MEDIA RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN SOUTH ASIA BY
JOURNALISTS’ SAFETY INDICATORS (JSI)

May 24, 2022: Kabul (A,E)
Ali Akbar Khairkhwa, a reporter for local newspaper Subh-e-Kabul, and Jamaluddin Deldar, head of Gardiz Voice Radio, are reported missing. They are suspected to have been abducted by members of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan 

May 29, 2022: Kabul
Journalist Roman Karimi and his driver, Samiullah, are detained and beaten by the Taliban while covering a women’s protest at the Haji Yaqub roundabout. Taliban agents attack them and confiscate their personal electronic devices.

June 9, 2022 (A, E)
Panjshiri journalist Farhad Amiri is arrested, allegedly while reporting. The journalist’s family said they had no information about his whereabouts or the reason for his arrest.

June 12, 2022: Kapisa (E)
Pajhwok Afghan News correspondent and AIJU provincial deputy, Abdul Hanan Mohammadi, is reported missing. His family says Mohammadi was last seen at the Hisa-e-Awal district and claimed that he was previously threatened by the Taliban. Mohammadi’s brother suspects the involvement of Islamic Emirate security forces.

May 13, 2022: Kabul (A)
Avsaka News journalist Jawad Etemad is arrested while covering the bombing of a mosque. He is detained for two days before his release.

May 13, 2022: Kabul (A)
A New York Times photographer only known as ‘Farzad’ is arrested while covering a women’s protest. He is released on May 20 after a week in detention.

May 10, 2022: Khan Mohammad Sial (A)
Taliban police detain Payvasouton TV Broadcast Manager Sial for a month, accusing him of favouring Western interests in his coverage. Through his detention, he suffers assault and is coerced into signing documents and producing audio messages ‘proving’ the Taliban’s claims.

May 19, 2022 (F)
The Taliban issues a decree ordering all women television anchors and broadcast journalists to cover their faces while on air. Taliban spokesperson Abdullah Mujahid says the decree will contribute to female journalists‘ modesty and honour. 

May 24, 2022: Herat, Kabul (A)
Mirza Hassani, the former owner and editor of Radio Aftab, is detained and tortured by Taliban agents, who accuse Hassani of working for the anti-Taliban militant group, National Resistance Front (NRF).

May 31, 2022 (A, E)

Journalist and human rights activist Maiwand Wafa disappears, allegedly arrested by Taliban intelligence forces. Reports indicate Wafa was imprisoned by a military court for a critical post on Facebook.

June 6, 2022 (A)
Dost Radio Manager Sahar Sirat Safi is detained on unclear charges. He is eventually released on July 4.

July 3 2022: Helmand (A)
Swan Takal is detained on unclear charges. He is eventually released on July 4.

July 19, 2022: Kabul (B, F)
Australian journalist Lynne O’Donnell is detained for questioning by the General Directorate of Intelligence for four hours, accused of ‘offending Afghan culture’ in her articles. Taliban officials claim O’Donnell was denied entry to the country due to her support of armed resistance against the Taliban and was forced to publicly retract several of her reports.

August 17, 2022: Kabul (A, B)
Taliban officials confiscate the passports of journalists Ivor Shearer and Faizullah Faizbakhsh, detaining them for questioning. The journalists were filming a video on Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who was killed by a US drone strike earlier in the month. The reason for their arrest is yet to be provided.

October 11, 2022: Kabul (B)
Journalist and photographer Stefanie Glinski claims she was refused entry to Afghanistan after the Taliban harassed, intimidated and accused her of false reporting. Glinski has worked in Afghanistan for four years with several media outlets including The Guardian and Foreign Policy, critically reporting on the regime.

January 7, 2023: Kabul (A, B)
French-Afghan journalist Mortaza Behboudi is arrested in Kabul on his way to collect his press accreditation.

 January 9, 2023: Nangarhar (A)
Journalist and Chairman of the Nangarhar Sports Journalists Association, Khairullah Parhar, is arrested and detained by the General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI). Authorities failed to explain the justification behind the arrest. 

June 3, 2022: Kabul (C)
Journalist Reza Shahir is beaten by Taliban militants for a second time while walking home, following an accusation of espionage after searching his phone. Shahir is knocked unconscious by an AK-47 and sustains light injuries.

July 20, 2022: Nangarhar (C, F)
Radio Dost journalist and sports presenter Selgay Ehsas is approached by armed Taliban agents while walking home to the Bala Bagh area of Surkh Rod district. She is hit in the back of her head with a gun, leaving her unconscious, and sent to Fetame Zahra Public Hospital for treatment. 

August 4, 2022: Kabul (E)
WION news correspondent Anas Mallick and his crew are abducted and assaulted while covering the one-year anniversary of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. Although the Indian broadcast crew received permission from Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to cover news stories in the country, the GDI confiscate their equipment and press credentials, detaining the crew for up to 42 hours.

August 10, 2022: Kabul (C, F)
Al-Hadath correspondent Christiane Baissary and her crew are harassed and intimidated by armed members of the Taliban during a live broadcast. The crew had permission to report on the delivery of humanitarian aid by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation. One cameraman is attacked by a whip and the other crew members are also physically assaulted.

October 18, 2022
Reporter Ezatullah Salimi is abducted from his office and taken away in an armed gunman’s car for questioning. Salimi claims he was physically assaulted and interrogated for over three hours.

October 31, 2022: Nangarhar (C, E)
Enikass Radio and TV reporter Niaz Mohammad Khaksar is stopped and questioned by an armed gunman while walking to his Jalalabad home. He is then beaten and knocked unconscious.

December 26, 2022: Takhar (A)
Around 50 armed officers entered the home of Takharistan Radio reporter, Zabihullah Noori. The reporter’s home was searched and taken to the Taliban General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI), where he was interrogated for 48 hours. 

November 30, 2022 (I)
The Taliban ban two US-funded broadcasters, Voice of America and Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty FM, across 13 Afghan provinces. The ban is effective from December 1, 2022, with the Taliban claiming the media outlets failed to comply with press laws. 

February 14, 2023: Kabul (C, I)
A group of 10 armed Taliban officers raid the Tamadon TV office, beating staff and detaining them for 30 minutes, reportedly due to increasing harassment towards the Hazara ethnic minority. The station covers political and current affairs as well as Shiite religious programming and is predominantly owned and operated by members of the Hazara ethnicity.

March 30, 2023: Kabul (F, H)
Authorities in Badakhshan province order the closure of women-run radio station Radio Sada e Banawan after the station allegedly aired music during Ramadan. The station denies the claims, and alleges the decision was due to the education and job opportunities that the station provided.

June 7, 2022: Chittagong (A, D, G)
Police arrest the editor of Dainik Parbatto and Pahar24, Fazle Alahi, in Rangamati, Chittagong, accusing him of violating Bangladesh’s Digital Security Act after a defamation claim was filed regarding an article on property disputes related to a politician’s family.

January 23, 2023: Dhaka (A)
Deepto TV and Dainik Projonmo Ekattor Correspondent Raghunath Kha is arrested at his home on January 23, who claim he is involved in a land dispute. Kha reports being assaulted in custody.  

March 29, 2023: Dhaka (H)
Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman, Executive Director Sajjad Sharif, Journalist Shamsuzzaman Shams, and other unidentified journalists and media workersare issued a legal notice calling for an apology on the request of lawyer Mitun Biswas. Biswas takes issue with an article published on March 26 criticisng the government’s response to rising inflation and a cost-of-living crisis. 

