One Free Press Coalition
standing up for journalists under attack for pursuing the truth

List

cases of injustice against journalists

10 Most Urgent, April 2022

This month’s “10 Most Urgent” list from the One Free Press Coalition features journalists covering the war in Ukraine. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, millions of people are fleeing, hundreds are dying, and journalists are risking their lives to present the facts and the human toll of this incursion. Five journalists have been killed, while others have been attacked or have gone missing. The war has also devastated independent journalism in Russia. Recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law that criminalizes factual news reporting. Hundreds of independent Russian journalists have fled—but there are no guarantees for safe refuge, and many lack visas and resources to continue reporting in exile.

1. Oleksandr Gunko (Ukraine)

On April 3, Russian soldiers in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Nova Kakhovka searched Oleksandr Gunko’s home, seized his phones and electronic devices, and took him to an undisclosed location. Gunko is a poet and the chief editor of the Nova Kakhovka City news website, which has covered rallies in the city against the Russian invasion.

2. Sota.Vision (Russia)

Journalists at Russian independent news outlet detained, arrested, fined and charged.

Since March 7, authorities have detained at least seven journalists with independent news website Sota.Vision, including two who were sentenced to multiple days in prison. Authorities also fined and harassed employees of the outlet and seized their technical equipment for coverage of rallies and anti-war protests.

3. Iryna Dubchenko (Ukraine)

Journalist abducted at her home and held in custody of Russian forces.

On March 26, Russian forces detained Iryna Dubchenko and searched her home saying they knew about her “journalistic activities.” They accused her of hiding a wounded Ukrainian soldier and took her to Donetsk for “investigative action,” according to Dubchenko’s sister and 1+1 correspondent Yakiv Noskov. On March 29, the Zaporizhzhia region of the Ukrainian military administration confirmed the journalist’s abduction and said that “response measures are being taken.”

4. Ivan Safronov (Russia)

Trial scheduled for Russian journalist accused of high treason.

Trial is set to begin in early April for Ivan Safronov, a former reporter for the Russian dailies Kommersant and Vedomosti, who was detained in July 2020 by Russian Federal Security Service officers in connection with his reporting. He was charged with high treason for allegedly spying for a foreign country. His attorney told CPJ that agents interrogated Safronov about his March 2019 report on Russia’s alleged sale of jet fighters to Egypt. Safronov has denied the allegations of high treason, according to the attorney. If convicted, Safronov could face up to 20 years in prison, according to the Russian penal code. In July 2020, at least 18 journalists demonstrating support of Safronov were detained.

5. Remzi Bekirov (Crimea, Ukraine)

Crimean Tatar correspondent sentenced to 19 years in prison.

On March 10, a Russian court sentenced Remzi Bekirov, a correspondent for the independent news website Grani, to 19 years in prison for allegedly organizing the activities of a terrorist organization, a charge Bekirov denied. Bekirov, who is an ethnic Crimean Tatar, live-streamed from Russian authorities’ raids and trials of Crimean Tatars and also interviewed activists with the human rights group Crimean Solidarity. Russia has enforced its laws in Crimea since it annexed the peninsula from Ukraine in March 2014, including imposing substantial restrictions on media freedom.

6. Viktoria Roshchina (Ukraine)

Reporter held hostage for ten days by Russian forces.

Viktoria Roschina, a reporter with the independent Ukrainian television station Hromadske, was first reported missing on March 11 while on her way to the southeastern city of Mariupol. Her employer reported that Russian forces took her hostage. Roshchina was released ten days later. According to Hromadske, Russian “occupiers” forced her to record a video later posted on pro-Russian media and social media outlets in which she was forced to deny being held by Russian forces. Roshchina covered the Russian invasion in eastern and southern Ukraine. She is now in the territory controlled by Ukrainian forces.

7. Taisia Bekbulatova (Russia)

Independent news editor has worked to evacuate her Russia-based staff.

Once Russia passed legislation threatening up to 15 years in prison for the publication of “fake” information about the invasion of Ukraine, Taisia Bekbulatova, the chief editor of Russian independent news site Holod, began frantically looking for ways to evacuate her Russia-based staff. Bekbulatova had relocated to Tbilisi, Georgia, at the end of last year after she was declared a “foreign agent” by Russia’s justice ministry. Bekbulatova considers Georgia only a stopover and notes it’s “not the safest country for independent journalists because the current government is trying to avoid unnecessary conflict with Putin.”

8. Dmitry Muratov (Russia)

Nobel Prize-winning editor has suspended independent newspaper.

Dmitry Muratov, founder and editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta newspaper, is a 2007 recipient of CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award and received a 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for his work. In March, Novaya Gazeta covered an interview that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave to a group of independent Russian journalists. Russia’s state media regulator, Roskomnadzor, warned that media outlets were barred from publishing that interview. Consequently, Novaya Gazeta has suspended publication in print and online until the end of Russia’s so-called “special operation” in Ukraine.

9. Vladislav Yesypenko (Crimea, Ukraine)

Crimean journalist sentenced to six-year prison term.

