JOURNALISTS DETAINED AND JAILED IN SOUTH ASIA
May 1, 2024 – April 30, 2025
Within weeks of Hasina’s fall, five journalists, including a female were arrested on charges of murder and crimes against humanity, while at least 140 others faced similar kind of charges, in apparent political reprisals. Journalists Shakil Ahmed (5L) and Farzana Rupa (3R) are pictured at a court in Dhaka on August 22, 2024. A Bangladesh court remanded the two journalists in custody accused of “inciting violence” against the student-led protests. Credit: AFP
The IFJ documented 69 cases of journalists jailed or detained in South Asia from May 2024 to April 2025. Although this was decrease from the 86 cases reported in the previous period, it still shows the significant and ongoing threats to press freedom that persist in this challenged region with arrests, temporary detentions and charges against media workers being used to intimidate and silence critical journalism. Four detentions involved female journalists; one in Bangladesh and Pakistan, respectively, and two in India.
The Taliban’s ongoing authoritarian control over Afghanistan’s media led to the detention of an astounding 30 journalists in the year, with ten (10) media workers still incarcerated at the time of publication. Afghanistan had the highest number of detainments for the region across a number of categories including journalists still in jail; detained for more than one week; detained less than one week; and the highest number of longest serving inmates. The country’s de-facto government continued its relentless crackdown on the media, utilising charges of blasphemy or anti-Taliban propaganda. Detentions were frequently carried out by the General Directorate of Intelligence and by the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, established in the country in the wake of the Taliban takeover in 2021. Sayed Rahim Saeedi, the editor and producer of the ANAR Media YouTube channel, was sentenced to three years in prison on January 31, 2025, for writing a screenplay about a girl denied an education by Taliban for a network outside Afghanistan.
The massive anti-government protests that erupted across Bangladesh in July and August and ended the iron rule of Sheik Hasina, also led to the deaths of five journalists and the injuring of 250 others. Following the installation of an interim government, media workers whose reporting was considered as favourable toward the ousted regime were quickly targeted. The IFJ documented eight (8) media worker detentions within this period. Journalists Shakil Ahmed, the former head of news at Bangladeshi broadcaster Ekattor TV, and his wife, Farzana Rupa, the broadcaster’s former chief correspondent, were the first journalists to face charges. The pair were detained at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka while attempting to board a flight to Istanbul with their daughter, before being taken into custody. They were charged with conspiracy to commit murder as part of a broader trial that also implicates former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
In India, seven (7) journalists were arrested or detained for shorter durations – a notable decrease from 22 detentions recorded in the previous period. Senior journalist Dilwar Hussain Mozumder was covering a protest on embezzlement and illegal recruitment at the Assam Co-Operative Apex Bank in Guwahati in March 2025, when he was taken in for detention. Also in March, Sumit Jha, a journalist for South First, was detained by Hyderabad Police while reporting on a student protest at the University of Hyderabad against the clearing of forest land marked for auction by the Telangana government.
Ongoing challenges to press freedom in Nepal were noted in the period with the country now rated as ‘obstructed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor. Two (2) journalists were arrested in the period for their critical reporting. In a key case, Kantipur Publications chairman, Kailash Sirohiya, was arrested and detained for nine days after publishing a series of reports about embezzlement allegations against Nepal’s then-Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, Rabi Lamichhane. Bijay Shah, the editor-in-chief of Dastak Khabar, a local online news portal in Siraha District, in Madhesh Province, was arrested by police on October 18, 2024, for allegedly reporting on vulgarity at a cultural program. Shah said he was subjected to psychological pressure during his two-day detention and his phone was seized.
Pakistan faced significant setbacks in the safety situation for media workers in the period, marred by a wave of arrests and detentions of journalists, totalling 20 in the period – running second to Afghanistan – including the enforced abduction and repeated arrest of veteran journalist Matiullah Jan. Many arrests related to reporting deemed as anti-stage or critical of the government or journalists found themselves targeted while covering anti-government protests. In June 2024, Imran Riaz, a vlogger and vocal critic of the government, was arrested by police in Lahore for alleged involvement in a monetary fraud case. In November 2024, veteran journalist Matiullah Jan was abducted along with another journalist after reporting on protests by supporters of Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister, Imran Khan, in Islamabad. On November 28, an anti-terrorism court ordered the anchor for NEO TV Network to remain in detention for two days after his arrest on what was widely reported as “bogus” terrorism and drug possession charges. The same month, eight journalists in Hafizabad were arrested for allegedly assisting the escape of political workers holding a press conference. Farhan Mallick, founder of Raftar, was arrested in March 2025 without formal charges for allegedly broadcasting content critical of the security establishment. Mallick was released after two and a half weeks in detention. Most recently, Waheed Murad was seized from his home in Islamabad by masked agents and charged with cyber terrorism over alleged “intimidating” posts.