March 29, 2023: Dhaka (A, G, H)
Prothom Alo journalist Shamsuzzaman Shams is taken from his home by plain-clothed police and charged under the Digital Security Act with reporting “false news” for an article criticising the government’s lack of action in combating inflation.

April 12, 2023: Dhaka (G)
United News Bangladesh special correspondent Journalist Mohammad Jahangir Alam is charged under the National Security Act, accused of being a member of a media group wherein ‘anti-government’ activities were allegedly discussed. He is granted anticipatory bail on April 25.

August 2, 2022: Dhaka (C)
DBC News journalists, Saiful Islam Jewel and Azad Ahmed are assaulted while investigating the alleged corruption and irregularities of Victor Trading Corporation’s procurement of medical equipment.

August 17, 2022: Chittagong
A television crew for Jamuna Television, including journalists Al Amin Sikder and cameraperson Asaduzzaman Limo, are physically and verbally assaulted by lawyers as they arrived to report at the Chittagong District Judge Court. The journalists were admitted to a private hospital in the Chittagong district for their injuries.

September 5, 2022: Rajshahi
Journalist Bulbul Habib and his cameraperson Rubel Islam are assaulted during a live broadcast by officials of the Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA). After questioning BMDA Executive Director, Abdur Rashid, the media workers were attacked by Rashid and at least 17 other staff.

September 11, 2022: Habiganj
Journalists Rajib Noor, Moshahed Mia, Patrika Touhid Mia and Alamgir Reza are assaulted while reporting on the illegal occupation of the home of Ramnath Biswas, renowned twentieth-century travelogue writer, author and cyclist. After a verbal disagreement, the journalists are allegedly attacked by the family illegally occupying the house, along with other unidentified assailants.

March 15, 2023: Dhaka
At least nine journalists are assaulted amidst a political clash between lawyers supporting the Awami League and Bangaldesh Nationalist Party. Law enforcement shove and assault journalists and media workers, despite many identifying themselves as press.  

April 4, 2023: Chittagong
Bangladeshi journalist Ayub Meahzi suffers grave injuries after a group of ten unidentified armed assailants attack and throw him from a two-story building in Chittagong. The men, armed with machetes, iron rods, and sticks, stormed the second floor of a building, attacked Meahzi and threw him from the building onto the street. 

April 12, 2023: Dhaka (G)
United News Bangladesh special correspondent Journalist Mohammad Jahangir Alam is charged under the National Security Act, accused of being a member of a media group wherein ‘anti-government’ activities were allegedly discussed. He is granted anticipatory bail on April 25.  

April 24, 2023: Khulna
Magura Senior journalist Rostam Mollick and his wife and daughter are attacked by a group of twelve people armed with iron rods and hockey sticks. The journalist was admitted to hospital in a critical condition. Seven people were arrested over the incident the following day.

July 7, 2022: Kushtia (E)
Hasibur Rahaman Rubel, the acting editor of Dainik Kushtiar Khabar, is found dead under the Golam Kibria Bridge in the Kumarkhali Upazila area of Kushtia City. His family lost contact with him on the evening of July 3 and reported his disappearance to Kushtia Model Police Station.

August 4, 2022: Sonargaon (C)
The decomposed body of journalist Golam Rabbani Saiful reporter with daily Matrijagat is recovered from a pond in Sonargaon upazila of Narayanganj district. He is suspected to have been murdered by narcotics dealers because of his reporting on drug trafficking and live telecasts on the issue on social media.

January 9, 2023: Chattogram (C)
Ashiqul Islam, district correspondent of the Daily Monitor and a reporter for local daily Brahmanbaria Patrika is attacked by a group of assailants on his return home. He dies in Sadar hospital from his injuries. Police arrest Raihan Mia alias Sohan, who later admits to being involved in Islam’s death.

June 2, 2022: Jammu and Kashmir (G)
The interim editor of The Kashmir Walla, Yashraj Sharma, is summoned by the State Investigation Agency of Jammu and Kashmir’s police. The journalist is questioned on a 2011 article by Abdul Aala Fazili, a PhD student studying at the University of Kashmir. The acting editor for the Kashmir Walla was 12 years old when the opinion piece was published.

June 14, 2022: Across India (G)
Navika Kumar, Group Editor, Times Network, is named in several First Information Reports along with Nupur Sharma, the now-suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson, after Sharma allegedly made an ‘objectionable statement regarding the Prophet Mohammad and Islam’ during the program. Both journalists were charged under Section 295-A of the Indian Penal Code.

June 14, 2022: Nanalpeth (B, F, H)
Freelance journalist Saba Naqvi is accused of hurting religious sentiments by sharing a satirical meme on Twitter about a symbol of the Hindu God Shiva, which was allegedly found in a Varanasi city mosque. An FIR, filed by the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operation unit of the Special Cell of the Delhi Police, accuses her of ‘promoting enmity between different groups’.

June 27, 2022: Delhi (G)
AltNews co-founder, Mohammed Zubair, is arrested for a 2018 Twitter post. The Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations unit of the Delhi Police originally summon the journalist regarding a 2020 case over social media posts but he is instead charged over a 2018 Tweet about the Hindu god Hanuman, which allegedly hurt religious sentiments.

July 17, 2022: Jharkhand (A, C)
Saraikela Kharsawan district police arrest Jharkhand-based independent journalist, Rupesh Kumar Singh, raiding his house and confiscating personal items.

August 2, 2022: Manipur (A, G)
The Editor-in-Chief of local daily newspaper Kangleipakki Meira and President of All Manipur Working Journalists Union, Wangkhemcha Shamjai, is summoned by the National Investigation Agency. The journalist is left in a small room for approximately two hours before being interrogated.

August 24, 2022: Delhi (H)
Indian American journalist Angad Singh, a video documentary producer for Vice News, is prevented from entering the country while travelling to India for personal reasons. Immigration officials confiscate the journalist’s passport on arrival at the international airport in Delhi and he is deported back to the United States within three hours of landing.

October 18, 2022: Delhi (C, H)
Kashmiri journalist Sanna Irshad Mattoo, who won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize with four other Reuters journalists, is barred from flying to the United States to receive the prize. Despite holding a valid passport and US visa, the immigration authorities at Delhi’s international airport prevent the journalist from boarding the plane.

November 23, 2022: Uttar Pradesh (A)
Independent journalist Anil Yadav is arrested in Uttar Pradesh after another journalist complains that Yadav was directing abuse at them from the Samajwadi Party (SP)’s Twitter account. Yadav and SP’s media cell deny the allegations, and Yadav secures bail after a week in detention.

November 19, 2022: Jammu & Kashmir (C, H)
Police raid the homes and confiscate the devices of at least seven journalists, including Mohammad Rafi, Gowhar Geelani, Khalid Gul, Rashid Maqbool, Sajjad Kralyari, Qazi Shibli, and Waseem Khalid, over their alleged connection with militant groups.

March 12, 2023: Uttar Pradesh (A, H)
Sanjay Rana, 19, YouTuber and reporter with Moradabad Ujala is arrested after he publicly questioned a minister over her failure to deliver on election promises.. Rana is released on bail after spending one day in police custody.

 March 20, 2023: Jammu and Kashmir (A, C)
Freelance journalist Irfan Mehraj is arrested by India’s National Investigation Agency on allegations of terror funding.

March 22, 2023: Jammu and Kashmir (H, I)
Twitter suspends over 122 Punjab-based user accounts, many of them journalists. The restrictions come amid a state-wide crackdown targeting Waris Punjab De, a radical pro-Khalistan organisation, leading to increased censorship and tight controls on press freedom in the Punjab region.

