New York – May 1, 2020 – Azimjon Askarov, an award-winning journalist in Kyrgyzstan, tops the May ranking of the One Free Press Coalition’s “10 Most Urgent” list of press freedom cases. The “10 Most Urgent” list, issued today by a united group of pre-eminent editors and publishers, spotlights journalists whose press freedoms are being suppressed or whose cases are seeking justice. Askarov, who has spent nine years in jail for reporting on human rights violations, is faced with deteriorating health because of limited access to medication, making him high-risk for contracting the COVID-19 virus. Amid the global health crisis, journalists continue to face harsh punishment for using their voices to share the truth worldwide. Since publishing its May list, the coalition has noted that at least half of the journalists on its lists are currently behind bars and at heightened risk for exposure to the virus.

In observance of World Press Freedom Day on Sunday, May 3, the One Free Press Coalition continues to use its global reach to bring awareness to the importance of free press and advocate for those whose freedoms are under attack. To date, the Coalition has played a critical role in successfully advocating for 71 individuals, supporting in the release of 10 journalists featured on their monthly “10 Most Urgent” lists. By bringing attention to this, the One Free Press Coalition has sparked critical conversations globally, with more than 19,000 mentions of the initiative on social media, totaling 1.17 billion total potential impressions globally. 

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Published this morning at https://www.onefreepresscoalition.com/and by all Coalition members the 15th 10 Most Urgent list includes the following journalists, ranked in order of urgency: 

1. Azimjon Askarov (Kyrgyzstan)

Jailed journalist in deteriorating health at high risk for contracting COVID-19. Award-winning journalist Azimjon Askarov has spent nine years in prison after receiving a life sentence for reporting on human rights violations. Letters home have described run ins with guards, detainee punishment after visiting days, and his deteriorating health because of his limited access to medication.

2. Abdulkhaleq Amran, Akram al-Waleedi, Hareth Hameed and Tawfiq al-Mansouri (Yemen)

Yemeni journalists long held captive in prison now sentenced to death. On April 11, four Yemeni journalists—Abdulkhaleq Amran, Akram al-Waleedi, Hareth Hameed and Tawfiq al-Mansouri—were sentenced to death on charges of spreading false news. The individuals have been detained for nearly five years by the Ansar Allah group, known as the Houthis, at war with the internationally recognized government, a Saudi-led military coalition.

3. Mahmoud al-Jaziri (Bahrain) 

Imprisoned reporter punished for telling media about inmates’ coronavirus fears. Mahmoud al-Jaziri was moved to solitary confinement on April 8 as retaliation for an audio clip that surfaced on dissident-run media channel Bahrain Today3 in which he disputed reports that Bahraini authorities had taken measures to protect prisoners from the spread of COVID-19. Al-Jaziri has been imprisoned since December 2015 on a 15-year sentence on charges of belonging to a terrorist group.

4. Solafa Magdy (Egypt)

Prison conditions heighten COVID risk for journalist in deteriorating health. The overcrowding of Egyptian prisons—such as the one in Al-Qanater, where Solafa Magdy is being held – and inhumane conditions threaten to turn detention places into clusters of disease. Magdy, a freelance multimedia journalist, and her husband have been jailed since November 2019 on charges of “membership of a banned group” and “spreading false news.” She has endured medical neglect and even declined treatment for fear of contracting an infection in the facility’s unhygienic hospital.

5. Darvinson Rojas (Venezuela) 

Freelance journalist and parents arrested for his reporting on COVID-19. Venezuelan freelance journalist Darvinson Rojas spent 13 days detained after police agents showed up at his home claiming to be conducting a COVID-19 test. Rojas was arrested and later interrogated about sources of his reporting on the disease. According to local press freedom organization Espacio Publico, Rojas was secretly presented before a judge on March 22 and charged under the controversial “Anti-Hate Law” with incitement to hate and instigation.

6. Truong Duy Nhat (Vietnam) 

Authorities switch charges to sentence blogger to 10 years behind bars. Truong Duy Nhat, a blogger with Radio Free Asia’s Vietnamese language service funded by U.S. Congress, disappeared from a Bangkok shopping mall in January 2019 and two days later was in pretrial detention where he remained 15 months before sentencing March 9 to ten years in prison. Police initially charged him with illegally acquiring property but after failure to procure enough evidence, he was later charged with “abusing his position and power while on duty” as a reporter.

