NEW YORK – May 1, 2025 – Coinciding with World Press Freedom Day, leading news organizations and publishers around the world have come together as part of the One Free Press Coalition to announce the 2025 “10 Most Urgent” list, bringing to light and emphasizing ten cases of those who are currently detained for actively pursuing their duty as fellow journalists. The mission of the coalition is to use the collective voices of its members – which reach more than two billion people worldwide – to “stand up for journalists under attack for pursuing the truth.”

In 2025, many journalists continue to face increased risks and challenges while working to seek the truth and spread the information and knowledge they learned while working.

The “10 Most Urgent” list, published this morning by all members and at the OneFreePress website includes the following journalists:

1. Jimmy Lai, founder of newspaper Apple Daily, Hong Kong

Since December 2020, Jimmy has been confined to solitary confinement in a Hong Kong maximum-security prison, having been charged under the Beijing-imposed National Security Law after raising human rights concerns with international human rights organizations.

2. Shin Daewe, documentary filmmaker and freelancer, Myanmar

Shin was ordered a life sentence in 2024, now reduced to 15 years, on charges of illegal possession of an unregistered drone, after being arrested and interrogated by police in 2023 when she was receiving a drone that she had ordered online.

3. Frenchie Mae Cumpio, community journalist for Eastern Vista, Philippines

Frenchie Mae has been held in pre-trial detention for five years after authorities raided her home in February 2020 and arrested her—along with colleagues Marielle Domequil and Alexander Abingun—on charges of illegal firearms possession and terrorism financing, which she denies.

4. Pham Doan Trang, author, journalist, activist and founder of Luat Khoa legal magazine, Vietnam

Pham was arrested in 2020 and accused of “anti-state propaganda,” and ultimately sentenced to nine years in prison. For years prior to her arrest, she endured threats, police brutality, self-imposed exile and interrogations over her writings about democracy, freedom of expression, human rights, environmental degradation and women’s empowerment.

5. Ihar Losik, freelance journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Belarus Service, Belarus

Ihar was detained in June 2020 in advance of Belarus’ rigged election in August, later tried on charges including “organization of mass riots” and “incitement to hatred. He was later sentenced to 15 years in prison.

6. Sevinj Vagifgizi, chief editor of anti-corruption investigative outlet Abzas Media, Azerbaijan

After Azerbaijan implemented a major crackdown on independent press in 2023, Sevinj was arrested and continues to be detained due to multiple financial crime charges in relation to allegedly illegally receiving funding from Western donors.

7. Vladyslav Yesypenko, contributor to Crimea.Realities, a unit of Radio Free Europe/RadioLiberty’s Ukrainian Service, Russia

Vladyslav was arrested in 2021 and sentenced in 2022 to ultimately five years in prison after initially being detained on suspicion of spying for the Ukrainian government, later changed to charges relating to possession and transport of explosives.

8. Li Yanhe, Taiwan-based radio host and publisher and founder of Gusa Press, China

Li was arrested two years ago during a trip to Shanghai, held incommunicado, and sentenced in February 2025 to a $6,900 fine and three years in prison on charges of inciting separatism.

9. Makhabat Tajibek Kyzy, Azamat Ishenbekov and Aike Beishekeyeva, journalists from YouTube-based anti-corruption investigative outlet Temirov Live, Kyrgyzstan

In February 2025, Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court confirmed sentences against Makhabat, Azamat and Aike on charges of calling for mass unrest.

10. Joakim Medin, special correspondent for the Swedish newspaper ETC, Turkey

Joakim has been held in a high-security prison in Silivri, Turkey since March 30 after his arrest while traveling to report on civil unrest in the city, and being accused of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and “belonging to an armed terrorist organization” because he was present as a reporter at an anti-Erdoğan rally organized by individuals tied to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in Stockholm in 2023.

The list is compiled in collaboration with the Committee to Protect Journalists, International Women’s Media Foundation and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). According to Committee to Protect Journalists data, 361 journalists were behind bars worldwide at the end of 2024 (up from 320 in 2023).

Last August, the One Free Press Coalition celebrated the release of two American journalists — Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva — from Russian detention after their cases were at the top of the May 2024 list of “10 Most Urgent” press freedom cases.

News organizations throughout the world can join the coalition by emailing info@onefreepresscoalition.com. Members of the public are also encouraged to join the conversation using #OneFreePress and following developments on X @OneFreePress.

About the One Free Press Coalition

The One Free Press Coalition is comprised of prominent international members including: L’Agefi; Agencia EFE; The Associated Press; The Atlantic; Barron’s; Bloomberg News; The Boston Globe; Business Insider; Deutsche Welle; Dow Jones; The Economist; Forbes; El País; Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; Nikkei Asia; TIME; The Wall Street Journal; The Washington Post; and WIRED.