April 18, 2023: Delhi
The house of freelance journalist Arkadeep Goswami is approached by two unknown individuals, who ask his mother about his whereabouts and refuse to identify themselves. It is suspected that the two men were law enforcement from west Bengal, who have previously detained Goswami in April 2022 and 2018.

February 26, 2023: Uttar Pradesh (C)
Devendra Khare, a district correspondent for Hindi-language broadcaster News1India, is shot by two unidentified gunmen in the stomach and hands but manages to escape without serious injuries. The journalist suspects the attack occurred over his report on assault allegations involving Rituraj Singh, brother of Pushpraj Singh, the president of the incumbent BJP’s Jaunpur district unit.

April 22, 2023: Delhi
D Dhana Sumod, the Delhi bureau chief of Malayalam news channel Media One, is stabbed while resisting a robbery on his walk home. Three people approached the journalist and stabbed him twice.

April 24, 2023: Assam
Bimal Das from a Guwahati-based media organisation is attacked by three unidentified assailants returning home from covering a Bihu event in the city.

February 6, 2023: Maharashtra (C)
Broker Pandharinth Amberkar allegedly drives his SUV over Rajapur-based journalist Shashikant Warishe while he was refuelling his scooter. The Mahanagri Times had published Warishe’s story on the criminal antecedents of the broker. The journalist is taken to hospital for treatment but is declared dead the following day.

February 14, 2023: Delhi, Mumbai (H)
India’s Income Tax Department conducts a search of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)’s offices after a two-part documentary, “India: The Modi Question”, evoked emergency laws that blocked the viewing and distribution of the video for alleged bias in portraying Prime Minister Modi’s image. The officials claim they are investigating a case of alleged tax evasion.

March 20, 2023 (C)
Chief editor of Adhadhu, Hussain Fiyaz Moosa and its journalists receive death threats from an unknown number. The threats come shortly after the publication of an article claiming that an extremist was involved in hiding a wanted gang member.

April 7, 2023: Malé
Two senior Maldivian journalists, Ahmed Naaif and Ahmed Zahir, are threatened via phone call and text message for their critical reporting on a high-profile arbitration case. The featured Maldivian politician Ahmed Siyam Mohamed in the article called Zahir demanding him to remove the article and stated it would be the “final warning”.

July 19, 2022 (G)
Police lodge a criminal investigation against Dhiyares journalist Ahmed Azan, claiming that the probe is for the alleged crimes Azan committed in obtaining the information in the article he wrote, not for his critical reporting.

January 8, 2023: Malé (A)
Channel 13 CEO Mohamed Samaah is detained while covering a series of protests in Malé. He is placed under house arrest after police sought an extension of his remand on charges of gathering people for a protest.

January 15, 2023
Mihaaru journalist Fazeena Ahmed is abused online by Abbas Adil Riza, an activist with the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPP), after her article criticises the PPP. Ahmed and her media outlet later reported the case to the police.

March 16, 2023: Malé (A)
Avas News journalist Hussain Juman is arrested by police while covering a rally in Malé. Police claim they arrested Juman as he was obstructing the police from performing their duties and assaulted an officer.

February 6, 2023
A VTV journalist is mocked and assaulted by protesters throwing various objects at him while covering the opposition’s protest ahead of the Maldivian presidential election.

February 12, 2023 (B)
Two Channel 13 journalists, Hassan Shaheed and Ahmed Misbaah, are assaulted by police while covering the protest against the sentencing of former president, Abdulla Yameen, near the People’s Majlis (Parliament House) in Malé. Police press the journalists down and pepper-spray them, with Shaheed taken to Sri Lanka for further treatment.

July 18, 2022 (H)
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih ratifies the Maldives’ Evidence Act, which allows courts to demand media staff and organisations to reveal their sources in cases related to “acts of terrorism” and “national security-related matters”.

September 22, 2022 (I)
A technical issue in the Maldives parliament reveals that Maldivian Home Minister Imran Abdullah and others held a secret meeting with the Parliament’s National Security Committee and the parliament secretariat directed the news outlet to remove any content related to the speeches made.

March 15, 2023 (H)
The Maldives Government proposes amendments to the country’s general election laws to deny foreign media and freelance journalists access to cover the elections in Maldives.

September 25, 2022: Gandaki (I)
FNJ Baglung chapter member and Elakakhabar Online journalist Sajjan Kumar Singh receives a series of death threats directed towards him and his family from a Facebook account called ‘Ganesh Gaming’.

 November 16, 2022: Sudurpashchim (D)
Sambridhi Post publisher, Madan Raj Joshi receives death threats from a Nepali unified socialist party in Kanchanpur district. Joshi published news on the party’s alleged election code violations prior to receiving these messages.

December 8, 2022: Madhesh (I)
Kantipur Daily journalist Awadhesh Kumar Jha faces a series of death threats from unidentified persons on social media, after publishing a story on corruption in employment practices.

May 27, 2022: Kathmandu (F, I)
Following over three years of abuse, Nepal Aaj online journalist Kanchan Neupane filed a case against outlet president Madhav Guragai, with several other journalists and media workers corroborating reports of abuse, harassment and censorship. Guragai was in custody as of May 2022.

May 31, 2022: Gandaki (D)
Editor of Nayan News and FNJ Parbat branch member, Laxman Kumar Sunar, is threatened and abused by the ward chairman of the Mahashila Rural Municipality for his reporting on the distribution of social security allowance funds in 2018.

June 1, 2022: Karnali (D)
Dhamaka Daily editor and Secretary of the Federation of Nepali Journalists’ Dailekh branch, Uday Raj Adhikari, is harassed and threatened by Prabhakar Singh, head of the Infrastructure Development Office. Adhikari used the Right to Information Act to seek information for his work two months prior to the assault.

June 13, 2022: Madhesh (A, B)
Journalist and freedom of information advocate Kailash Mahji is arrested on June 13, accused of inappropriately requesting information in his investigation on a local construction company. Majhi is held in custody for four days before eventually being released on bail on June 17.

 June 15, 2022: Kathmandu
On June 15, journalist Prince Mishra and cameraperson Avista Lama from Himalaya Television are threatened and obstructed from reporting in Kathmandu. The mayor of Kathmandu, Balendra Shah, attempts to threaten the journalists into deleting the videos and forces them to leave the Teku facility.

June 20, 2022: Sudurpashchim (A)
Rani Vibas is arbitrarily detained while reporting on a fire at a construction site near his outlet’s office after asking law enforcement if they had filed an incident report. With assistance from the FNJ, Vibas was released after two hours in detention.

August 11, 2022: Bagmati (B, D)
Journalist Moti Khanal is threatened after publishing articles relating to the mayor of Sarlahi district, Bharath Kumar Thapa. Khanal is told that if they fail to retract articles concerning the mayor their safety could be jeopardised.

August 10, 2022: Kathmandu (C)
Space4k Television reporters Narendra Mahatara and Surendra Raut are obstructed from reporting on polluted water found in a water distribution and package company. After arriving at 4pm, the journalists are handcuffed, and forced to leave the premises.

 August 7, 2022: Bagmati (D)
Kalika Dainik journalist and FNJ member Shishir Sinkhada is attacked by the former mayor of the Kalika Municipality, Khum Narayan Shresth relating to his journalism.