In February, a court in Russian-occupied Crimea convicted Vladislav Yesypenko, a correspondent with the U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, on charges of possessing and transporting explosives, and sentenced him to six years in prison. Yesypenko maintained his innocence throughout the closed-door trial and testified that authorities “want to discredit the work of freelance journalists who really want to show the things that really happen in Crimea,” according to news reports.

10. Rodion Severyanov (Russia)

Russian war correspondent shot and wounded in Ukraine.

On March 29, war correspondent for the Russian pro-government broadcaster Izvestiya TV, Rodion Severyanov, who was embedded with the Russian forces, was wounded in the leg in the southeast Ukrainian city of Mariupol. He said he was shot while trying to help a wounded Russian soldier. In an interview, Severyanov said a Ukrainian sniper had shot him; however, CPJ was unable to independently verify the source of fire.

Katherine Love
10 Most Urgent, March 2022

Ahead of International Women’s Day observed on March 8, the One Free Press Coalition in partnership with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) are highlighting 10 cases of women journalists who have faced retaliation or threats because of their reporting. 

While some of the threats faced by these journalists are widespread press freedom issues, women journalists face unique challenges. In particular, women  journalists face a greater amount of harassment online, as well as workplace harassment, with IWMF estimating that a third of female journalists have considered changing jobs because of threats. A 2020 UNESCO report found that globally 73% of women journalists had faced online harassment, which in some cases turned into physical threats and had serious impacts on mental health.

Journalists seeking guidance on digital and psychosocial safety can find them here, including tools for handling online harassment.

1. Sedef Kabas (Turkey)

Authorities detained Kabaş, a freelance journalist and former television anchor, on January 22 for “insulting” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during an appearance on a political debate show, in addition to a charge for “insult of a public official.” Prosecutors asked to jail Kabas to 11 years and 8 months on both charges. This past February, while Kabaş was in detention awaiting trial on that criminal insult charge, President Erdoğan separately filed a civil suit seeking $18,405 in damages.

2. Hala Fuad Badhawi (Yemen)

In December 2021, military intelligence forces in Hadramout province detained Badhawi, and she is currently held in the central province prison. Colleagues believe Badhawi was detained because of her writing on corruption in the province. CPJ was told she will likely be referred to prosecutors on charges of membership in a terrorist cell, incitement to destabilize local security, and smuggling improvised explosive devices.   

3. Elena Milashina (Russia)

An investigative reporter at Novaya Gazeta, Milashina has been forced to flee her home after threats from Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. At least five journalists at the outlet have been killed since CPJ first started collecting data in 1992. Milashina is seriously concerned for her safety, and this is not the first time she has faced threats, as she and human rights lawyer Marina Dubrovina were beaten in the Chechen capital last March.

4. Nomthandazo Maseko (Eswatini)

Maseko, a reporter for the privately owned news website Swati Newsweek, was assaulted by correctional services staff after livestreaming a protest by members of the Swaziland Liberation Movement (Swalimo) activist group outside a local prison. When officers spotted her in her car, they hauled her out, slapped, kicked, beat her with sticks, and an unidentified officer pointed a gun at her and threatened to shoot.

5. Rana Ayyub (India)

Washington Post columnist and freelance journalist Ayyub has long been a victim of online trolling and retaliatory legal threats, but began receiving a renewed onslaught of threats on Twitter after she tweeted her criticism of Saudi Arabia’s government role in the ongoing Yemen war, receiving over 26,000 tweets in response, including rape and death threats.

6. Pham Doan Trang (Vietnam)

In December, Vietnamese authorities sentenced journalist Trang to nine years in prison. Trang covers human rights topics, including police abuses and environmental issues. Trang has faced harassment in the past for her reporting. Days before her arrest in October 2020, Trang released a letter titled, “Just in case I am imprisoned.”

7. Julia Gavarrete (El Salvador)

El Faro reporter Gavarrete is one of more than 30 journalists in El Salvador who discovered recently that they were a target of Pegasus spyware surveillance. Gavarrete covers politics, health, environment and gender for El Faro, and the outlet has been singled out alongside other independent outlets by President Nayib Bukele and other Salvadoran officials.

8. Kalúa Salazar (Nicaragua)

Salazar, editor-in-chief of radio and television outlet La Costeñísima, has faced ongoing legal battles, harassment and surveillance from authorities, including physical attacks and preventing her from leaving her home. Salazar told CPJ that she believes the harassment is tied to the outlet’s coverage and a desire to silence the work of La Costeñisima, one of the few independent media outlets in Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast.

9. Lourdes Maldonado (Mexico)

Maldonado, a veteran broadcast journalist, was shot dead in Tijuana this January. Maldonado had previously been attacked because of her work and was registered in the Mexican government’s program to protect journalists. She is one of five journalists killed in Mexico since the start of 2022.