Sri Lanka witnessed further intimidation and targeting journalists and activists. In October 2024, two (2) journalists were detained – Tamil journalist Selvakumar Nilanthan, who was arrested from his home for reporting on a 2020 corruption case involving a government official, and Kalpa Gunaratne, who was arrested and released the same day, for documenting an act of aggression against a civilian by a security guard in Colombo.
TOTAL JAILED OR DETAINED BY COUNTRY IN SOUTH ASIA:
Afghanistan: 30
Bangladesh: 8
Bhutan: 0
India: 7
Nepal: 2
Maldives: 0
Pakistan: 20
Sri Lanka: 2
HIGHEST NUMBER OF DETAINMENT TYPES BY COUNTRY IN SOUTH ASIA:
Detained for more than one week: Afghanistan – 15 cases
Detained for less than one week: Afghanistan – 5 cases
Detained for one day or less: Pakistan – 5 cases
Highest number of longest serving inmates: Afghanistan – 15 cases
Sayed Rahim Saeedi, the editor and producer of the ANAR Media YouTube channel, was sentenced to three years in prison on January 31, 2025, for writing a screenplay about a girl denied an education by Taliban for a network outside Afghanistan.
Human rights defender and Kashmiri journalist Aasif Sultan was finally freed on May 10, 2024, after serving nearly 6 years behind bars. Credit: X
India: Four long-term prisoners released
The release of four Indian journalists was strongly welcomed in the period, with all those incarcerated charged under India’s counter-terror and public safety laws, notably the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), or Jammu and Kashmir’s Public Safety Act (PSA), in which bail is notoriously difficult to obtain.
Kashmiri freelance journalist Majid Hyderi, who was arrested on September 14, 2023, for criticising government policies and charged under the PSA, spent 527 days in detention before his release. The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir finally ordered his immediate release on February 19, 2025, ruling that, according to case law, negatively criticising government policies could not justify preventive detention, and that his arrest was predicated on ‘vague and ambiguous’ grounds that violated the journalist’s constitutional rights.
The founder and editor of NewsClick, Prabir Purkayastha, was released on May 15, 2024, after being jailed for 225 days under the UAPA. He was jailed for allegedly accepting Chinese funds and criticising the Indian government’s policies, including its Covid-19 response. The Indian Supreme Court asserted that his arrest by Delhi Police was “invalid in the eyes of the law”. However concerningly, this ruling was not considered a verdict on the merit of his case, rather the interpretation of the UAPA concerning bail.
Kashmiri journalist Sajad Gul was granted bail on July 8, 2024, after spending 910 days in jail. Gul was detained under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act in January 2022, after he reported on the shooting of a young man by security forces and the family’s allegation that it was an extrajudicial killing. Despite courts granting bail twice, his incarceration lasted a gruelling 2.5 years, under isolation for 23 hours a day in a narrow dark cell.
And in much welcomed news on the long running case, human rights defender and Kashmiri journalist Aasif Sultan was finally freed in the period. After serving nearly six years behind bars and being the focus of IFJ and other international human rights campaigns, Sultan was released on February 27, 2024. But with a pattern of ‘revolving door arrests,’ he was controversially arrested again two days later for allegedly instigating a riot in Srinagar’s Central jail. The UAPA was again used in the case against Sultan. He was finally granted bail by a court in Srinagar on May 10, 2024, after serving a further two and a half months. A Srinagar court asserted that merely invoking the UAPA was insufficient to warrant rejection of bail applications. Sultan was granted bail under strict conditions, including prohibition from using encrypted messaging apps or proxy networks.