 August 18, 2022: Kathmandu (D)
Editor of Newsabhiyan.com and FNJ member Chaya Chandra Bhandari is forced into hiding after receiving threats from law enforcement, after an officer claimed he had been defamed by Bhandari’s article.

August 26, 2022: Sudurpashchim (D)
Samachar.com journalist Pawan Mahara is harassed by Doti District village committee member Dharma Rokaya, receiving several phone calls at around 10 pm. The journalist published news related to the unauthorised cutting of trees and illegal timber found in forests.

August 28, 2022: Kathmandu (D)
Journalists Ledan Rai, Fomas Bhandari, Bajrakishore Patel, and media workers Rajendra Tamand and Ramesh Singh Bista are obstructed from gathering news on an unregistered alcohol and tobacco advertising campaign. Their camera is damaged and they are prevented from covering the story.

September 4, 2022: Koshi (D)
Galaxy 4K-Jhapa district correspondents Naryan Aryal and Raju Paudel were harassed by Controversial businessperson Durga Prasain after he publicly identified the pair as emblematic of problems in Nepal’s media.

September 21, 2022: Kathmandu (I)
Online Khabar journalist and FNJ member Binu Subedi receives violent threats on Twitter from the president of the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist) students’ union president Sunita Baral.

November 26, 2022: Koshi (A, G)
Radio Nepal district correspondent, Watch Post Online owner, and FNJ member Gajendra Rai is arrested by Nepali police in the Udayapur District while reporting on social issues and a local election. He is charged under the Electronic Transaction Act and was later released on bail.

December 13, 2022: Lumbini
Sunil Acharya, the head of the Sikta sub-division forest office threatens to ‘correct’ Raptisonari Khabar editor Hemant Choudhary’s reporting through violent means.

December 13, 2022: Sudurpashchim (C)
Khem Dhungana, Kailali district correspondent of News 24 Television is obstructed from reporting on allegations of corruption in Lamkichuha Municipality and taken into unofficial detention. Municipality officials confiscate his equipment and delete the video recorded on his camera.

December 30, 2022: Madhesh (C)
Khabar journalist Shailendra Mahato is threatened by Bechan Das, the head of the Bideha Municipality while reporting on the provincial assembly’s oath-taking ceremony. Das threatened to break Mahato’s bones by kicking him in the chest.

 January 12, 2023 (Overseas)
Journalist and FNJ U.A.E Committee Member Krishna Bahadur Kunwar is detained by UAE Nepali embassy staff for four hours during a routine visit. During his detention, embassy staff confiscated his phone and threatened to call police for his arrest.

January 13, 2023: Sudurpashchim (F)
Gorkhapatra Daily journalist Chandni Acharya is harassed and threatened by loan sharks for reporting on the plight of meter interest victims in the Kailali district. The perpetrators had been causing the Chandni administrative harassment and mental stress.

May 16, 2022: Karnali
Avenues TV journalist Mahendra Sapkota and Radio Nepal journalist Bhim Bahadur Sijapati are attacked by police after a fight breaks out at a vote-counting station in Dailekh. Despite the pair presenting their press cards, both are attacked and sustain injuries on their hands and legs.

May 21, 2022: Sudurpashchim (C)
Paschim Sandesh Dainik reporter Papu Gurung is attacked by an unknown group, sustaining injuries to his head. FNJ and Gurung say the attack relation to social media posts made by Gurung and reported to the police.

June 3, 2022: Sudurpashchim (C)
Karna Dhami, a reporter at Radio Jaya Prithvi FM in the Bajhang district, was attacked by a drunk man, who beat the journalist following a dispute over a broadcast about a deceased relative.

July 6, 2022: Bagmati (C)
Narayani Online editor Krishna Acharya is attacked at the Bharatpur Electricity Authority office in Chitwan while reporting on planned electrical outages during a staff cocktail party. Acharya is assaulted by authority staff and has his phone confiscated.

July 24, 2022: Madhesh (C)
News 24 Television reporter Lalan Kumar Mandal was attacked in Mahottari while reporting on the activities of Sanjay Rauniyar, an alleged loan shark. During a clash between a victim’s protest and Rauniyar’s security detail, Mandal is assaulted and injured. 

August 6, 2022: Madhesh (C)
Police attack journalists from Radio Gangajal, Chandradeep Thakur and Arbin Paswan as they report on a protest at Siraha. The pair reached the Shaurya cement industry to report on a protest by the workers when on-duty officers attack, leaving the journalists with deep bruising and severe injuries.

September 11, 2022: Kathmandu
Three unidentified people enter Avenues Television offices an hour before a planned report on sexual abuse in a Lalitpur children’s home, vandalising the premises. The three throw stones at station journalists and steal the phone of host Sushil Panday.

September 21, 2022: Sarlahi
Online Pana editor and journalist Shalik Bhatt is assaulted by unknown persons while collecting news in Sarlahi. The status of the three unidentified perpetrators is unknown.

December 4, 2022: Bagmati
FNJ Makawanpur district chapter members Ramkumar Elan and Ramesh Banjara are attacked by supporters of Nepali Congress leader and province MP Indira Baniya. A member of the FNJ’s Bagmati Province Committee is also assaulted while trying to free the pair.

December 12, 2022: Banke
Multiple journalists, including Rudra Subedi, Khamb Pun, Ravindra Ghimire Javed Halwai and Gaurav Giri were abused by organisers while covering the Nepalgunj Marathon.

December 13, 2022: Bharatpur
Treasurer of the FNJ Chitwan Branch Rajendra Acharya is assaulted by security personnel from Gadhi Security, who were working at a music program held at Campachour.

January 13, 2023: Kathmandu (C)
Journalist Krishna Kattel of Hareknews.com is abused and attacked by a shopkeeper in New Baneswhor while reporting on the removal of an illegal structure by city authorities. Five other journalists are also present and subjected to abuse.

February 14, 2023: Kathmandu
Khaptad TV journalist Ganesh Vik is attacked by an unknown group while gathering information in Kathmandu’s Pashupati area while gathering information for a story. The reason behind the attack is unclear.

January 25, 2023: Gandaki (C)
Fewa Television news chief, Prahlad Chandra Ghimire, is assaulted while reporting on a new drinking water project in Syangja. Local people, objecting to media coverage of their home, obstructed and abused Ghimire.

February 13, 2023: Karnali (C)
Laikakhabar reporter Bal Bahadur Thapa is assaulted after violence breaks out at a commemoration he’s covering. After Thapa refuses to delete footage of local transport workers attacking protestors, the workers assault Thapa with blunt weapons and leave him with injuries to his head and back.

February 20, 2023: Sudurpashchim
A group led by Umesh Kunwar assault FNJ Committee Member Pamdam Raj Bohara while he was near his home in the Kanchanpur district. The group use beer bottles to wound his head and other parts of his body.

March 8, 2023: Madhesh
FNJ member and APWAN TV reporter Nabin Chaudhary is attacked and injured by a group of drunk men, who strike Chaudhary in the head with glass bottles. The reason behind the attack is unknown.

March 11, 2023: Sudurpashchim (c)
Sher Bahadur Ayer, a journalist with Radio Dhangadhi and Ghanhadi Khabar is attacked by an unknown group after attending a program at Ruvas hotel, sustaining severe head injuries. The group, and their reasoning for the attack are unknown.

March 25, 2023: Bagmati (c)
Bikash Rauniyar, a correspondent at Galaxy 4K television, is attacked in Dhading, after publishing a report on the illegal excavation by quarrying and stone processing industries.

