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Persecuted Belarusian Journalist Finds Safe Haven in Montenegro

  • The Fix
  • Dusica Tomovic

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.

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Russian Independent Media Continues to Find Refuge in Latvia

  • LSM (Latvian Public Media)
  • Claire Murphy

Claire Murphy reports on the plight of Russian journalist Lilia Yapparova, who fled to Latvia after the Kremlin’s crackdown on independent media. Yapparova, along with hundreds of other Russian journalists, has found refuge in Latvia, a country that offers crucial support through organizations like Media Hub Riga.

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A Five-Phase Approach to Supporting Exiled Media

  • IMS (International Media Support)

This briefing paper “Navigating Instability” outlines an initial framework for responding to the challenges faced by exiled media, based on over 20 years of IMS support. With input from exiled media leaders, IMS’ Exiled Media Working Group has identified five key phases of transition and evolution that media in exile experience.

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How AI Is Helping Journalists Track Wartime Casualties

  • Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN)
  • Katya Bonch-Osmolovskaya

Exiled Russian media site IStories has shared with GIJN how it built an AI-powered database of Russian military war dead and missing, and why it was worth creating. Katya Bonch-Osmolovskaya, editor of IStories’ data department, explains how the AI was trained, what kind of data Charon can collect, and why journalists should start learning to work with neural networks.

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‘It’s Much More Dangerous Today Than It Was Under Perestroika’

  • Le Monde
  • Benjamin Quénelle

Benjamin Quénelle reports about the efforts of Russian journalists in exile who are discreetly training young reporters still living under the country’s oppressive media landscape. Despite the risks, these aspiring journalists are determined to pursue fair and honest reporting, even as Russia ranks 162nd globally for press freedom.

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Journalists in Belarus Consider Exile so as to Continue Work

  • DW Akademie
  • Diana Shahbazyan

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.

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The Path to Impact: Insights from Global Majority Newsrooms

  • Report for the World & Columbia University (SIPA)

Report for the World and Columbia University (SIPA) have launched The Path to Impact: Insights from Global Majority Newsrooms, an impact report highlighting the global impact of local journalism in Asia, Africa, Europe, and South America.

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A Visit to a Russian Exile Media Outlet

  • Wiener Zeitung
  • Dennis Miskić

Since March 2022, The Moscow Times has had to operate in exile from Amsterdam. Like dozens of other exile media outlets, it endures impossible conditions and high security risks to be a beacon of hope. A visit to the newsroom.

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Europe Press Freedom Report

  • partner organisations of the Safety of Journalists Platform

This report “2024: Confronting Political Pressure, Disinformation, and the Erosion of Media Independence” identifies serious threats, including the digital surveillance of journalists and its risks to source confidentiality, the transnational repression of journalists—particularly from Russia and Belarus—and the trend of media capture by governments in some countries.

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Attacks on Media Workers in 2024

  • Justice for Journalists Foundation

The Justice for Journalists Foundation (JFJ) released a report examining the key trends and developments in the media landscape of 12 post-Soviet states (excluding the Baltic States) over the past eight years. The report, compiled in collaboration with local partners, highlights significant changes and challenges faced by the media in these countries since 2017.

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Three Years into The War, Russia’s Exiled Opposition in Crisis

  • Meduza
  • Lilia Yapparova

Lilia Yapparova explores the crisis within Russia’s exiled opposition three years into the war, as internal divisions and the death of Alexey Navalny leave many anti-war Russians feeling disillusioned and unrepresented. She examines the movement’s fragmentation, the challenges faced by its leaders in exile, and the uncertain future of Russia’s pro-democracy forces.

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2024 Assistance Report

  • RSF

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has released its 2024 Assistance Report, revealing a growing trend of forced exile among journalists worldwide. In 2024, the organization allocated 70% of its emergency funds to relocating over 700 persecuted journalists and provided financial aid to 42 media outlets facing crises.

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Exiled Belarusians Reflect on Their Lost Revolution

  • The Kyiv Independent
  • Kate Tsurkan

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.

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China, Israel, and Myanmar: Top Jailers of Journalists

  • Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)

China, Israel, and Myanmar emerged as the world’s three worst offenders in another record-setting year for journalists jailed because of their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists’ 2024 prison census has found. Belarus and Russia rounded out the top five, with CPJ documenting its second-highest number of journalists behind bars.

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Russia Labels Komi Daily a “Terrorist Organization”

  • The Kyiv Independent
  • Tim Zadorozzhnny

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has designated the independent media outlet Komi Daily as a “terrorist organization”. This marks the first time the FSB has applied such a label to a media outlet. The Supreme Court finalized the designation in late December, intensifying Russia’s suppression of dissenting voices, particularly the independent media critical of the Kremlin.

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Truth in Exile: Nasha Niva Defies Physical, Digital Borders

  • Freedom House
  • Matt Hooper

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.

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Media Freedom in Afghanistan

  • UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) & UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR)

The joint report by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) documented 336 cases of human rights violations against media professionals between August 2021 and September 2024.

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Exiled Journalist Communities in Germany

  • Körber Stiftung

As global crises, authoritarianism, and threats to press freedom escalate, more journalists are forced to flee their home countries, making independent journalism one of the most dangerous professions today. The recently published study by Körber Stiftung sheds light on the growing scale and challenges of exiled journalism in Germany.

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