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Why Do Belarusian Journalists Risk Their Lives For The Truth?

  • The Journal
  • Sasha Romanova

41 Belarusian journalists remain behind bars since 2020, punished for covering protests against presidential election fraud that gave Alexander Lukashenko a sixth term in power. Their prison sentences range from 3 to 15 years, simply for doing their jobs — reporting the news. Hundreds more have fled the country. Yet they continue their work. Why?

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Taliban Have Detained 300 Media Workers Since 2021

  • Amu TV
  • Habib Mohammadi

The Afghanistan Journalists in Exile in a statement on Sunday said that the Taliban have detained at least 300 journalists and media workers during their three years of rule in the country, describing the detainees as having endured “profound and indescribable violence” while in custody.

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Nicaragua’s Proposed Media Reform

  • Voice of America
  • Graham Keeley

Nicaragua is expected to rubber stamp a change to its constitution in January that alters presidential power and increases state control over media. If ratified, the change would mandate that the state has power to ensure media outlets and platforms are not “subject to foreign interests and do not spread false news.”

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Azerbaijan: Authorities are Targeting Journalists

  • GlobalVoices
  • Arzu Geybullayeva

Azerbaijan’s press freedom crisis deepens as six Meydan TV journalists face smuggling charges and four-month detention. Arrests align with a broader crackdown targeting opposition media, activists, and politicians, raising alarm over escalating repression in Baku.

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Tajikistan’s Journalists In Exile

  • OCCRP
  • Muhamadjon Kabirov and Firuzi Makhmadali

The repressive Central Asian nation has never been an easy place to be a journalist. But a notorious crackdown on peaceful protesters in 2022 took a bad situation and made it worse, sending some journalists to jail and others into exile.

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RSF’s 2024 Round-up

  • RSF

The Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2024 Round-up reveals an alarming intensification of attacks on journalists — especially in conflict zones, where over half of the news professionals who lost their lives this year perished.

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Newsrooms Fight Back Against Criminalization

  • Nieman Lab
  • José Zamora

In 2025, attacks on journalists are set to escalate. A disturbing global trend continues to expand: the use of criminal law to silence journalists. This tactic, perfected by authoritarian regimes in places like Nicaragua, Venezuela, Russia, China, and the Philippines, is now spreading worldwide.

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Exiled from Myanmar, Journalists Fear New Thai Law

  • Voice of America
  • Tommy Walker

Exiled Myanmar journalists in Thailand are facing new threats: A proposed law could force nonprofits to shut down, silencing vital independent reporting and paving the way for disinformation to dominate.

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Arrest Warrant for Guatemalan Journalist Viewed as Retaliatory

  • Voice of America
  • Jocelyn Mintz

Juan Luis Font, director and host of the daily radio talk show “ConCriterio” and a co-founder of El Periodico newspaper in Guatemala, is accused of collusion and bribery, charges he denies. The journalist, who lives in exile in France, told VOA he expected that a warrant would be issued because of his stories on corruption.

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How Sanctions Against Russia Impact Journalism

  • Columbia Journalism Review
  • Lauren Watson

Sanctions targeting Russian propaganda have inadvertently crippled independent journalism. Exiled reporters, battling Kremlin censorship, face funding blockades from Western tech and financial giants, threatening their vital work of delivering uncensored news to Russians.

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Sustaining Independent Journalism

  • Thomson Reuters Foundation
  • The Fix

A new report by Thomson Reuters Foundation and The Fix analyzes the needs and support provided to Belarusian and Russian independent media in exile across Czechia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. The report highlights assesses how the needs and challenges, as well as the support provided, have evolved for these exiled media over time.

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From Newsroom To Exile

  • Migrant Women Press
  • Malini Chakrabarty

Exiled journalist Malini Chakrabarty reflects on her journey from India to Scotland, navigating threats, sexism, and racism while fighting for truth and equality. Her story underscores the resilience of women journalists worldwide.

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What has Taliban Rule Meant for Media in Afghanistan?

  • Al Jazeera English

Since the Taliban regained power, Afghanistan’s media landscape has faced severe restrictions. Al Jazeera English sat down with Lotfullah Najafizada, the former head of Tolo News, to discuss working in exile and keeping the spirit of Afghan journalism alive.

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In Pakistan Afghan Journalists Face a Grim Reality

  • ABC News
  • Trisha Mukherjee

Afghan journalists in exile confront harsh challenges: after escaping Taliban persecution, they now endure poverty, threats of deportation, and years-long waits for humanitarian visas in Pakistan. Many now struggle with mental health crises as Western nations delay promised aid.

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Exiled Azerbaijani Journalist Exposes Media Crackdown

  • Democracy Now!
  • Amy Goodman, Leyla Mustafayeva

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.”

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African Investigative Journalism Is Meeting the Moment

  • Global Investigative Journalism Network
  • Benon Herbert Oluka and Maxime Koami Domegni

Investigative journalists in Africa have to bear many blows — from repressive governments, corporations trying to silence them, travel and visa restrictions, physical attacks, lawsuits such as SLAPPs, limited funding, and skill and training gaps. Still, they have found ways to overcome those challenges.

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