JX Fund – European Fund for Journalism in Exile

Reyhana Masters and Laura Vidal examine how this global scourge is impacting the African and Latin America/Caribbean regions, the specific threat landscape for women journalists, and how those forced to flee can be better supported.

Ahmet Dönmez, a Turkish journalist living in exile in Sweden, said in an interview with the Journalisten news website that he left the country for the United States some two years after surviving a brutal attack in Stockholm. Dönmez had narrowly escaped death after being severely beaten in a suburb of Stockholm in March 2022.

The investigative beat has never been an easy one in Latin America. From reporting under authoritarian regimes to confronting significant security risks in a region that faces the added challenge of impunity, and from the difficulties of reporting amidst persistent financial struggles to handling the backlash that comes with exposing acts of corruption — the circumstances facing reporters have long been challenging.

Thousands of journalists around the world have had to seek exile in other countries in recent years amidst rising political repression, an independent United Nations investigator, Irene Khan, told the global body’s General Assembly in a report last week. Ms Khan’s findings shine a worrying light on the state of the world that all countries, especially democracies, need to reflect on and address.

Following last year’s joint investigation into the use of NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware against Galina Timchenko, co-founder, CEO, and publisher of Meduza, Access Now, the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy at the University of Toronto (“the Citizen Lab”), and independent digital security expert Nikolai Kvantiliani have uncovered how at least seven more Russian, Belarusian, Latvian, and Israeli journalists and activists have been targeted with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware within the EU.

At least seven journalists and activists who have been vocal critics of the Kremlin and its allies have been targeted inside the EU by a state using Pegasus, the hacking spyware made by Israel’s NSO Group, according to a new report by security researchers.

Ahead of World Press Freedom Day on Friday 3 May, the BBC is announcing for the first time that over 300 World Service journalists – around 15% – are working in exile. Recent crackdowns on press freedom in Russia, Afghanistan and Ethiopia have pushed more BBC teams to relocate for their own safety, many leaving family and friends behind.

Pouria Zeraati, journalist and reporter for Iran International, was stabbed outside his London home. A Guardian report says that the attack was believed to be another example of Iran hiring proxies to assault its critics in the west.

Defenses of independent journalists against authoritarian or malign regimes remain weak across the world. Russia and Turkey – united in not just the increasingly authoritarian way they are ruled but also in their “in-betweenness” have been no exception in this regard.

Two prominent Chinese bloggers in exile said police were investigating their millions of followers on international social media platforms, in an escalation of Beijing’s attempts to clamp down on critical speech even outside of the country’s borders.

From spying through diplomatic missions and pro-government diaspora organizations to denial of consular services and outright intimidation and illegal renditions, the Turkish government has been using a wide range of tactics against its critics overseas.

In Iran, the space for independent journalism has become increasingly constrained. According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), only North Korea, China and Vietnam currently trail Iran for their measures of press freedom.

Ethiopian journalists, facing deteriorating press freedom and arrests, are increasingly seeking asylum abroad. The government’s crackdown has created a challenging environment.

In their home country, activists affiliated with the ruling party intimidate and attack the family members of journalists as a means of stifling their critiques of the government.

For the first time, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) unveiled a map depicting the migration patterns of journalists compelled to seek safety abroad and the nations hosting exiled media.

Throughout 2022, CPJ provided help 206 times, an increase of 227% over the three-year period. On the occasion of World Refugee Day 2023, the Committee to Protect Journalists shares three lessons learned from CPJ’s work with journalists in exile.