To see the “10 Most Urgent” list and to view a complete list of participating news organizations and supporting partners, please visit https://www.onefreepresscoalition.com or @OneFreePress on X.

Media Contacts:
One Free Press Coalition: pr@onefreepresscoalition.com
CPJ: Mohamed Abdelfattah at press@cpj.org
IWMF: Charlotte Fox at cfox@iwmf.org
RSF: Zoé Boissel at zboissel@rsf.org

The February 2022 “10 Most Urgent” List Highlights Radio Journalists Facing Unjust Retaliation Around the Globe

NEW YORK – February 1, 2022 – Vietnamese reporter and videographer Nguyen Van Hoa, who is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence on anti-state charges, tops the February ranking of the One Free Press Coalition’s “10 Most Urgent” list of press freedom cases. The “10 Most Urgent” list, issued this week by a united group of pre-eminent editors and publishers, spotlights journalists whose press freedoms are being suppressed or whose cases are seeking justice. 

Ahead of World Radio Day on February 13, this month’s list highlights cases of radio journalists from around the globe who have faced unjust retaliation for their reporting. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), radio has remained the most popular medium for people to access the news globally over the past century. However, the Committee to protect Journalists (CPJ) has uncovered a steady decline in the number of radio stations in certain authoritarian countries – such as Venezuela, for example – as a result of press crackdowns. Since 1992, CPJ has documented at least 275 cases of radio journalists who were killed in connection to their work, and 19 radio journalists who were imprisoned in 2021 alone.

Published today at www.onefreepresscoalition.com and by all Coalition members, the 36th “10 Most Urgent” list includes the following radio journalists, ranked in order of urgency:

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.

The One Free Press Coalition is comprised of 32 prominent international members including: Agencia Efe; Al Jazeera Media Network, AméricaEconomía; The Associated Press; Bloomberg News; The Boston Globe; Corriere Della Sera; De Standaard; Deutsche Welle; Estadão; EURACTIV; The Financial Times; Forbes; Fortune; HuffPost; India Today; Insider Inc.; Le Temps; Middle East Broadcasting Networks; Office of Cuba Broadcasting; Quartz; Radio Free Asia; Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty; Republik; Reuters; The Straits Times; Süddeutsche Zeitung; TIME; TV Azteca; Voice of America; The Washington Post; and Yahoo News.

One Free Press Coalition partners with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) to identify the most-urgent cases for the list, which is updated and published on the first business day of every month.

Members of the public are also encouraged to join the conversation using the hashtag #OneFreePress and following developments on Twitter @OneFreePress.

One Free Press Coalition

The One Free Press Coalition every month spotlights the “10 Most Urgent” journalists who press freedoms are under threat worldwide. The Coalition uses the collective voices of participating news organizations to spotlight brave journalists whose voices are being silenced or have been silenced by “standing up for journalists under attack for pursuing the truth.” To see the “10 Most Urgent” list every month and to view a complete list of participating news organizations and supporting partners, please visit onefreepresscoalition.com or @OneFreePress on Twitter.

Contacts:

One Free Press Coalition PR: pr@onefreepresscoalition.com  
Committee to Protect Journalists: Bebe Santa-Wood, press@cpj.com

The January 2022 “10 Most Urgent” List Highlights Dire State of Press Freedom in China

NEW YORK – January 4, 2022 – Hong Kong media entrepreneur and democracy advocate Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, who is currently serving a 20-month prison sentence while awaiting trial on national security and fraud charges, tops the January ranking of the One Free Press Coalition’s “10 Most Urgent” list of press freedom cases. The “10 Most Urgent” list, issued this week by a united group of pre-eminent editors and publishers, spotlights journalists whose press freedoms are being suppressed or whose cases are seeking justice.

Ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics, set to take place in Beijing, China, this month’s list places a spotlight on the dire state of press freedom in China. Throughout 2021, China continued its dangerous record of imprisoning and detaining journalists without consequence, as well as weaponizing surveillance and physically threatening journalists in an attempt to censor them. According to CPJ’s 2021 census, China remains the world’s worst jailer of journalists for the third year in a row, with 50 currently behind bars.

Last year also marked a new concerning trend for the country, with the list including journalists held in Hong Kong for the first time since CPJ started collecting data in 1992.