7. Elena Milashina (Russia)

Journalist fears for her life, after leader rebuffs her coronavirus reporting. On April 12, independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta correspondent Elena Milashina wrote that quarantined Chechens had stopped reporting coronavirus symptoms for fear of being labeled “terrorists.” Since her reporting, she has received serious threats and has sought protection from the Investigative Committee of Russia and the prosecutor general’s office but has yet to receive a response.  

8. Mir Shakil ur Rehman (Pakistan)

To silence criticism of pandemic preparedness, government targets broadcast outlet and its CEO. The CEO, owner and Editor-in-Chief of Jang Media Group, Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman, was arrested March 12 over a case involving allegations that he illegally acquired land in 1986. The next day, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority ordered cable distributors throughout the country to stop transmitting Geo TV, which is owned by Jang Media Group, the nation’s largest TV news channel, or move its broadcasts to a higher, harder-to-find channel. Despite no charges filed, Shakil-ur-Rehman was denied bail on April 7. The channel has criticized the government’s coronavirus preparations.

9. Yayesew Shimelis (Ethiopia) 

Journalist charged with “hate speech and disinformation” for COVID coverage. On March 26 journalist Yayesew Shimelis published a COVID-19 report on Facebook and YouTube, which Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health condemned as false. He told a friend he feared government retaliation—and the next day was arrested at a relative’s home. On three occasions, from  April 15 to 21, police failed to respect court orders to release Yayesew, instead introducing new allegations against him. He was eventually released on bail until a scheduled May 15 hearing on charges of distributing disinformation, punishable with up to three years in prison or a fine of up to $3,000 under a recently-enacted law.

10. Jamal Khashoggi (Saudi Arabia)

Turkish and U.S. leaders continue pressuring for murdered journalist’s justice. On March 25 Turkish officials indicted 20 Saudi nationals in the ongoing pursuit for answers surrounding Jamal Khashoggi’s brazen killing in Istanbul in 2018 and the Saudi crown prince’s role. Last December, Saudi Arabia sentenced eight individuals in connection with the 2018 brazen killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

The One Free Press Coalition is comprised of 38 prominent international members including: Agencia Efe; Al Jazeera Media Network, AméricaEconomía; The Associated Press; Bloomberg News; The Boston Globe; BuzzFeed; CNN Money Switzerland; 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; NHK; 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; WIRED; 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 pursing 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
International Women’s Media Foundation: Charlotte Fox, cfox@iwmf.org

NEW YORK – April 1, 2020 – The One Free Press Coalition, a united group of pre-eminent editors and publishers using their global reach and social platforms to spotlight journalists under attack worldwide, today issued its latest “10 Most Urgent” list of journalists whose press freedoms are being suppressed or whose cases are seeking justice. Iranian journalist Mohammad Mosaed tops this month’s list after authorities arrested and interrogated him in February because of his criticism over the lack of preparedness to tackle the coronavirus outbreak. Mosaed has been barred from practicing journalism and authorities have suspended his social media accounts as he awaits his court date.

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Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, journalists worldwide continue to face harsh punishment for using their voices to share the truth worldwide. Earlier this year, China expelled three accredited Wall Street Journal journalists over an opinion headline relating to the crisis and more recently announced its plan to ban American journalists working for a number of notable outlets including The New York Times and The Washington Post. According to The New York Times, China is demanding these publications, as well as the Voice of America and TIME magazine, issue the government explicit details about their respective operations.

Published this morning at www.onefreepresscoalition.com and by all Coalition members the 14th 10 Most Urgent list includes the following journalists, ranked in order of urgency: 

1. Mohammad Mosaed (Iran)

Journalist, who warned about pandemic, banned from work and social media. Freelance economic reporter Mohammad Mosaed awaits a court date, after intelligence agents of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) arrested and interrogated him in February regarding social media accounts critical of the Iranian government. Mosaed was also arrested in November of last year for his tweets amid Iran’s nationwide internet shutdown and widespread protests.

2. Maria Ressa (Philippines)

Editor faces 12 years in jail for allegations of cyberlibel. Rappler editor Maria Ressa is scheduled for trial April 24, expecting a verdict on a cyber-libel charge brought by local businessman Wilfredo Keng regarding a May 2012 story. The relevant law took effect four months after the story in question was published. Ressa could face six years in prison. 

3. Alaa Abdelfattah (Egypt)

Family of jailed journalist protests prisons’ inaction to prevent COVID-19 threat. While blogger Alaa Abdelfattah is held in Cairo’s Tora Prison, three of his family members face charges of unlawful protest, illegal assembly and obstructing traffic in their call to protect prisoners from the spread of coronavirus. They were released on bail exceeding $300 apiece. After reporting about politics and human rights violations, Abdelfattah has endured threats and been told he will never go free if he speaks of guards’ abuse.