JAILED JOURNALISTS – CURRENTLY IN JAIL
AFGHANISTAN
Name: Habib-ur-Rahman Taseer
Gender: Male
Detained: April 6, 2024
Job: Journalist, Radio Free Europe
Accusation: Taseer was arrested for blasphemy by the Taliban based on an audio message on WhatsApp. The Taliban’s director of information and culture in Ghazni accused Taseer of “insulting sacred values and norms” after a verbal altercation with a Mullah (Imam). It was suggested that Taseer’s detention was retribution by the Taliban following the publication of a report by Radio Free Europe.
Status: Currently in jail. Sentenced to two and a half years in prison.
Name: Sayed Rahim Saeedi
Gender: Male
Detained: July 14, 2024
Job: Editor and producer, ANAR Media YouTube channel
Accusation: Culture journalist Saeedi was arrested alongside his son and fellow journalist Sayed Waris Saeedi and cameraperson Hasib. Saeedi was arrested for a screenplay he wrote about a girl denied an education by Taliban authorities for a network outside Afghanistan on charges of spreading anti-Taliban propaganda.
Status: Currently in jail. Sentenced to three years in prison on October 27, 2024.
Name: Hamid Ullah Farhadi
Gender: Male
Detained: September 3, 2024
Job: Reporter, Etilaatroz Daily
Accusation: Arrested on the accusation of spreading propaganda against the Taliban.
Status: Currently in jail. Farhadi was sentenced by the court to two years in prison, starting from the date of his arrest.
Name: Mahdi Ansary
Gender: Male
Detained: October 5, 2024
Job: Reporter, Afghan News Agency
Accusation: Ansari was arrested by officers of the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence in the Dasht-e-Barchi area of Kabul for allegedly posting anti-Taliban videos on his personal YouTube channel which were deemed as ‘collaborating with the anti-Taliban media’ and ‘spreading propaganda against the regime’.
Status: Currently in jail. Ansary was sentenced to 18 months’ jail on January 8, 2025.
Name: Saber Rahimi
Gender: Male
Detained: January 8, 2025
Job: Originally a cameraman for Shamshad TV and unofficially working for Voice of America (VOA) in India.
Accusation: Rahimi was arrested on charges of providing false information and engaging in illegal activities, but the court deemed the 58 days he had already spent in detention was sufficient and ordered his release.
Status: Currently in jail. Sentenced to six months in prison.
Name: Islam Totakhil
Gender: Male
Detained: February 4, 2025
Job: Sports journalist, Jawanan Radio
Accusation: Arrested by Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice and members of the General Directorate of Intelligence when it raided radio station Jawanan, operated by the Begum Organization for Women (BOW). The broadcaster was closed for alleged licensing violations and collaboration with an international outlet, with sports journalist Islam Totakhil taken into custody. A further person was also arrested in the raid, however details on the individual are unknown.
Status: Currently in custody awaiting trial.
Name: Said Rashid Kashifi
Gender: Male
Detained: February 13, 2025
Job: Reporter at Tawana News Agency
Accusation: Accused of working with Tawana News Agency and providing false information to opposition media outlets abroad against the Taliban.
Status: Unknown.
Name: Ghulam Muhaiudin Sahibzada
Gender: Male
Detained: February 18, 2025
Job: Broadcast manager Rasa TV
Accusation: According to officials, the reason for his arrest was collaboration with and providing false information to media outlets opposed to the Taliban.
Status: In custody awaiting trial.
Name: Jahadmal Habibi
Gender: Male
Detained: February 18, 2025
Job: Reporter in Rasa TV
Accusation: According to officials, the reason for his arrest was collaboration with and providing false information to media outlets opposed to the Islamic Emirate.
Status: In custody awaiting trial.
Name: Sayed Rashed Kashefi
Gender: Male
Detained: April 14, 2025
Job: Independent journalist
Accusation: Arrested under the pretext of retrieving his mobile phone, video recording camera, and voice recorder, which had been confiscated in mid-March by agents who suspected him of working with Afghan exiled media
Status: Currently in detention.
BANGLADESH
Name: Longa Khumi
Gender: Male
Detained: May 19, 2023
Job: Correspondent, Daily Manab Zamin
Accusation: Khumi was detained by members of the Bangladesh Army for alleged links to separatist group the Kuki-Chin National Front and for carrying ‘confidential documents’.
