Being a journalist in many parts of the world has become far more than a challenging occupation—it has become a high-risk profession under assault from state power, armed conflict, economic pressure, and the erosion of institutional protections. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 361 journalists were imprisoned and 124 were killed globally at the end of 2024, one of the highest figures since they began tracking the data. Meanwhile, in its 2025 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) flagged 34 countries where mass closures of media outlets, the exile of journalists, and systemic repression were escalating.

The persecution of journalists is not simply an assault on individuals—it is an assault on democracy, on transparency, on fairness, and on the public’s right to know. Free and independent journalism plays key roles: uncovering corruption, holding power to account, reporting on war crimes, and giving a voice to the voiceless and the vulnerable. Without it, abuses by government and private and public entities go unchecked, lies proliferate, and authoritarianism spreads.

The plight of journalists in autocracies

In autocracies, independent media are often among the first institutions to collapse; in democracies, they are increasingly pressured by economic hardship, digital disinformation, and shrinking spaces for dissent. The consequences have a global chilling effect, where self-censorship and fear become the norm. The tools of repression by authoritarian governments are both blunt and subtle. RSF’s Press Freedom Predators 2025 list includes the following countries where journalists have been incarcerated, tortured, exiled, or killed.

In Belarus, independent media have been labeled “extremist,” and journalists have been arrested, tortured, or forced into exile; between 500 and 600 are reported to have fled the country since 2020. The media in Belarus must either toe the government’s line or face punishment and closure.

In Azerbaijan, the last independent media outlet was closed in February 2025, following a piece-by-piece elimination of critical media. Azerbaijan is known for imposing egregiously harsh........

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