May 6, 2022: Kathmandu (I)
The news portal Online Khabar is attacked online for a May 6 blog post claiming Kathmandu mayoral candidate Balen Shah had disrespected Nepal’s national flag. Shah’s supporters attacked the outlet following the article’s publication. 

July 15, 2022: Kathmandu
A group of 20 journalists are obstructed from reporting at the media gallery of the Nepali House of Representatives on the election of a deputy speaker. They are not allowed to report the second session of the House, even after showing their entry cards.

July 3, 2022: Lalitpur
A drunk man enters the office of the Aarthick Dainik Newspaper at around 9pm, harassing journalists on duty and creating an obstruction in the news publication.

October 20, 2022 (G, I)
The Press Council of Nepal (PCN) requests an explanation from Nagarik Daily on the publication of a satirical cartoon concerning former Prime Minister JP Sharma Oli. The decision is widely criticised by press freedom groups, including the FNJ.

November 5, 2022 (G, I)
The Election Commission of Nepal (ECN) orders Nepali News outlet Setopati to retract an article on the citizenship status of the son of a former lawmaker. Two days later, the ECN retracts the order.

December 3, 2022: Kathmandu (I)
Unidentified persons hack Ukera Online’s website and remove all content relating to Depush Pun, the son of Vice President Nandakishore Pun, and Rabi Lamichhane, president of Rastriya Swatantra party.

December 20, 2022: Lumbini (C)
A Radio Banglachuli broadcast is interrupted by a gang in Nepal’s Lumbini province, after they enter the station, harass journalists, and vandalise furniture.

February 5, 2023 (B, C)
President of Rastriya Swotranta Party Rabi Lamichhane, who is a former journalist, lambasts and threatens the editors of leading Nepali media houses, and the greater media sector. He accuses the editors of not supporting him during recent scrutiny over his citizenship status by the Nepali government.

March 17, 2023 (D)
Speaker of the Federal Parliament of Nepal Devraj Ghimire accuses FNJ and the media sector of being ‘for sale’, and performing ‘yellow journalism’. Ghimire later retracts his comments on March 21 after criticism from the FNJ and Nepal’s media community.

June 19, 2022: Punjab (C)
Zamin Hussain, reporter for Nia Kal newspaper, receives death threats from an unknown caller after filing a report about theft of electricity in the Rojhan region of South Punjab.

July 9, 2022: Islamabad
Sami Ibrahim, a senior journalist and anchor with Bol News, is accosted and heckled by an unknown person while leaving work. As he reached his car another person joined his heckler and began punching him before Ibrahim managed to get into his car and drive away. There is no clear motive behind the attack.

July 27, 2022: Islamabad
Imran Latif, chief editor of Times International News Service, receives a threatening phone call about his reporting on alleged corruption in the Press Information Department.

August 22, 2022: Punjab
Javed Iqbal, correspondent of Nawa-e-Waqt newspaper, receives death threats in a series of phone calls from a criminal gang he reported on.

March 21, 2023: Kohat (C)
The home of district correspondent for The News International and Geo Syed Yasir Shah is attacked by explosives and shot at by unidentified assailants in Kohat. He received many threatening calls and letters for his critical reporting. A case was filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act against the currently unknown assailants.

May 10, 2022: Islamabad (G)
Journalist and Bol News anchor Sami Ibrahim is placed under investigation for ‘anti-state’ commentary by Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), for comments allegedly made against government officials through videos posted on Ibrahim’s YouTube channel.

May 14, 2022: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (G)
While covering a public protest against local police, digital journalist Mateen Dotani is detained in a lock up for several hours without being charged. He is freed after his colleagues intervened.

May 23, 2022: Sindh and Balochistan (G)
Journalists Arshad Sharif, Sabir Shakir, Sami Ibrahim, and Imran Riaz Khan are accused of ‘anti-state’ commentary by police after a number of First Information Reports (FIR) are lodged against them alleging that the journalists were inciting anti-national sentiments by disparaging the Pakistan Army and state institutions.

June 16, 2022: Punjab
After being invited to cover an event in Rawalpindi, Anwar ul Haq, a senior reporter for Koh-e-Noor News TV, is harassed by the staff of a health center, who confiscated his equipment.

July 7, 2022: Balochistan (A, C, G)
Police arrest Peer Muhammad Khan Kakar, a correspondent for Dunya News in the Loralai district, ordering him to provide evidence of his social media post claiming the corruption of Loralai Deputy Commissioner Ateeq Ur Rehman. He was released on conditional bail on July 14.

 July 16, 2022: Sindh (B)
Kashif Farooqi, a freelance journalist, is threatened by a Sindh Building Control Authority official, who filed a complaint against him with the Federal Investigation Agency’s Cyber Crime Cell, alleging blackmail.

August 7, 2022: Sindh (A, D, G)
A sessions court in Karachi sentences ARY News channel journalist Asad Kharal to three months in prison and a fine under Section 500 of the Pakistan Penal Code. The charges were over his allegedly “baseless allegations” against JS Group business in his TV show in 2016.

August 21, 2022: Islamabad (A, G)
Bol News journalist Jameel Farooqui is detained for “anti-state” comments on the treatment of PTI leader Shahbaz Gill by law enforcement and criticism of the assault and unprofessional conduct of authorities.

 August 27, 2022: Punjab (G)
The Punjab government of Imran Khan’s PTI party files a blasphemy case against Geo News TV reporter Waqar Satti for attributing “insulting statements” about Islam to Khan. A sessions court later retracted the charges and dismissed the case.

 August 27, 2022: Punjab
Azam Chaudhry, president of the Lahore Press Club, arrives at his office to find a bullet on his desk. No one claims responsibility.

 October 18, 2022: Punjab (G)
Bureau Chief Yasir Shahzad and Reporter Mian Imran of Royal News TV are served four legal notices by officials of the Civil and Works Division Rawalpindi for defamation. Royal News said it had merely highlighted alleged wrongdoing in the government department.

 November 6, 2022: Islamabad (C)
Patriot newspaper editor and Roz TV anchor Malik Zubair Awan receives a series of calls from Afghanistan on his mobile phone, with the caller demanding a ransom. The calls were linked to Awan’s reporting on militant activities on the outskirts of Islamabad.

 December 16, 2022: Punjab
Bureau Chief Mumtaz Bibi and reporter Muhammad Imran of Lahore Post newspaper are harangued and detained in a room for several hours in district court premises by a group of lawyers, who claimed the journalists’ reporting was ‘false and negative’. They are later rescued by police.

 December 18, 2022: Islamabad (D, G)
A state-managed Utility Store chain lodges an FIR against A-One News TV CEO Nawaz Vistro, alleging he blackmailed the managing director of the store. Vistro said the legal case against him was the result of an expose about alleged corruption in the chain’s procurement process.

 December 19, 2022: Sindh (D, G)
Bol News TV files a case in a sessions court against vloggers Asad Toor and Ali Imran for allegedly defaming the channel. The court granted pre-arrest bail to both journalists.

 December 25, 2022: Islamabad 
Jinnah newspaper reporter Chaudhry Amir receives threats from Station House Officer Aabpara police station after he filed a report on illicit drug trafficking in the jurisdiction of the police station.

 December 27, 2022: Balochistan (A, G)
Police arrest Jasarat newspaper reporter Ubaid Ullah along with his three sons from their home for his ‘excessive coverage’ of local civil rights movement ‘Haq Do Movement’. He is charged with aiding civil disorder before being released several days later.