4. Chen Qiushi (China)  

Journalist missing while reporting on coronavirus outbreak. Freelance video journalist Chen Qiushi has not been seen since February 6, when he told family he planned to report on a temporary hospital. On January 24, he traveled to the city of Wuhan in Hubei province from Beijing and began filming and reporting on the coronavirus health crisis, according to his posts on YouTube, noting local hospitals were short of resources and struggling to handle the number of patients who needed treatment. 

5. Claudia Julieta Duque (Colombia)

Journalist fears for her life, amid government-orchestrated threats. After 19 years of persecution and legal censorship, award-winning journalist Claudia Julieta Duque told IWMF that she learned on February 29 about an ongoing criminal threat against her life. According to Duque, agents of the state institution in charge of protecting human rights defenders and at-risk journalists, called the National Protection Unit (UNP), were reportedly ordered to carry out intelligence activities from to infiltrate Duque’s security scheme and threaten her welfare.

6. Martin Inoua Doulguet (Chad)

Fines and unequal punishment exacted upon Chadian newspaper leaders. Martin Inoua Doulguet, director of Salam Info newspaper, is imprisoned awaiting a date to appeal his three-year sentence commenced in September following criminal charges of conspiracy and defamation brought by a former Chad government health official. The director of Le Moustik newspaper was found guilty of the same but received no jail time, while both are subjected to fines: each to pay one million Central African francs ($1,675) to the state and joint responsibility for 20 million francs ($33,514) in plaintiff damages.

7. Azimjon Askarov (Kyrgyzstan)

Journalist serving life sentence prepares for final appeal. Award-winning journalist Azimjon Askarov has spent nine years in prison after receiving a life sentence for reporting on human rights violations. Letters home have described run ins with guards, detainee punishment after visiting days, and his deteriorating health because of his limited access to medication.

8. Roberto Jesús Quiñones (Cuba)

Journalist subject to inhumane prison conditions. Cuban journalist Roberto Jesús Quiñones has spent more than six months behind bars, experiencing worsening treatment. Staff listen to all of his phone calls, have served him food containing worms, and upon learning of his secretly publishing from prison, suspended family visits and put him in solitary confinement.

9. Ignace Sossou (Benin) 

Reporter experiences repeated retaliation for his work. On two different occasions last year, Benin courts delivered prison sentences to Ignace Sossou, a reporter for privately owned site Web TV. First was a one-month imprisonment and fine of $850 for publishing “false information” about local business dealings. Then an 18-month sentence and fine of $337 for defamation and disinformation in his reporting public statements made by Public Prosecutor Mario Mètonou.

10. Jamal Khashoggi (Saudi Arabia)

Turkish and U.S. leaders continue pressuring for murdered journalist’s justice. On March 25 Turkish officials indicted 20 Saudi nationals in the ongoing pursuit for answers surrounding Jamal Khashoggi’s brazen killing in Istanbul in 2018 and the Saudi crown prince’s role. Last December, Saudi Arabia sentenced eight individuals in connection with the 2018 brazen killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

The One Free Press Coalition is comprised of 38 prominent international members including: Agencia Efe; Al Jazeera Media Network, AméricaEconomía; The Associated Press; Bloomberg News; The Boston Globe; BuzzFeed; CNN Money Switzerland; 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; NHK; 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; WIRED; 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 pursing 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
International Women’s Media Foundation: Charlotte Fox, cfox@iwmf.org

NEW YORK – February 3, 2020 – The One Free Press Coalition, a united group of pre-eminent editors and publishers using their global reach and social platforms to spotlight journalists under attack worldwide, today issued its latest “10 Most Urgent” list of journalists whose press freedoms are being suppressed or whose cases are seeking justice. Iranian Journalist Arash Shoa-Shargh tops the February list, as he continues his 10-year prison sentence following extradition from Turkey on multiple charges including insulting the Supreme Leader. As of late 2019, Shoa-Shargh was detained in Lakan prison, in the northern Iranian city of Rasht, but the isolated location and reluctance from authorities to provide updates has left his current status largely unknown.

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Notably, The Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi has been featured on the list for nine consecutive months following his brutal murder within the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, which many have reported was at the direction of the Saudi crown prince himself.

