Content warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of physical, psychological, and sexual violence. Palestinian journalist Ahmed Abdel Aal remembers the moment the ear-splitting music started. For five days, he said, he was held blindfolded in a room in an Israeli detention site, stripped and beaten, while loud Hebrew and English songs played at an unrelenting […]
Angolan journalist and lawyer Teixeira Cândido wants to know who targeted him with spyware, and he wants justice. “First and foremost, we must seek to find out who the entities are that have acquired these spyware tools,” Cândido told CPJ, as findings published by Amnesty International’s Security Lab show that a malicious link sent in […]
Following the January 3 American military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, the country’s interim government has released hundreds of political prisoners, among them journalist Nakary Ramos. Venezuelan journalist Nakary Ramos was detained last year amid a broader crackdown on the press in the country. Ramos, 29, was arrested with her videographer husband, Gianni […]
As Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol operations have intensified in the Minneapolis and Saint Paul areas as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Operation Metro Surge, local journalists have provided an essential look at understanding the impact of federal agents on their community. While DHS says the operation is aimed […]
For decades, Costa Rica was held up as Central America’s democratic exception: a country without an army, with strong democratic institutions, and a press able to scrutinize those in power without facing systematic retaliation. That reputation is now being tested as Costa Rica heads into presidential elections that will culminate in a first round on […]
For Congolese journalist Prince Cikala Mihigo, the first day of 2026 brought a brutal reminder of the risks of reporting: rebel soldiers beat and kicked him while questioning him about his work, leaving his face swollen and raw. Prince Cikala Mihigo out reporting on the impact of the war on children. (Photo: Courtesy of Prince […]
Introduction For the fifth year in a row, more than 300 journalists were imprisoned worldwide as of the end of 2025, according to CPJ’s annual prison census. These record-setting numbers reflect growing authoritarianism and escalating numbers of armed conflicts worldwide. Often, journalists are held under cruel and life-threatening conditions – “a cemetery of the living,” […]
Pakistan’s government has stepped up the use of in absentia convictions and arrest warrants against Pakistani journalists living overseas since late 2025, highlighting an escalating crackdown by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government on critical reporting and commentary that extends beyond domestic borders. In early January, four foreign-based Pakistani journalists and commentators were convicted on the […]
The Pentagon ordered 1,500 active-duty soldiers to prepare for potential deployment to Minnesota as protests continue over the federal government’s immigration operation, multiple media outlets are reporting. Two Department of Defense officials told ABC News the soldiers are from the 11th Airborne Division, based at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska. “We are taking prudent steps to […]
The only oil tankers to leave Venezuela since the arrest of its former leader, Nicolás Maduro, have been bound for the U.S., according to a new report by shipping intelligence firm Kpler. There were two ships this year that were headed to other countries before Maduro’s Jan. 3 capture by the U.S. One of these […]