 January 13, 2023: Islamabad (A, G)
Senior Bol News journalist, Shahid Aslam, is granted bail by the Islamabad Session Court after being charged under Section 216 of the Pakistan Penal Code. The journalist is accused of leaking the financial data of former army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

 January 25, 2023: Punjab (C)
Irshad Qureshi, reporter for 24 News TV, is harassed in a press conference of former federal minister Shaikh Rashid in Rawalpindi. Rashid becomes enraged at Qureshi’s question and threatens to make him “jobless” as the minister’s supporters intimidate Qureshi.

 January 30, 2023: Islamabad
Bol News correspondent Zahid Farooq Malik is prevented from covering a protest by workers of politician Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s party JUI, who alleged bias by his channel. They chase him out of the venue.

 February 2, 2023: Punjab (A, G)
An FIR is registered against Bol TV anchor Imran Riaz, charging him with violations of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) law provisions that criminalise defamation against the security establishment and the judiciary. He is arrested and presented before the court the next day. All charges are dropped.

 March 4, 2023: Sindh (C)
Resident GTV News journalist, Shahid Soomro, is threatened by members of a local crushing plant mafia in Khairpur. Soomro was reporting on the local administration’s violation of the Sindh High Court order, where they continued to extract sandstone from the local area.

 March 8, 2023: Islamabad (C)
A women’s rights rally formed by civil society organisations on International Women’s Day encounters violence as the rally reaches the National Press Club, with participants clashing and targeting media personnel. Journalists including Sani Maseeh (photographer, Daily Toofan Mail), Zahid Iqbal (Reporter KNN channel), Danish Farooqi (cameraman Aaj News), Ahsan Butt (photographer, Dunya News), Waqas Mehmood (cameraman, 92 News) and Sabeen (reporter, GNN News) are injured.

 March 10, 2023: Islamabad (C)
7 News channel reporter Naveed Satti and cameraman Anwar Abbasi are attacked while reporting at the PIMS Hospital. The attackers grab their devices and try to injure the pair, warning them not to film or report any content.

 March 19, 2023: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (A)
Tribal News Network (TNN) video editor, Asadullah is detained by the “Elite Force” of the Peshawar Police. According to TNN, the arrest of Asadullah is unlawful and the outlet demands action against officials for the illegal arrest.

April 20, 2023 (A,C): Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Bannu-based journalist Gohar Wazir is abducted and detained for over 30 hours by the Pakistani Taliban, allegedly suffering torture while in custody.

April 23, 2023: Pakistan
Supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan launch a series of online attacks against Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir, who criticise the journalist’s claims over alleged Pakistani diplomacy with India over Kashmir.

May 1, 2022: Sindh (C)
Workers of Shahbaz Sharif’s party PML-N attack ARY News TV reporter Chand Nawab outside the channel’s office, injuring him. The protesters had grievances against the channel for its alleged bias against their party.

May 11, 2022, Lahore (A, C, E)
Zahid Abbas Malik, a senior journalist with the Daily Dunya, is allegedly abducted by unidentified assailants. The journalist was abducted from the Ichhra areain Lahore although the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) later claimed to have arrested him from Mianwali. He was released following an order of the Lahore High Court on August 17, 2022.

May 25, 2022: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Workers of Imran Khan’s party PTI attack the crew of Neo News TV crew, including cameraman Dost Muhammad and driver Muhammad Raziq, as they arrive to cover an opposition rally against the federal government.

May 25, 2022: Islamabad
Reporter Rana Tariq and cameraman Naveed Ahmed of 92 News TV are injured when workers of Imran Khan’s PTI party attack the channel’s DSNG van. The pair had arrived to cover the protest against the government near the parliament when they were attacked, requiring hospitalisation to treat their injuries.

May 28, 2022: Sindh
Shahrah-e-Faisal Police attack Bol News TV reporter Abdul Haseeb and cameraman Sajid Kamal without provocation. The officers take their belongings and drag them to the police station, where they proceed to beat them.

June 5, 2022: Sindh (E)
Umer Nahiyon, a reporter for K21 News TV, is abducted outside his home in the city’s suburbs. His abductors were angered by his reporting of forced occupation of land by a local builder. He is let go after one day of beatings and starvation.

June 7, 2022: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (C)
Freelance photojournalists Iqbal Mohmand and Hussain Ali are harassed, and their cameras broken by workers of Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s party JUI as they attempt to shoot footage of the event.

June 13, 2022: Karachi (E)
Assignment editor of Aaj News TV Nafees Naeem is picked up outside a grocery store by unidentified men aggrieved at some of his blogs. He is let go unharmed after one day.

 June 20, 2022: Punjab
Haneef Baloch, a reporter for Neo News TV, is beaten up by a group of people while covering a story about a spate of killings of women in the name of honour.

 June 20, 2022: Punjab (B, E)
Freelance journalist Sher Muhammad Sahi is kidnapped by unidentified men who hold him captive for two weeks.

 June 21, 2022: Punjab
Reporter Sajid Sheikh and cameraperson Mansha Rang Ali of 92 News are harassed and chased by security personnel at the Metro Bus Terminal in Rawalpindi as they attempted to cover daily commuter difficulties.

 June 24, 2022: Sindh (B, E)
Arsalan Khan, a citizen journalist, is abducted from his home by a group of men. Sindh paramilitary force Rangers conceded the journalist was in their custody and claimed he was taken for allegedly being in contact with terrorists. He is released after a day without any formal charges.

 June 27, 2022: Islamabad (C)
Journalists Haseeb Malik of GNN News TV, Rizwan Qazi of Duniya newspaper, Tahir Nasir of Dawn News TV and Muhammad Usman of Samaa News TV are harassed and abused by under-trial prisoners of a land mafia. The attackers snatch their cameras and mobile phones and attempt to break them.

 July 1, 2022: Punjab (C)
Ayaz Amir, political analyst for Duniya News TV, is attacked by six unidentified men as he exits his office, leaving him bleeding and severely injured.

July 1, 2022: Islamabad
Idrees Abbasi, a reporter for GNN News TV, is harassed by the guards of deputy speaker National Assembly Qasim Suri while covering his party PTI’s rally. Suri’s guards interrupt Abbasi’s coverage and break his DSNG van’s windscreen.

July 5, 2022: Punjab (A, G)
Imran Riaz, an anchor for Express News TV, is charged with and arrested for allegedly defaming the security establishment after an FIR against him by a resident of Attock. Riaz is later released on bail.

 July 1, 2022: Lahore
Six unidentified assailants stop journalist Ayaz Amir’s car and attack him as it leaves the Dunya News television station.

 July 15, 2022: Sindh (C)

Sajjad Ali, a reporter for New Parwaz TV, is attacked and seriously injured by members of the Shar community in Bhayan Nagh village as he attempts to gather information for a story about alleged crimes in the village.

 July 22, 2022: Punjab (C)
Koh-e-Noor News bureau chief Safdar Shah and fellow reporter Mohsin Ali, are attacked by unidentified persons while returning home from work, violently and deliberately ramming their vehicle into the journalists’. The assailants flee, with no clear motive for the attack.

 July 26, 2022: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (C, F)
A young boy breaks into the house of Zakia Khan, a radio journalist working for Wahdat Digital News, and throws acid on her, which she manages to dodge and escape. No motive for the attack or identity of the attacker has been determined.

 July 27, 2022: Islamabad
As Neo News TV reporter Sheraz Ahmed and cameraman Javed Aslam arrive to cover a rally organized by Imran Khan’s party PTI, its workers stop the journalists from covering the event, snatching the reporter’s microphone and chasing him away.