Published this morning by all Coalition members and at www.onefreepresscoalition.com, the 12th “10 Most Urgent” list includes the following journalists, ranked in order of urgency:

1. Arash Shoa-Shargh (Iran)  

While living in exile in Turkey, Arash Shoa-Shargh, a reporter for anti-government news channel Amad News, was arrested and sentenced in 2018 to 10 years on charges of “insulting the Supreme Leader,” “acting against national security,” “encouraging the public to misconduct” and “spreading corruption on the land of God.” Friends and family have reportedly been pressured by authorities not to publicize the case.

2. Aleksandr Valov (Russia)

The Editor-in-Chief and founder of local news site BlogSochi, Aleksandr Valov, was arrested in January 2018 and sentenced to six years on trumped-up extortion charges. Valov captured and narrated a video livestream of his arrest as police broke his door, cut off the electricity and beat him, and was placed in solitary confinement last month due to anticipated retaliation and disagreement with the court’s verdict.

3. Samuel Wazizi (Cameroon)

Whereabouts of Cameroonian journalist Samuel Wazizi (whose legal name is Samuel Ajiekah Abuwe) are unknown since he was transferred from police to military custody in August. He has been denied access to his lawyers, family and friends, and held on undisclosed charges which police say are related to the country’s Anglophone armed conflict.

4. Azory Gwanda (Tanzania)

While investigating mysterious killings in rural Tanzania, freelance journalist Azory Gwanda went missing on November 21, 2017, and was reported to have “disappeared and died” by Foreign Minister Palamagamba Kabudi in July. However, the official backtracked amid requests for clarification, and the government has failed to conduct an investigation or disclose information.

5. Azimjon Askarov (Kyrgyzstan)

In July 2019, a Kyrgyz court upheld the life sentence of award-winning journalist Azimjon Askarov, despite persistent international condemnation. The ethnic Uzbek is the only journalist imprisoned in the country and has been held nine years on trumped-up charges for reporting on human rights violations. Letters home detail his deteriorating health, limited access to medication and prison officials punishing detainees after visiting days.

6. Lu Yuyu (China)  

Prison guards have denied medical treatment for reporter Lu Yuyu, diagnosed with severe depression during his four-year prison sentence commenced August 2017. He and his partner were arrested in Dali, Yunnan province on suspicion of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” for publishing photos, videos and text on topics including corruption protests and environmental pollution. The court maintained its decision in 2017, and Lu is currently lodging a second appeal. 

7. Luz Escobar (Cuba)

Since November, Cuban authorities have repeatedly barred Luz Escobar from leaving her Havana home. The reporter for the independent Cuban news website 14yMedio says authorities often prevent independent journalists from working on “significant dates” either by detaining them or threatening detention if they exit their homes. A security agent was stationed outside Escobar’s door multiple times last year, including on the anniversary of Fidel Castro’s death and international Human Rights Day.

8. Jamal Khashoggi (Saudi Arabia)

Last December, Saudi Arabia sentenced eight individuals in connection with the 2018 brazen killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. What the Kingdom may have considered resolution and closure for the high-profile case, CPJ called a “sham trial” and “mockery of justice. Calls remain for the U.S. and UN to conduct an independent criminal investigation and probe the Saudi crown prince’s role in the “extrajudicial killing.”

9. Patricia Kayuni (Malawi)

Protestors beat and attempted to tear clothing off Tuntufye FM reporter Patricia Kayuni on January 10 while she covered a demonstration in Chitipa, in northern Malawi. No arrests have been made against attackers who believed Kayuni was a police officer sent to photograph demonstrators. The same week, authorities in Malawi detained and charged three journalists seeking to cover the EU delegation’s return.

10. Solafa Magdy, Hossam El-Sayyad and Mohamed Salah (Egypt)

In November of last year, plainclothes Egyptian security forces arrested freelance journalists Solafa Magdy and her husband Hossam El-Sayyad at a cafe in the Dokki area of Giza, as well as freelancer and blogger Mohamed Salah. The officers confiscated their mobile phones and car keys and beat Magdy for refusing to unlock her phone. A state security prosecutor delivered charges of membership in a banned group and disseminating false news. Magdy is experiencing health issues in pre-trial detention, ahead of a February 4 hearing.

The One Free Press Coalition is comprised of 37 prominent international members including: Al Jazeera Media Network, AméricaEconomía; The Associated Press; Bloomberg News; The Boston Globe; BuzzFeed; CNN Money Switzerland; 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; NHK; 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; WIRED; 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 pursing 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
International Women’s Media Foundation: Charlotte Fox, cfox@iwmf.org