Status: Currently in detention.
Name: Shakil Ahmed, Farzana Rupa
Gender: Mixed
Detained: August 21, 2024
Job: Former head of news (Ahmed), Former chief correspondent (Rupa), Ekattor TV
Accusation: Shakil Ahmed and his wife, Farzana Rupa, were detained for questioning at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Dhaka while attempting to board a flight to Paris. They were among 39 people targeted in the alleged murder of a garment worker on August 5, 2024, though the charges are believed to be linked through their alleged incitement of the ousted Hasina government.
Status: Currently in detention.
Name: Mozammel Haque Babu, Shyamal Dutta
Gender: Male
Detained: September 16, 2024
Job: Chief executive, Ekattor TV (Babu); editor, The Daily Bhorer Kagoj (Dutta)
Accusation: Mozammel Haque Babu, Shyamal Dutta, Mahbubur Rahman and their driver were apprehended by locals near the India-Bangladesh border, before their vehicle was stopped and police called. Rahman and the driver were released the following day; however, husband and wife journalists Babu and Dutta were detained in connection to two murder cases.
Status: Both remain in custody.
INDIA
Name: Irfan Mehraj
Gender: Male
Detained: March 20, 2023
Job: Freelance journalist
Accusation: Kashmiri journalist Mehraj was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for his alleged involvement in sponsoring ‘terrorist operations’ and other ‘anti-national’ activities under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
Status: Mehraj remains in custody.
Name: Rupesh Kumar Singh
Gender: Male
Detained: July 17, 2022
Job: Freelance journalist
Accusation: Singh was arrested by Jharkhand police for alleged links to the Maoists, a banned left-wing armed group. Two days prior, the journalist had released a report detailing the dumping of industrial waste on traditional tribal land in Giridih district. Relatives and supporters of the journalists have identified the lack of a definitive charge sheet against the journalist.
Status: Singh remains in custody.
Name: Naren Chakraborty
Gender: Male
Detained: April 28, 2025
Job: Journalist, Agartala-based daily newspaper
Accusation: Chakraborty was arrested under charges related to obscenity and privacy violations in Teliamura, Tripura, for circulating a controversial sex video featuring local BJP leader Dilip Sarkar
Status: Chakraborty remains in custody.
PAKISTAN
Name: Khursheed Rajput
Gender: Male
Detained: August 9, 2024
Job: Journalist
Accusation: Charged with alleged robbery and possession of illegal weapons. The journalist was allegedly attacked and tortured by local police for reporting on the alleged corruption of the Senior Superintendent of Police.
Status: Rajput remains in custody
Name: Freshta Sadeed
Gender: Female
Detained: April 14, 2025
Job: Exiled journalist, previously employed at Radio Bahar, Kapisa province.
Accusation: Pakistani police detained Afghan journalist Freshta Sadeed at her residence in Islamabad and transferred her to a detention facility. She is at serious risk of deportation to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, a country she fled due to her reporting on human rights issues.
Status: Sadeed remains in custody in Haji Camp detention facility.
Name: Zahir Bahand
Gender: Male
Detained: April 20, 2025
Job: Journalist
Accusation: Pakistani police detained Afghan journalist Zahir Bahand in Islamabad. Pakistani security officers detained him without providing any explanation or legal warrant, near his residence in the “Gulberg Greens” area. Bahand emphasised that he had done nothing but reporting on the struggles of Afghan refugees.
Status: Bahand remains in custody.
JOURNALISTS JAILED FOR MORE THAN ONE WEEK
AFGHANISTAN
Name: Ramin Amiri
Gender: Male
Detained: March 21, 2024
Job: Freelance journalist
Accusation: Amiri was reportedly arrested due to financial issues. Intelligence personnel said that he was not arrested in connection with his media work.
Status: Released on bail on May 8.
Name: Ali Sina Khodayar
Gender: Male
Detained: June 1, 2024
Job: Broadcast Director, Radio Zahra
Accusation: Khodayar was arrested for failing to meet with Taliban members, and the publication of ‘anti-government materials’.
Status: Released on June 9 on the intervention of the Afghanistan Independent Journalists Union (AIJU).
