access, withdrawing federal funding, threatening legal action or targeting sources.

“The first 100 days of the Trump administration have been marked by a flurry of executive actions that have created a chilling effect and have the potential to curtail media freedoms”, says Committee to Protect Journalists.

Our weekly roundup of press freedom news, highlighting the latest attacks on journalists, their right to publish, and our right to know. Here’s the news for the week of April 19.

State Department finds no evidence linking Tufts student to antisemitism or terrorism

Days before masked ICE agents detained Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk, the State Department determined that the Trump admin had not produced any evidence linking her to antisemitism or terrorism, reports Washington Post.

A crackdown on pro-Palestinian voices in France

Over 1,000 intellectuals, writers and activists have signed a letter against the crackdown on Palestine solidarity in France, including the targeting of union organizer Anasse Kazib for her tweets is support of Palestine, reports Mondoweiss.

As Trump attacks pro-Palestinian students, 18 Palestine Action activists remain imprisoned in the UK, and Germany plans to intensify its ongoing crackdown, in France, the collective Palestine Vaincra was dissolved, and feminist demonstrations have been forbidden because of the presence of pro-Palestinian organizations.

“In this context”, the letter reads, “the French state has taken a step forward in the repression of political dissent. On June 18, two activists from the political organization Révolution Permanente — including its spokesperson Anasse Kazib, a railroad worker, union activist, and former presidential candidate — will stand trial for ‘apology for terrorism.’ (…) While the use of ‘anti-terrorism’ laws against supporters of Palestine is becoming increasingly common, the offense of ‘apology for terrorism’ is unique to France.”

Our weekly roundup of press freedom news, highlighting the latest attacks on journalists, their right to publish, and our right to know. Here’s the news for the week of April 12.

A Palestinian artist and photojournalist killed by Israel

Fatima Hassouna, a Palestinian artist and photojournalist who is the protagonist of a documentary due to premiere in Cannes, was killed along with ten members of her family by a direct Israeli military strike on her family home in Gaza City.

According to the International Federation of Journalists and the Palestinian Journalist Syndicate, she is at least the 157^th journalist and media worker to be killed since Israel began its war on Gaza.

Four journalists sentenced to jail on charges of “extremism” in Russia

In a closed-door trial, a Russian court sentenced four journalists, Antonina Kravtsova (Favorskaya), Konstantin Gabov, Sergei Karelin and Artem Kriger, to five and a half years in a penal colony.

International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the Kremlin’s continued crackdown on independent journalists and urges the Russian authorities to immediately release these four journalists.

Another Columbia student taken into custody

Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian-born green card holder and student at Columbia University, involved in pro-Palestinian activism, has been arrested during his naturalization interview as part of the process to gain U.S. citizenship.

Drop Site News reports that he is the third green-card holder at Columbia that the Trump administration is looking to deport under a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 that alleges their activism has “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States”—after Mahmoud Khalil and Yunseo Chung.

Our weekly roundup of press freedom news, highlighting the latest attacks on journalists, their right to publish, and our right to know. Here’s the news for the week of April 5.

Attacks on journalists double in Germany, finds RSF

A report from Reporters Without Borders has found a dramatic increase in attacks on journalists in Germany, with the number of incidents more than doubling in 2024.

Deutsche Welle writes that the report documented 89 attacks on media professionals last year, compared to 41 cases in 2023. The majority of attacks, 49, took place in Berlin and 38 incidents of physical violence occurred at demonstrations over Israel’s war on Gaza, whereas 21 attacks happened at demonstrations and events organized by the far-rigt Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Israel bombs media tent, killing two

Two people, one of them journalist – Hilmi Al-Faqaawi and Yusuf Al-Khuzandar – were killed when an Israeli airstrike hit a press tent outside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. Al-Faqaawi was burned alive on video inside the press tent. Nine other journalists were injured in the attack, some of them critically, reports Middle East Eye.

15 years since the publication of ‘Collateral Murder’

Fifteen years ago, Wikileaks released “Collateral murder”, a secret US military video depicting the indiscriminate slaying of over a dozen people in the Iraqi suburb of New Baghdad – including two Reuters news staff.

For this, Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange spent 14 years in detention and prison, and Chelsea Manning, who leaked the footage, spent 8 years in prison.

Our weekly roundup of press freedom news, highlighting the latest attacks on journalists, their right to publish, and our right to know. Here’s the news for the week of March 29.

Israel’s war on Gaza deadliest conflict for media workers in recorded history

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed 232 journalists – an average of 13 per week – making it the deadliest conflict for media workers ever recorded, according to a report by the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs’ Costs of War project.

“The war in Gaza has, since October 7, 2023, killed more journalists than the U.S. Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War (including the conflicts in Cambodia and Laos), the wars in Yugoslavia in the 1990s and 2000s, and the post-9/11 war in Afghanistan, combined.”

