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Nasir Andisha, Acting Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations, said at the International Symposium on Freedom of Expression that the international community must continue supporting Afghan media and free expression and should not allow the Taliban to silence these freedoms. The symposium opened today (Friday, November 21) in Berlin.
The two-day “Exiled Media Forum 2025” concluded in Hamburg, Germany, reaffirming international support for independent media operating outside their home countries. The event convened journalists, media executives, and freedom-of-expression advocates from Afghanistan, Belarus, Sudan, and other nations confronting repressive regimes.
A new cooperation agreement between Amu TV and Deutsche Welle was announced on October 1, 2025, to expand access to independent journalism for Afghan audiences inside the country and abroad. The partnership will allow Amu TV, an Afghan broadcaster in the diaspora, to rebroadcast DW’s flagship program Aashiti on its free-to-air satellite channel, while also sharing DW’s news, analysis, and multimedia content across its website and social media platforms.
Criminal cases are being opened against independent reporters, editorial offices are declared “extremist formations,” and readers, experts, and sources who cooperate with them face prison. Independent media websites are blocked, budgets are minimal. But despite threats, an information blockade, and financial difficulties, Belarusian journalists remain in the profession and continue reporting on what is really happening in Belarus.
The Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) is helping 10 journalists and media workers resettle abroad after their release in Lithuania on 11 September, in a deal brokered by the United States. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins BAJ in condemning the “forcible expulsion” and calls for international solidarity to support those rebuilding their lives outside Belarus and the 28 journalists still behind bars.
Dissidents who have fled Alexander Lukashenko’s rule in Belarus have spoken of threats being made against them and their relatives at home. Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians are estimated to have left their country since the brutal crackdown on widespread opposition protests in 2020, after Lukashenko, 70, claimed victory in presidential elections that were widely condemned as rigged.
Like much of Belarus’s independent media sector, Hrodna.life is struggling for sustainability in exile. Forced to relocate to the EU, the team lost not only the advertising market but also direct contact with the audience it serves. They saved themselves from prison but lost the opportunity to breathe the same air as their readers – and this is crucial for local media like theirs.
Iryna Khalip is a prominent Belarusian journalist who has spent her career exposing corruption and human rights abuses, often at great personal risk. Her investigative reporting on political and social issues in Belarus has made her a target of state persecution. Since going into exile in 2020, Khalip has continued her reporting for the Latvia-based Novaya Gazeta Europe.
A group of Afghan journalists in exile has officially launched “Future Afghanistan,” an online media platform aimed at providing independent reporting on the situation in Afghanistan. Founded and led by Shafi Karimi, the outlet seeks to deliver comprehensive multimedia content that adheres to journalistic integrity.
Fifteen editorial teams from independent media outlets and three media organizations have signed an agreement on the self-regulation of the independent media sector, along with the new Code of Conduct for Belarusian Journalists. Around ten other independent publications are considering joining the agreement.
In this article by Diana Shahbazyan, Belarusian journalists in exile share their struggles to continue their work amidst oppression, censorship, and financial uncertainty. With more than 30 journalists imprisoned and media outlets branded ‘extremist,’ these exiled professionals are determined to keep informing the world, even as they face increasing risks and challenges.
Belarusian dictator Lukashenko declared himself the victor in the country’s latest so-called presidential elections on Jan. 26, in which no political opposition was allowed to take part. Exiled journalists, including Hanna Komar, Kseniya Halubovich, and Alina Rudina, shared their insights with the Kyiv Independent on the state of press freedom in Belarus following the election.
After stealing Belarus’s 2020 presidential election, Lukashenko forced many independent media organizations into exile. Among them was Nasha Niva, Belarus’s oldest newspaper and a protector of the country’s unique language and culture. Matt Hooper tells the story of Nasha Niva’s struggle to maintain Belarusian identity and journalistic integrity amid Lukashenka’s crackdown.
In Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, where news reporting has been transformed from a process of awakening and raising awareness—crucial for the development of critical knowledge in society—into a dreary, unbearable exercise in censorship and propaganda, the only hope for citizens lies in social networks and media outlets that reject the Taliban’s order and operate from outside the country.
In this episode of “Survive and Thrive”, Zahra Nader, founder and editor-in-chief of the award-winning Zan Times, talks about journalism as a form of resistance and the struggle to stay afloat reporting on women and LGBTQI+ people in Afghanistan.
Taliban laws and restrictions make journalism in Afghanistan increasingly challenging. But media in exile are ensuring that voices of women and others are still being amplified.
One of the Belarusian media outlets that has survived in exile is Dev.by, a publisher dedicated to the IT industry in Belarus and the world, producing news, interviews, reports, and analytics. The organisation operates in spite of constant threats and lack of funding. Dev.by’s CEO and founder Artiom Kontsevoi shared with The Fix how they manage to operate in such unstable conditions.
Independent Afghan newspaper Etilaatroz faces challenges after the Taliban’s return in 2021. Journalists emphasize the importance of international support for press freedom, legal aid, and training.