 July 29, 2022: Punjab (C)
Akmal Shahzad, a senior reporter for Nawa-e-Waqt newspaper, is severely attacked after investigating reports of forcible occupation of a property allegedly by the local land mafia.

 August 4, 2022: Punjab (B)
Photojournalist Faisal Khan from Ausaf newspaper is assaulted by police while covering a protest, resulting in injuries to his face.

 August 8, 2022: Punjab (A, G)
ARY News TV director news Ammad Yousuf is arrested from his home by police, charged abetting the broadcast of allegedly seditious remarks by Shahbaz Gill, a leader of Imran Khan’s party PTI who appealed to the rank and file of the military to mutiny against its own bosses.

 August 9, 2022: Islamabad
Journalists Wajid Mughal of 24 News TV, Arslan Baloch of Dunya News TV and Mudassar Javed of Dawn News TV are heckled and prevented from using their TV cameras by a group of workers of Imran Khan’s party PTI after they refuse to include them in their footage of a political rally.

August 12, 2022: Islamabad (C)
Cameraperson Awais Qazi of Samaa News TV and photojournalist Abdul Hameed of Jang newspaper are assaulted by police at a sessions court while covering  the trial of Shahbaz Gill, a leader of Imran Khan’s party PTI.

 August 19, 2022: Sindh (A, G)
Ilyas Samoo, a reporter for Awami Awaz newspaper and president of Bandar Press Club, is arrested by police for reporting about alleged irregularities in rehabilitation of flood-affected families. He is charged with possession of an illegal weapon but later released on bail.

August 22, 2022: Islamabad
Cameraman Muhammad Ali of Aaj News TV is attacked by workers of Imran Khan’s party PTI near the former prime minister’s home where he had gone to cover a party meeting. The workers were angered at Ali’s channel for not telecasting Khan’s speech banned by media regulator PEMRA. At the same venue, Channel 5 TV chief reporter Nayyar Waheed is prevented from coverage and chased away by Khan’s supporters.

 August 23, 2022: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (C)
Reporter Baseer Qalandar of Aaj News TV is covering a protest in front of the provincial assembly when teargas shells are fired. He goes to a nearby hospital to cover the plight of the victims of the teargas shelling when the hospital security personnel take his phone and chase him away.

September 19, 2022: Punjab
Pakistan Union of Journalists (PFUJ) Secretary General Rana Muhammad Azeem is targeted when an unlicensed vehicle runs into Azeem’s car before quickly fleeing the scene. The journalist is unharmed but his car was severely damaged in the crash.

 September 21, 2022: Islamabad
Photojournalists Mehdi Ghauri of Online News Agency and Raja Imran of Zikar-e-Jahan newspaper are attacked by a guard of a prominent city trader Shaikh Dawood at a photography event. The guard takes away their cameras after they refuse to stop taking photos.

 September 25, 2022: Islamabad (C)
Reporter Murtaza Roy and cameraman Qazi Kamal of Abtak TV are attacked and thrashed by guards at a seminar when they attempted to enter the event.

 September 28, 2022: Islamabad (D)
Faisal Shahzad Sahi, a reporter for Public News TV, receives death threats over a phone call after publishing a story on the alleged fraudulent practices of a housing society in Islamabad.

 September 29, 2022: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Cameraperson Malik Adil and reporter Kashan Awan of Aaj News TV are reporting outside the Hayatabad Medical Complex when a group of hospital administration officials stop them. They impound their equipment and lock them up for several hours before the media workers are let go.

 October 3, 2022: Sindh (C)
Habibullah Bhalkani, a journalist working with Hum News TV, is attacked by a group of unidentified men with clubs and sticks in Kandhkot. He sustains multiple injuries and requires hospitalisation for his treatment.

 October 4, 2022: Islamabad (F)
Reporter Sharooq Tariq and cameraman Shabbir Khan of Suno TV are heckled and harangued by participants of a farmers’ march. The journalist was interviewing some of the protestors when a group of them demanded she cover her head, condemning her for wearing “western dress.”

 October 7, 2022: Islamabad (B)
YouTuber Asad Ali Toor was deliberately struck by a car as he travelled near Zero Point in his vehicle. Toor is uninjured.

October 7, 2022: Gilgit-Baltistan (C)
Three armed men attack the chief executive officer and editor of Ibex Media Network (IMN), Abdul Mujeeb, outside his office at Zulfiqar Abad Jutial. Mujeed said one man held him at gun point while the others tried to break in his car. He fought with the man and managed to disarm him.

October 25, 2022: Islamabad
Sohail Shahzad, a photojournalist working with Daily 92, is pushed and threatened by the security guards of former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan for taking his photos as he exited the residence of assassinated journalist Arshad Sharif.

November 4, 2022: Sindh (E)
Dawn newspaper’s senior reporter Syed Irfan Raza is abducted from the G-11 sector, blindfolded and taken to the outskirts of Rawalpindi, some 50km from his home. His unidentified armed kidnappers beat him for three hours before he is released, injured.

 November 4, 2022: Punjab
GNN News TV cameraman Sohail Barfat and his DSNG driver are manhandled by a group of lawyers at the entrance of the Karachi court complex.

December 9, 2022: Punjab (C)
Haseeb Zafar, reporter of digital newspaper Voice of Thall, is attacked by a group of men for airing footage of their shops being demolished because they were built in violation of local by-laws. Zafar sustained multiple injuries that required medical attention.

 December 12, 2022: Punjab (C)
Naseer Ghumman, a journalist working for Sada-e-Watan newspaper, is shot multiple times by a group of four people outside a college, following publication of his article on alleged corruption against a government official. One of his legs had to be amputated after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds.

 January 18, 2023: Punjab (C, E)
Koh-e-Noor News TV reporter Nauman Chaudhry is kidnapped by drug mafia from his house, taken to an unknown place and tortured for airing a news on drugs and liquor trafficking in the Rawalpindi district.

 January 22, 2023: Punjab (C)
TV Today reporter Rana Muhammad Shahnawaz and fellow journalists Asif Iqbal, Irfan Rasheed and Sami Ullah, are attacked by employees of a land encroacher in in Nankana Sahib. The journalists were shooting footage of Evacuee Trust Property Board officials retrieving the encroached land. Shahnawaz sustained a major injury to his shoulder.

 January 30, 2023: Punjab (C)
Dhani Bakhsh, a reporter of Express newspaper, along with journalists Abdullah Mahar and Ghaffar Mahar, are investigating a story related to illegal land grabbing in the Sadiqabad region, when they are surrounded by a group who snatch their cameras and recorders and proceed to assault them. They are tied up and held hostage in a field for several hours before being let go.

 February 23, 2023: Punjab (F)
Marvia Malik, Pakistan’s first transgender news anchor for Kohenoor TV, is attacked by two unidentified gunmen on her way home in Lahore. Malik was threatened by phone calls and texts for her advocacy on transgender rights.

 March 24, 2023: Kohat (C)
Unidentified terrorists attack the home of district correspondent for The News International and Geo journalist, Syed Yasir Shah. The terrorist used explosives and opened fire at the house and soon fled the scene. The journalist was unharmed but expressed concern at limited protection measures for journalists.

 March 27, 2023: Karachi
Bol News cameraperson Daniyal Kashif Hameed and Driver Yurz are attacked while reporting on fruit vendor mafia in South Karachi.

April 29, 2023: Sindh (A)
Shahbaz Khan, a crime reporter at Dunya News, is assaulted and briefly detained by police while covering a story in Liaquatabad, Karachi. Two police officers are suspended for their role in the incident.