Name: Abdullah Danish
Gender: Male
Detained: June 13, 2024
Job: Freelance journalist
Accusation: Danish was taken into Taliban custody in Parwan Province while travelling from Kabul. According to news reports, the journalist was questioned for news reports and a social media post.
Status: Released on June 15, but sustained injuries to his head from his time in detention.
Name: Mohammadyar Majroh
Gender: Male
Detained: July 12, 2024
Job: Freelance journalist
Accusation: Summoned and detained by a court in Kancahar, but no reason publicly provided for his arrest. A Taliban spokesperson stated that his case had no relation to his media work, but it was the second time in two years that the freelance journalist was arrested without any specified reason.
Status: Released on August 5, 2024.
Name: Hekmat Aryan
Gender: Male
Detained: September 29, 2024
Job: Director, Khushal Radio Station
Accusation: Aryan was arrested for allegedly broadcasting content related to Taliban military operations. He was sentenced to one month in prison on October 14, with a court in Ghazni recognising time already served prior to the trial.
Status: Released on October 29, 2024.
Name: Abdul Razzaq Siddiqi
Gender: Male
Detained: November 1, 2024
Job: The head of Sada-e-Badghis Radio
Accusation: Siddiqi was arrested on charges of providing false information to media outlets opposed to the Taliban, but following efforts by other organizations and AIJU, the court considered his time already served as sufficient and he was released.
Status: Released on December 4, 2024.
Name: Amanullah Azimi, Amir Hossein Attryan, Khalid Barkazi, Zahir Faizi, Samir Ahmad Baik, Haroon Irfan, Bektash Rofi
Gender: Male
Detained: December 4, 2024
Job: Office director, Arezo TV
Accusation: Members of the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice and the General Directorate of Intelligence raided the offices of Arezo TV, confiscating equipment and taking seven staff members into custody. Taliban representatives claim the broadcaster published vulgar and immoral content and had collaborated with exiled international news outlets.
Status: All detained Arezo TV staff were released on bail on December 21, on the requirement they made guarantees they would not leave Kabul and would attend all court sessions. They also returned to their jobs at Arezo TV.
Name: Ithad Azizi
Gender: Male
Detained: January 8, 2025
Job: Voice of America Reporter
Accusation: Arrested on charges of providing false information and engaging in illegal activities, but the court deemed the 58 days he had already spent in detention as sufficient and ordered his release.
Status: Released on March 6, 2025.
Name: Mohammad Asif Faizyar
Gender: Male
Detained: February 27, 2025
Job: Editor-in-Chief, Nedai Baloch News Agency
Accusation: Detained by police in Herat on unknown charges. It was the second time he was been arrested by the Herat Police Command for publishing news on his Telegram channel.
Status: Released on February 28. The news agency resumed operations on March 11, 2025.
BANGLADESH
Name: Pranab Barua Arnab
Gender: Male
Detained: October 24, 2024
Job: Correspondent, Daily Manab Zamin
Accusation: Pranab was arrested at the Akhaura Land port while reportedly trying to travel to India with his wife’s parents to seek medical treatment. He was later arrested in four cases.
Status: Released on November 14, 2024
INDIA
Name: Tushar Abaji Kharat
Gender: Male
Detained: March 9, 2025
Job: YouTube commentator and journalist
Accusation: Arrested for uploading alleged “defamatory content” against a State Minister Jaykumar Gore to his news channel. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) social media coordinator and Gore’s aide, Shekhar Patole, also lodged a complaint alleging Kharat made “caseist comments” and death threats against him.
Status: Released on March 26, 2025
NEPAL
Name: Kailash Sirohiya
Gender: Male
Detained: May 21, 2024
Job: Publisher, Kantipur Media Group
Accusation: Sirohiya was arrested at the KMG’s offices in Kathmandu following the issuing of an arrest warrant on citizenship fraud claims related to his identification card. Sirohiya alleged his arrested was retaliation for the outlet’s coverage of allegations against the former Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, Rabi Lamichhane.
Status: Released on May 29, 2024.
PAKISTAN
Names: Amjad Parvez, Azizur Rehman, Shahbaz Gul, Sheikh Javed, Asrar Shah, Javed Asad, Ehsan Ullah and Shafaqat Wattoo
Gender: Male
Detained: November 20, 2024
Job: Journalists
Accusation: The eight (8) journalists were arrested by police in Hafizabad in Punjab province for allegedly aiding the escape of some political workers attempting to hold a press conference.
