JX Fund – European Fund for Journalism in Exile

Ahead of the COP29 U.N. climate summit in Azerbaijan, the government has escalated its attacks on press freedom, jailing six journalists from the independent outlet Abzas Media on dubious charges since last November. Speaking from exile in Berlin, acting editor-in-chief Leyla Mustafayeva calls it a “total crackdown on Azerbaijani media.”

Since the Taliban takeover in 2021, detentions, imprisonments, and torture of journalists have surged, creating a „shadow of restriction and oppression“ over press freedom in Afghanistan. Recently the Taliban have ordered TV channels in parts of Afghanistan to cease broadcasting images of living beings, after already banning music and female faces on screen.

The Media & Journalism Research Center has published a study on Media Regulation, Government and Policy in Russia. It explains the core principles of media regulation in Russia and the various forms of censorship that the Russian political system has introduced and refined over the past decades, profiles several key influencers in the Russian media policy and provides context on the country’s media policy.

The Kyrgyz state is increasingly cracking down on press freedom: One example is the case of an investigative journalist who was expelled from Kyrgyzstan due to his work against corruption. The journalist in exile calls on the international community to take action against the suppression of press freedom in Kyrgyzstan.

The Taliban have aggressively targeted media freedom and journalists over the past three years. They have banned photography and filming, mandated pro-Taliban reporting, used violence against journalists and media staff, carried out arrests, imposed severe censorship, threatened to shut down media institutions, and exploited journalists’ vulnerable status.

Iran stands as one of the most dangerous places for reporters, ranked among the top ten jailers of journalists globally. The government targets those who report on human rights violations, protests, or any government abuses, subjecting them to intimidation, arbitrary arrest, and violence.

The Global Directory of Journalist Safety Trainers & Advisors is a searchable database of security professionals with experience and expertise in journalist safety. It has been created to provide the ACOS Alliance community with direct access to safety trainers and advisors around the world, and to help them connect with those who meet specific geographic and thematic safety needs.

In the lead up to the Georgian national elections on 26 October 2024, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and nine partner organisations in the Council of Europe’s Platform for the Safety of Journalists published the following report and recommendations to ensure the safety of journalists and the right to reliable information.

Local press freedom organizations in Sri Lanka have documented 44 cases of murdered and disappeared journalists and media workers between 2004 and 2010. To date, no one has been convicted for the crimes committed against individual journalists or entire newsrooms.

Social media platform X has blocked access to over 100 accounts belonging to Turkish journalists, activists and media organizations run by journalists living in exile, in another example of its compliance with censorship requests from the Turkish government.

Research by the Media and Journalism Research Center (MJRC) identified four key elements that lead to media capture as part of a matrix designed to study the phenomenon. These elements include control of media regulation, control of public media, use of state funds as a means of media control, and acquisition of private media outlets by businesses linked to the government.

The autocratic playbook of abusing or introducing economic laws to curtail journalists and newsrooms by attacking their credibility and financial viability is sharply outlined in a new report by WAN-IFRA and the IAPA.

A general in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards has been charged in New York in connection with an alleged plot to assassinate a dissident Iranian American journalist. The target of the alleged assassination plot was not named in unsealed court documents, but she has been widely identified as Masih Alinejad, who lives in New York.

In a new documentary four Afghan women – former parliamentarians, a past minister and a journalist — who fled their homeland after the Taliban-takeover of in August 2021, spotlight the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan. „An Unfinished Journey“ captures their resilience in exile as they advocate for women’s rights and strive to keep Afghanistan’s plight in global discussions.

Press freedom is severely restricted in many countries, prompting journalists like Amir Aman Kiyaro from Ethiopia and Vania Pigeonutt from Mexico to seek refuge in Germany. Facing threats, violence, and imprisonment, they now focus on raising awareness about the crises in their home countries and the psychological impacts of their work.

In this video-interview, Kirill Martynov, editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta Europe, discusses the harsh realities exiled Russian media outlets are facing amid escalating repression and censorship. He emphasizes the need for independent journalism and education as tools for resistance against authoritarianism.

At least 278 journalists have been forced to leave Nicaragua over the past six years to escape persecution by Daniel Ortega’s government, according to a report released this Monday by the Foundation for Freedom of Expression and Democracy (FLED).

Recent reports reveal an alarming wave of repression against independent journalists in Cuba. With state agents conducting lengthy interrogations and confiscating salaries, many media professionals face severe threats to their livelihoods. This crackdown echoes previous government tactics aimed at stifling dissent and controlling narratives, forcing many to resign or flee the country.