10. Maria Ressa (Philippines)

Journalist Maria Ressa, a 2021 Nobel Peace Prize awardee, faces extreme threats in the Philippines, including state-orchestrated attacks against her and Rappler, the news organization that she founded. This follows her conviction on a criminal cyber libel charge, part of ongoing efforts from authorities in the Philippines to silence any critical reporting.

Katherine Love
10 Most Urgent, February 2022

Ahead of World Radio Day on February 13, the monthly “10 Most Urgent” list from the One Free Press Coalition focuses on radio journalists around the globe who have faced retaliation for their reporting.

According to UNESCO, radio remains the most popular medium globally for people to consume news, and for a century has remained a vital source of information for communities. However, as the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has found in their reporting, in certain authoritarian countries, like Venezuela, there has steadily been a decline in the number of radio stations as a result of press crackdowns. Since 1992, CPJ has documented at least 275 cases of radio journalists killed in connection to their work, and 19 radio journalists were imprisoned in 2021.

1. Nguyen Van Hoa (Vietnam)

Nguyen Van Hoa, a Vietnamese reporter and videographer with Radio Free Asia (RFA), is serving a seven-year prison sentence, to be followed by three years of house arrest, on anti-state charges. Prosecutors said the blogger’s reporting, including on a 2016 industrial accident, was aimed at “propagating against, distorting, and defaming the government.” He has been placed in solitary confinement and has been physically abused in prison.

2. Wan Yiu-sing (China)

Wan Yiu-sing, an internet radio host and commentator who covers political issues in mainland China and Hong Kong for the independent internet radio channel D100, was arrested by Hong Kong police in February 2021. Wan’s arrest came amid authorities’ crackdown on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. He is being held in detention while on trial for alleged sedition and money laundering, and has had to be hospitalized while in detention.

3. Thomas Awah Junior (Cameroon)

Cameroonian journalist Thomas Awah Junior was arrested in January 2017, and is serving an 11-year sentence in Kondengui Central Prison in Yaoundé on false news and anti-state charges. He is in poor health, and in 2019, he was sentenced to an additional three years in jail, to run concurrently with his original sentence, for his alleged role in a prison protest.

4. John Wesley Amady and Wilguens Louis-Saint (Haiti)

Suspected gang members ambushed and shot Amady and Louis-Saint while they were reporting on the lack of security in Laboule 12, a gang-controlled area in the Port-au-Prince commune of Pétion-Ville. Amady was on assignment for the broadcaster Radio Écoute FM and Louis-Saint worked for the online outlets Télé Patriote and Tambou Verité. 

5. Htet Htet Khine (Myanmar)

Myanmar freelance journalist Htet Htet Khine, a producer for BBC Media Action, was arrested in 2021 under the Unlawful Associations Act, according to news reports. She is being held in pre-trial detention at an undisclosed location. Authorities charged Htet Htet Khine under Section 17(1) of the colonial-era Unlawful Associations Act for allegedly working for a banned radio station and harboring fellow journalist Sithu Aung Myint while he fled an arrest warrant.

6. Frenchie Mae Cumpio (Philippines)

Arrested in 2020, Cumpio, executive director of the Eastern Vista news website and a radio news anchor at Aksyon Radyo-Tacloban DYVL 819, frequently covered alleged police and military abuses. Cumpio had previously faced harassment and intimidation from people she believed to be security agents. She is currently held in pretrial detention on charges of illegal firearms possession.

7. Svetlana Prokopyeva (Russia)

Prokopyeva is a regional correspondent for Radio Svoboda, and a 2020 CPJ International Press Freedom awardee. In early 2019, armed law enforcement officers raided Prokopyeva’s apartment, seized her equipment, passport, and personal belongings, and interrogated her at a police station. In 2020, Prokopyeva was convicted of “justifying terrorism” and ordered to pay 500,000 rubles ($6,980) in fines. The court also ordered the confiscation of Prokopyeva’s mobile phone and laptop computer, and she remains on Russia’s terrorist list in retaliation for her work.

8. April Ehrlich (USA)

In September 2020, police arrested local radio reporter April Ehrlich in Portland, OR, while she was covering evictions of people living in a city park. Police charged her with criminal trespassing, interfering with a peace officer, and resisting arrest. Some of these misdemeanors could come with prison terms up to 364 days and fines up to $6,250. 

9. Gulchehra Hoja (China/USA)

After joining Radio Free Asia in the U.S., journalist and 2020 IWMF Courage in Journalism awardee Gulchehra Hoja was sent a “red notice” from China, banning her from returning home. Today, members of her family have been deliberately targeted with constant government surveillance, harassment and have endured numerous detentions in retaliation for her coverage of human rights, and her work at Radio Free Asia, according to Gulchehra and IWMF.

10. Fernando Solijon (Philippines)

Two gunmen on a motorcycle shot Solijon in 2013. Solijon, a radio commentator with DxLS Love Radio of Iligan City, was declared dead on arrival at a local hospital. During his regular radio program, Solijon frequently criticized local politicians, and had received threats for his reporting. Almost ten years on, partial impunity remains in his case, as not all those responsible for his death have been held to account.

Katherine Love