Press freedom groups condemn detention of Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk

11 free speech and free press organizations – including PEN America, Freedom of the Press Foundation and others – have signed a letter condemning the detention of Tufts University Ph.D. student Rumeysa Ozturk by federal immigration authorities due to her opinion piece published more than a year ago in The Tufts Daily, the university’s student newspaper.

“Such a basis for her detention would represent a blatant disregard for the principles of free speech and free press within the First Amendment, and we call on Tufts University officials, Massachusetts lawmakers and federal authorities to take immediate action to secure her release”, wrote the groups.

Our weekly roundup of press freedom news, highlighting the latest attacks on journalists, their right to publish, and our right to know. Here’s the news for the week of March 22.

CPJ condemns Israel’s killing of 2 more Gaza journalists

The Committee to Protect Journalists denounces the killing of Palestinian reporters Hossam Shabat and Mohammed Mansour by the Israel Defense Forces and calls for an independent international investigation into whether they were deliberately targeted.

“This nightmare in Gaza has to end. The international community must act fast to ensure that journalists are kept safe and hold Israel to account for the deaths of Hossam Shabat and Mohammed Mansour, whose killings may have been targeted. Journalists are civilians and it is illegal to attack them in a war zone”, said CPJ’s Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna.

Journalists Hossam Shabat and Mohammad Mansour killed in Israeli attack on Gaza

The Israeli military has murdered two more Palestinian journalists in Gaza, Al Jazeera’s Hossam Shabat and Palestine Today’s Mohammad Mansour.

Al Jazeera reports that Hossam Shabat was killed in northern Gaza in what was, according to witnesses, a targeted attack on his vehicle without any prior warning.

Mohammad Mansour was was killed in Israeli army attack on Khan Younis “in his house … alongside his wife and his son”, in an attack that also came without any prior warning.

Our weekly roundup of press freedom news, highlighting the latest attacks on journalists, their right to publish, and our right to know. Here’s the news for the week of March 15, 2025.

Three journalists killed in Israel’s renewed attacks on Gaza

At least nine people have been killed and several others wounded in an Israeli drone attack on Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, according to a report from Al Jazeera. The attack reportedly targeted a relief team that was accompanied by journalists and photographers. At least three local journalists are among the dead.

According to Al Jazeera, the Palestinian Journalists’ Protection Center said in a statement that “the journalists were documenting humanitarian relief efforts for those affected by Israel’s genocidal war.”

Our weekly roundup of press freedom news, highlighting the latest attacks on journalists, their right to publish, and our right to know. Here’s the news for the week of March 8, 2025.

ICE Leaks: Trump Officials Push For Criminal Charges Against Whistleblowers And Press

National security officials in President Donald Trump’s administration have repeatedly called for a crackdown on the alleged leaks involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids throughout the country. Sam Carliner writes that “immigrants and the press alike have been consistent targets of Trump and the MAGA movement” which makes the push for a legal crackdown on ICE raid leaks a way to rally opposition to both groups at the same time.

Pro-Palestine activist Mahmoud Khalil abducted and detained by ICE

Mahmoud Khalil was abducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at his Columbia housing. Khalil was detained for his protests against Israel’s genocide in Palestine, despite being a green card holder, therefore entitled to the same legal protections and rights as a U.S. citizen, in a major violation of his First Amendment rights. 

The arrest has caused outrage with critics pointing out to the abuse of immigration law for political policing, in an attempt to undermine the First Amendment

Owner of UC Global which spied on Assange in the Ecuadorian embassy is investigated for falsifying evidence

El Pais reports that the Spanish courts have launched a criminal investigation against accused CIA contractor David Morales, owner of UC Global, for forging official documents. Morales created the documents in an alleged attempt to justify bugging Julian Assange’s meetings with his lawyers and doctors. Forensics reports and officials confirm that the evidence was fabricated.

Our weekly roundup of press freedom news, highlighting the latest attacks on journalists, their right to publish, and our right to know. Here’s the news for the week of March 1, 2025.

IFJ 2024 report on journalists and media staff killed

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has published its 34th annual report on journalists and media staff killed. The report documents the deaths of 122 media professionals across the world.

Israel’s impunity in targeting reporters has made Palestine one of the most dangerous countries in the history of modern journalism, 77 deaths were due to the war in Gaza, as well as in Lebanon, 22 journalists were killed in Asia-Pacific, ten in Africa, nine in the Americas, and four in Europe. 

Israel is still not allowing international journalists in Gaza

After the first stage of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came to a close, Israel is still not allowing international journalists to enter Gaza, reports Columbia Journalism Review. Notwithstanding the commitment of local journalists, who continue reporting from Gaza despite incredible risks, “the fact that international reporters have not been allowed into Gaza has hindered the press’s ability to effectively communicate the devastation of the war.”