July 2, 2022: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (C)
Iftikhar Ahmed, a reporter for the Daily Express, is killed instantly when gunmen open fire on him as he was travelling to his workplace in Shakir Market.

August 27, 2022: Punjab (C)
Two gunmen open fire on senior journalist and president of the Shorkot Press Club, Muhammad Younis, en route to his farm at Mouza Manganwala in Jhang district. He died on the spot.

October 24, 2022 (G)
ARY News anchor-person and senior journalist Arshad Sharif, who was living in hiding after allegedly receiving death threats for his critical reporting, is shot dead by law enforcement in Kenya. According to his brother, officers from Kenya Police Service’s paramilitary wing opened fire on the vehicle and Sharif was fatally shot by police in the back of his head while they were driving to Nairobi.

October 30, 2022: Punjab (C)
Channel 5 reporter Sadaf Naeem falls from a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf campaign vehicle while reporting on a political rally, and is crushed by the vehicle in Kamoke, Gujranwala. She is taken to the nearest hospital but pronounced dead on arrival.

June 13, 2022: Punjab (I)
The YouTube channel of progressive online journalism platform Naya Daur is hacked, with its name changed and the settings of its extensive archive of current affairs videos affected, after receiving several threat messages.

June 17, 2022: Islamabad (H, I)
Electronic media regulator PEMRA issues a show-cause notice to the ARY News channel for allegedly airing fake news about Pakistan’s finance minister spending a large sum of public funds on renovations of his personal residence.

August 8, 2022: Islamabad (H)
Electronic media regulator PEMRA suspends the license of ARY News TV accusing it of airing “false, hateful and seditious content.”

August 21, 2022: Islamabad (H, I)
Action by telecom and internet regulator PTA against YouTube, aimed at preventing access to videos uploaded by former prime minister Imran Khan’s party PTI deemed seditious, makes the popular social media platform unavailable for several hours.

September 15, 2022: Islamabad (H, I)
Electronic media regulator PEMRA suspends the transmission of ARY News TV and Bol News TV for three days for failing to follow its directives prohibiting all channels from live broadcast of public events involving former prime minister Imran Khan.

October 31, 2022: Islamabad (H, I)
Electronic media regulator PEMRA suspends Bol News TV transmissions throughout Pakistan for extensively covering the long march of former prime minister Imran Khan without censoring his incendiary speeches.

 November 21, 2022: Islamabad (H, I)
Independent website FactFocus, known for its investigative journalism, is blocked by telecom and internet regulator PTA and became inaccessible, after extensively detailing alleged corruption by an increase in personal wealth of former army chief Qamar Bajwa and his family.

 January 14, 2023: Islamabad (H, I)
The National Assembly Secretariat bans the entry of all YouTubers, TikTokers and other social media influencers in the precinct of Parliament House, after one of the influencers allegedly misbehaved with a parliamentarian.

 February 4, 2023: Islamabad (H, I)
Telecom and internet regulator PTA imposes a blanket ban on Wikipedia for its inability to comply with a request to remove some materials on its online archives deemed blasphemous. The website is restored by the government two days later after public outcry.

 February 8, 2023: Islamabad (H, I)
Electronic media regulator PEMRA imposes a blanket ban on all television channels in the country on the coverage of a case involving the rape of a girl in a park in Islamabad.

March 5, 2023: Islamabad (H, I)
Electronic media regulator PEMRA issues a notification banning live telecasts of former prime minister Imran Khan’s speeches after he criticises the security establishment and the judiciary in remarks carried live by all TV channels. A high court overturned the ban two days later.

 March 5, 2023: Punjab (G, H, I)
The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) enforces the suspension order for ARY News’ license for their broadcast of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s speech.

June 28, 2022: Colombo (B, G)
Journalist and media activist Tharindu Uduwaragedara is summoned to court after the Sri Lanka Computer Crimes Division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) investigates a complaint made by the Intelligence Division of the Air Force about content on his YouTube channel, ‘Satahana’.

July 4, 2022: Colombo (G)
Social media journalist and activist Dilan Senanayake, who published information on the GotaGoGama protests, is summoned by the CID for questioning.

October 11, 2022: Colombo (D)
Journalist Tharindu Jayawardhana accuses the officer-in-charge of the Fort Police Station of threatening him while he attempted to file a complaint against the actions of two police officers during a peaceful protest. Police try to forcibly take his mobile phone and ask him to exit the room when he refused.

November 12, 2022: Trincomalee
A number of journalists based in the city of Trincomalee report threats made against them on social media by a Sinhalese Buddhist nationalist group named Ravana Sena.

February 2, 2023 (A)
YouTuber and political vlogger Darshana Handungoda is arrested following his return from Dubai and handed over to the CID for questioning, in connection with controversial statements posted to social media.

February 2, 2023 (F)
Ishara Devendra, a senior journalist of the Independent Television Network (ITN), reports facing regular incidents of sexual harassment from an institution head. She decides to leave ITN on April 24 after presenting evidence to the network and receiving no response.

April 25, 2023: Colombo (G)
Journalist for News 1st Zulfick Farzan is summoned to the Terrorist Investigation Division for a 2021 interview with former Attorney General Dappula De Livera, PC over the Easter Sunday Terror Attacks in 2019.

July 9, 2022: Colombo (C)
Six journalists from the Maharaja Group (SirisaTV) covering a peaceful protest are attacked by members of the Special Task Force (STF) and police on duty outside the private residence of former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

July 14, 2022: Colombo (C)
Anti-government protesters enter the building of the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation and harass journalists, causing the broadcast to be suspended. The group identifies itself with the ‘Aragalaya’ (struggle) movement and accuses the television station of broadcasting exclusively on anti-government protests.

July 22, 2022: Colombo (A)
Unarmed journalists are attacked and detained by military and police personnel during a raid on the GotaGoGama protest site at Galle Face. Three Xposure journalists, Rasika Gunawardena, Sabir Mohammed and Chaturanga Pradeep Kumara; video journalist Chaturanga Pradeep Kumar; Kasun Kumarage of the Sri Lanka Press Institute; and BBC journalist Jareen Samuel, are also arrested.

July 24, 2022: Panadura (C)
Panadura provincial correspondent Saman Kariyawasam is assaulted by three people at the CeyPetCo filling station in Panadura while reporting.

February 14, 2023: Colombo (B)
The house of journalist Chamuditha Samarawickrema, a former media secretary of Maithripala Sirisena and a freelance journalist of Hiru TV, is attacked by four men who pelt stones and excrement in the early morning.

January 6, 2023: Colombo
President Ranil Wickremasinghe announces the government is working to introduce an act to regulate social media platforms including YouTube and Facebook. Civil society organisations, human rights defenders and journalists are concerned the legislation could be used to advance surveillance efforts and curtail freedom of expression.

February 4, 2023 (H, I)
The Karannagoda Committee report filed before the Court of Appeals recommends social media platforms should be regulated, as they could be used to mobilise protesters and threaten national security. The three-member Board of Inquiry, led by Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda, was established to inquire into lapses by the armed forces and State Intelligence Services during the Aragalaya protests.

March 17, 2023 (H)
The Sri Lankan government announced its intention to replace the country’s current draconian terrorism act with the new ATA. The proposed legislation has been criticised by trade unions, human rights organisations, civil society, legal experts, and press freedom advocates, who have identified the bill’s potential to crack down on dissent and civic space amidst ongoing instability across the island.