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Flight and Fight: Supporting Journalists in Exile

    The issue of exiled journalists goes beyond individual stories of courage. It strikes at the heart of human rights. Journalists are in exile because their most basic human rights—particularly the right to freedom of expression—are being systematically denied. These are not isolated incidents; they are symptoms of broader failures to uphold international norms and hold oppressive regimes accountable.

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    Syria: “I Haven’t Cried So Much in so Long”

    • CNN

    At the start of the Syrian civil war, citizen journalist Rami Jarrah picked up a camera to document Assad government atrocities. He says, “We’ve been given our country back, and we have the opportunity now to build it.”

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    Syrian Media After Assad

    • NiemanReports
    • Lina Chawaf

    Lina Chawaf, founder of Radio Rozana, reflects on Syria’s uncertain future after Assad’s fall. While celebrating his ousting, she voices concerns about the new Islamist regime’s media stance. Her team continues reporting despite risks, navigating a volatile landscape for independent journalism.

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    Exiled Expression: Root Causes and Impacts

    • ifex
    • Laura Vidal, Reyhana Masters

    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.

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    The Mechanics of Media Policy Creation in Russia

    • Media & Journalism Research Center
    • Leonardo Ingannamorte

    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.

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    Where Independent Reporting Ends

    • WittenLab Magazine
    • Marius Dragomir

    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.

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    Russia’s War on the Press

    • Women Press Freedom

    Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, the Russian regime has targeted journalists on the frontlines with deliberate attacks, leading to numerous deaths and injuries among women reporters. This campaign of terror aims to suppress independent reporting and obscure the realities of the conflict.

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    Is Civil Society Still Alive in Russia?

    • Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies
    • Stefan Ingvarsson, Ekaterina Kalinina

    This report challenges the claims that there is no civil society to speak of inside the Russian Federation and that most of its activists are now in exile. A significant number of independent and democratically oriented initiatives and organizations continue to operate throughout the country to address societal issues through civic engagement. These should be acknowledged.

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    Navigating Digital Sovereignty

    • ResearchGate
    • Douglas C. Youvan

    In “Navigating Digital Sovereignty: A Comparative Analysis of Internet Regulation in Russia and China,” the researchers delve into the intricate web of policies and technologies that define how two global powers control and manage their digital landscapes. This exploration sheds light on the Sovereign Internet Law of Russia and the Great Firewall of China, two landmark strategies aimed at asserting digital sovereignty.

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    Independent Media Are the Primary Targets of Kremlin Laws

    • RSF

    A third of the victims of Russia’s “foreign agents” law are independent media, which makes them the primary target of this legislation — and highlights their systematic legal persecution. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has analysed the Ministry of Justice’s blacklists of “foreign agents” and “undesirable organisations” – which are used as tools of censorship – and condemns the stigmatisation of independent media as a fifth column.

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    Yavuz Baydar Reflects on Life as a Turkish Exiled Journalist

    • Körber Stiftung

    Yavuz Baydar is an award-winning journalist, editor and analyst in Turkish and international media. Since the failed Turkish coup d’etat in 2016 Yavuz Baydar has had to live and work in exile. In conversation with Diana Huth, Yavuz Baydar analyzes the geopolitical implications of the 2024 elections and calls for greater support for exile journalism.

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    What’s Next for Investigative Journalism in Latin America

    • IJNet
    • Andrea Arzaba, Ana Beatriz Assam

    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.

    Military Censorship in Russia

    • Reporter ohne Grenzen

    The legal basis for combating independent media and media professionals in Russia emerged in the 2010s. In the 2020s, the state significantly expanded its options for repression. Media outlets and individuals were declared foreign agents and the number of cases against media professionals based on extremism paragraphs increased. This report provides an overview of the latest developments.

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    No Protection in Exile

    • Reporter ohne Grenzen

    According to a survey of Russian media professionals in exile, most of them do not live in the EU but in other countries (Georgia, Armenia, Central Asia, Serbia, etc.) despite the high risks due to a lack of legal options and insufficient financial resources. On behalf of RSF, the Russian human rights organization Mass Media Defence Center has prepared an analysis of the situation of independent journalists from Russia in exile.

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    Russian Decency

    • The New York Review
    • Zhenya Bruno

    In the investigative journalist Elena Kostyuchenko’s new book about Russia, resistance is carried out through small, discreet acts.

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    On the Run

      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.

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