JX Fund – European Fund for Journalism in Exile

Crossing a border doesn’t end the threats. Exiled journalists from Afghanistan, Russia, and the Uyghur community describe cyberattacks, disinformation, poisoning attempts, and pressure on family members back home—transnational repression that’s rising fast as exile itself has nearly doubled worldwide in five years.

This 30/90/365-day implementation kit helps newsrooms and exile media protect sources, minimize metadata, secure administrator access, bind vendors, and build emergency publication and archive continuity, all without turning controversial reporting or source contact into a permanent surveillance dossier on staff or readers.

Good journalism alone doesn’t pay the bills, says Marius Dragomir of the Media and Journalism Research Center. In this interview, he explains why quality and revenue require different skills, how donor dependence quietly shapes editorial choices, and why small outlets are “captured through starvation” rather than acquisition—plus what funders consistently get wrong.

Serbia is now the only EU-Balkans country where journalists flee for safety. Columnist Marko Vidojković and military reporter Aleksandar Radić are among six exiled amid death threats, smear campaigns, and state harassment. As Belgrade edges toward EU accession, RSF says Brussels can no longer ignore Serbia’s press freedom crisis.

Afro-Cuban journalist Abraham Jiménez Enoa received the Percy Qoboza Award in Atlanta, defying the Havana regime that forced him into exile in 2021. Now living in Barcelona, separated from family, he linked press freedom to Black struggle, declaring “you cannot silence us” and dedicating the honor to colleagues still resisting inside Cuba.

The internet is a haven for journalism in countries where press freedom is endangered. Exiled outlets report from abroad, beyond the reach of domestic regulators and press laws. But no space is truly safe: in recent years autocracies have innovated to promote their agendas online, exploit social media algorithms, and block critical media.

Nicaraguan journalists who sought refuge in Costa Rica say they are facing surveillance and intimidation linked to the Ortega regime. The reports suggest that repression extends beyond Nicaragua’s borders, undermining Costa Rica’s role as a safe haven and exposing the growing risks of transnational repression for journalists who continue reporting from exile.

A coalition of human rights organizations warns that Vietnamese authorities are expanding repression beyond national borders, targeting journalists and critics living in Thailand. The cases of exiled journalists Truong Duy Nhat and Duong Van Thai highlight the risks faced by independent reporters abroad, including surveillance, intimidation, detention and threats of forced return.

Exiled Azerbaijani media outlets Meydan TV and AbzasMedia have won the 2026 Free Media Pioneer Award, a recognition presented by the International Press Institute (IPI) and International Media Support (IMS) to organizations advancing independent journalism and the free flow of information. The award comes at a time of unprecedented pressure on independent media in Azerbaijan.

A group of Hong Kong journalists forced into exile has launched Pulse HK, an independent online media outlet publishing in Chinese. The platform aims to fill the void left by the forced shutdown of independent Hong Kong media outlets, including Apple Daily five years ago. RSF spoke with Shirley Leung, co-founder of the platform.

The International Center for Journalists has named Cuban exiled journalist and El Toque co-founder José J. Nieves a recipient of its 2026 Knight International Journalism Award. Forced to leave Cuba in 2022, Nieves has continued reporting on the island from abroad, documenting repression and amplifying voices silenced at home.

Exile journalists in Europe are not safe from their authoritarian countries of origin: dictatorships persecute, threaten media workers critical of the regime beyond their own borders, even in states that are supposed to offer them protection. The EP adopted a resolution on transnational repression in the plenary on Tuesday, to which RSF contributed civil society expertise.

Today, the IPI and IMS are proud to announce this year’s recipients of the World Press Freedom Hero and Free Media Pioneer awards, who together demonstrate remarkable courage, ingenuity, and resilience amid an increasingly challenging environment for press freedom and independent journalism around the world.

RSF welcomes the court ruling on 10 June in the trial concerning the attempted assassination of Azerbaijani blogger Mahammad Mirzali. By handing down sentences of up to 30 years in prison, the French justice system has sent a clear message: transnational repression carried out by authoritarian regimes on European soil will not go unpunished.

Journalists who have fled authoritarian regimes and sought refuge in Germany are not automatically safe there either: an Egyptian journalist is attacked on a public street in Germany by a fellow Egyptian. A Russian reporter in Berlin is believed to have been the target of a poisoning attack. The family of an Iranian journalist is threatened because of his work in exile.

Exile is no guarantee of safety for journalists fleeing authoritarian regimes. Experts and a UN Special Rapporteur warn that states increasingly misuse Interpol mechanisms — including Red Notices and Travel Document Alerts — to harass, restrict, and pressure regime critics abroad, even those granted asylum. Social media platforms, they add, offer far too little protection.

Press freedom is under unprecedented global pressure — and journalists are responding by building networks across borders. At the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, the taz panterstiftung launched its new panternetwork, uniting 500 journalists worldwide. Collaboration, they agree, is no longer optional: it’s the future of independent journalism.

Press freedom experts and a UN special rapporteur have warned that authoritarian governments continue to misuse Interpol mechanisms to target journalists living in exile, despite reforms aimed at preventing politically motivated cases. Several experts point to alleged abuses of Interpol mechanisms, particularly Red Notices and travel document alerts, which they said can severely restrict journalists’ movement and daily lives.