JX Fund – European Fund for Journalism in Exile

With the announcement of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Iran and Israel (one both governments pledged to uphold conditionally, contingent on the other’s restraint), speculation has begun to shift from whether the conflict would escalate into full-scale regional war to whether this pause might create space for diplomacy, reconstruction, or even domestic reform in Iran.

For many Nicaraguans fleeing the Ortega-Murillo regime, objects carried into exile hold deep emotional value—links to the past and symbols of hope for return. This is the story of an exiled journalist and his collection of keys. He calls himself *Castro, in homage to an influential high school teacher in Managua who suggested he study journalism.

Exiled journalist Mahtab Qolizadeh highlights the struggles of Iranian asylum seekers in Germany, caught between bureaucracy and uncertainty. As the Iran-Israel conflict deepens, many—like political dissident Alborz Zahedi—remain in limbo, hoping for change but facing a system that offers little clarity or relief.

The systematic and relentless persecution orchestrated by the Ortega-Murillo regime has led to the closure, confiscation, and expulsion of hundreds of independent media outlets and journalists from the country. For many, exile has become the only way to escape censorship, threats, and physical attacks – and to continue reporting.

At JHR, forcibly displaced people are recognized as among the most vulnerable and marginalized. Their stories are often overlooked, their rights de-prioritized. Journalists play a key role in changing that—which is why JHR trains and equips them to report on the realities of displacement and amplify refugees’ voices.

In a new study from DW Akademie and IPLEX, Central American women journalists in exile explain the challenges they face – and their resilience. Being a journalist in Central America is challenging enough, but the difficulties facing a journalist in exile can be even greater. For women journalists in exile in Central America, their work can be overwhelming.

After fleeing persecution by Daniel Ortega’s regime, seven Nicaraguan journalists exiled in Costa Rica have been unable to renew their identification documents: Nicaragua refuses them, and Costa Rica has yet to fully recognize them. They are not locked in a terminal, but they have no homeland.

The Iranian regime has launched a fresh wave of intimidation against exiled Iranian journalists and their families back home, dissident media workers and human rights advocates claim. Earlier this week, the BBC publicly accused the Iranian government of escalating its long-standing harassment of journalists working for its Persian-language service.

A relentless crackdown over the past 18 months has eradicated any semblance of independent media from authoritarian Azerbaijan. But as President Ilham Aliyev casts critical journalists as enemies of the state, they continue to try to hold power to account — from exile, or even from behind bars.

Born from the University of Oregon’s international symposium on journalism-in-exile, this book gathers the reflections and accounts of journalists who have faced danger, persecution, and threats to their safety due to their commitment to journalistic integrity, while also highlighting the work of advocacy groups supporting press freedom in repressive environment.

For over four decades, Persian-language media in exile have played an influential, often contentious role in shaping public discourse about Iran. Emerging in response to the silencing of dissent and the monopolization of narratives by the Islamic Republic, these media outlets created a parallel space of dialogue and imagination.

Clavel Rangel is a journalist forcibly displaced due to her reporting in Venezuela. She didn’t go into exile with a safety net, a secured job, or a detailed plan. She left with her name, her credibility, and her conviction. As she tells it, her survival has been multifaceted, fragmented, and deeply creative.

Lucía Pineda Ubau is the director of the news channel 100% Noticias and has been living in exile in Costa Rica since 2019. Her homeland, Nicaragua, has been under repressive rule since 2007, when President Daniel Ortega started systematically building an autocratic government, including pressuring political opponents who were increasingly criticizing him.

Experts from India, Belarus, Nigeria, Mali, Paraguay and the Philippines explain how they are building tools to bridge gaps between newsrooms and audience. Since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, newsrooms have been grappling with both the promise and the peril posed by generative AI. But not every publisher is equally prepared to pursue these opportunities.

Amid government pressure and weak infrastructure, journalists in Myanmar struggle after a recent earthquake. A Nyo, a 30-year-old journalist from Mandalay, faces daily risks. Born in Sagaing, a conflict hotspot since the 2021 coup, she reports despite threats from the military junta and ongoing violence.

In this DJV-podcast episode, host Sascha Fobbe speaks with Heba Alkadri and Ahmad Shihabi about the challenges journalists with migration backgrounds face. They discuss learning German, pursuing journalism, and representing their communities. Both share their experiences from Syria, the impact of Assad’s fall, and struggles tied to refugee policies in Germany.

As the world marked World Press Freedom Day on May 3, journalists, scholars and artists gathered at the Haus am Dom cultural center in Frankfurt this week to discuss growing pressures on journalism from political repression, digital censorship and the challenges faced by journalists in exile.

Despite being forced into exile in 2018, dissident blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh continues to write about social justice and human rights issues concerning Vietnam. More popularly known as Me Nam or “Mother Mushroom,” she gained recognition for her posts on environmental pollution and police abuse.