Published Monday at www.onefreepresscoalition.com and by all Coalition members, the 35th “10 Most Urgent” list includes the following journalists, ranked in order of urgency:

1. Jimmy Lai Chee-ying

Hong Kong media entrepreneur and democracy advocate Jimmy Lai Chee-ying is serving a 20-month prison sentence, while also awaiting trial on national security and fraud charges, facing a potential life sentence. Lai founded Next Digital Limited, a media company that published the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily and Next Magazine, both forced to close in 2021 due to pressure and ongoing threats from authorities.

2. Zhang Zhan  

It has been over one year since the independent journalist was sentenced to four years in prison for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” after publishing videos critical of the government’s Covid-19 response. She has been on an ongoing hunger strike behind bars and is now in critically ill health. 

3. Ilham Tohti

Uighur writer, blogger, and scholar Ilham Tohti is serving a life sentence on charges of separatism. He is the founder of the Uighur news website Uighurbiz, which was published in Chinese and Uighur, and focused on Uighur rights and social issues and has been denied freedom since 2014.

4. Huang Qi

Huang Qi, publisher of the human rights news website 64 Tianwang, is serving a 12-year sentence on accusations of “deliberately leaking state secrets” and “illegally providing state secrets to foreign countries.” He is critically ill and has been denied medical treatment, as well as denied visits and communication with his mother, who is dying of cancer.

5. Wan Yiu-sing

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. 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 was hospitalized last February due to undisclosed health issues.      

6. Sophia Huang Xueqin

Chinese freelance journalist Sophia Huang Xueqin disappeared on September 19, along with labor activist Wang Jianbing, one day before she was scheduled to board a plane to the United Kingdom to study abroad. On September 27, it was reported that both had been detained for allegedly “inciting subversion of state power” and are being held under “residential surveillance at a designated location,” a form of extrajudicial detention.

7. Haze Fan

Fan is a reporter and producer covering breaking business news in China for Bloomberg News, and despite no charges being brought against her, she continues to be held in pretrial detention for allegedly endangering national security.

8. Zhou Weilin

A reporter for Chinese-language human rights news website Weiquanwang, Zhou has published news and commentary on social media about labor issues and disability rights. Zhou is currently serving a sentence of three years and six months on charges of picking quarrels and provoking trouble, and he plans to appeal.

9. Gulmire Imin

Uighur journalist Gulmire Imin is serving a 19-year, 8-month prison sentence on charges of separatism, leaking state secrets and organizing an illegal demonstration. In 2009, police arrested Imin, who wrote articles critical of the government that year, and she was one of several administrators of Uighur-language web forums who were arrested after the 2009 riots in Urumqi, in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. 

10. Gulchehra Hoja

After joining Radio Free Asia in the U.S. in 2001, journalist 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 and harassment and have endured numerous detentions in retaliation to her journalism and her work at Radio Free Europe, according to Gulchehra and IWMF. Following Gulchehra’s interviews with escapees, prison guards and other officials, in May 2019 she testified in front of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the dangers of reporting on human rights.

The One Free Press Coalition is comprised of 32 prominent international members including: Agencia Efe; Al Jazeera Media Network, AméricaEconomía; The Associated Press; Bloomberg News; The Boston Globe; Corriere Della Sera; De Standaard; Deutsche Welle; Estadão; EURACTIV; The Financial Times; Forbes; Fortune; HuffPost; India Today; Insider Inc.; Le Temps; Middle East Broadcasting Networks; Office of Cuba Broadcasting; Quartz; Radio Free Asia; Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty; Republik; Reuters; The Straits Times; Süddeutsche Zeitung; TIME; TV Azteca; Voice of America; The Washington Post; and Yahoo News.

One Free Press Coalition partners with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) to identify the most-urgent cases for the list, which is updated and published on the first business day of every month.

The mission of the Coalition is to use the collective voices of its members – which reach more than 1 billion people worldwide – to “stand up for journalists under attack for pursuing the truth.” News organizations throughout the world can join the Coalition by emailing info@onefreepresscoalition.com.

Members of the public are also encouraged to join the conversation using the hashtag #OneFreePress and following developments on Twitter @OneFreePress.

One Free Press Coalition

The One Free Press Coalition every month spotlights the “10 Most Urgent” journalists who press freedoms are under threat worldwide. The Coalition uses the collective voices of participating news organizations to spotlight brave journalists whose voices are being silenced or have been silenced by “standing up for journalists under attack for pursuing the truth.” To see the “10 Most Urgent” list every month and to view a complete list of participating news organizations and supporting partners, please visit onefreepresscoalition.com or @OneFreePress on Twitter.

Contacts:

One Free Press Coalition PR: pr@onefreepresscoalition.com
Committee to Protect Journalists: Bebe Santa-Wood, press@cpj.com