Status: Released on bail by a district court on December 3, 2024.
Name: Farhan Mallick
Gender: Male
Detained: March 20, 2025
Job: Founder, Raftar
Accusation: Mallick was arrested after the Federal Investigation Agency Cybercrime Reporting Centre commenced an inquiry based on allegations that Mallick had ‘run several programs against the security establishment’. According to Mallick’s wife, no official charge sheet or reason for his arrest was provided.
Status: Granted bail on April 7, 2025
JOURNALISTS DETAINED FOR LESS THAN ONE WEEK
AFGHANISTAN
Name: Neda Mohammad Noori
Gender: Male
Detained: May 4, 2024
Job: Radio Television Afghanistan, producer
Accusation: Believed to have been targeted for collaborating with exiled Afghan media outlets but accused of spreading anti-Taliban propaganda.
Status: Released on May 11, 2024, after providing a ‘guarantee’, and has allegedly resumed work at the national television in Parwan Province.
Name: Sayed Waris Saeedi
Gender: Male
Detained: July 14, 2024
Job: Editor and producer, ANAR Media YouTube channel
Accusation: Saeedi was arrested alongside his father and fellow journalist Sayed Rahim Saeedi and cameraperson Hasib, with no clear reason given.
Status: Sayed Waris Saeedi and cameraperson Hasib, were released after two days, following their interrogation by the Taliban.
Name: Hasib (only goes by one name)
Gender: Male
Detained: July 14, 2024
Job: Cameraperson, ANAR Media YouTube channel
Accusation: Cameraperson Hasib was arrested alongside father-son journalist duo Sayed Rahim Saeedi and Sayed Waris Saeedi, with no clear reason given.
Status: Released after two days, following their interrogation by the Taliban.
Name: Mohammad Ibrahim Mohtaj
Gender: Male
Detained: July 27, 2024
Job: Broadcast manager and presenter, Millat Zhag
Accusation: Mohtaj was arrested in Kandahar by agents of the Taliban’s provincial Directorate of the Ministry for Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, before being transferred to a secondary location.
Status: Released on August 1, 2024.
Name: Mohammad Asif Faizyar
Gender: Male
Detained: August 13, 2024
Job: Editor-in-Chief, Nedai Baloch News Agency
Accusation: Faizyar was detained for allegedly publishing police reports without prior express permission from Taliban police in Herat.
Status: Released on August 18, 2024.
BANGLADESH
Name: Abdur Rashid
Gender: Male
Detained: March 13, 2025
Job: Singra Upazila correspondent for Daily Samakal
Accusation: Rashid was arrested in Natore after he applied under the Right to Information Act, requesting a district officer to provide information about jalmahal (water bodies). He was later arrested in a raid of the ongoing Devil Hunt Operation, implicating him as an unidentified accused in a case involving a clash.
Status: Released on bail on March 20, 2025.
Name: Roknuzzaman Tipu Sultan
Gender: Male
Detained: April 22, 2025
Job: Tala Upazila Correspondent, Kaler Kantho
Accusation: Tipu Sultan was investigating alleged irregularities in project for the Tala Upazila Complex building. Sultan was assaulted at the site by an engineer and later reported the incident to the Upazila Nirbahi Officer. The blame was pinned on Sultan for the assault, and he was sentenced to 10 days in jail by a mobile court.
Status: Released on April 24, 2025
INDIA
Name: Pogadadanda Revathi
Gender: Female
Detained: March 12, 2025
Job: Managing director for online news channel Pulse News
Accusation: Revathi was arrested under sections 67 of the IT Act and sections 111(organised crime), 61(2)(criminal conspiracy), 353(2), and 352 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for allegedly publishing defamatory content against the Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to incite hatred. The claims related to an interview posted on social media platform X, in which a farmer made accusations against the Chief Minister.
Status: Granted bail on March 18, 2025.
Name: Bandi Sandhya (Thanvi Yadav)
Gender: Female
Detained: March 12, 2025
Job: Reporter, online news channel, Pulse News
Accusation: Sandhya, also known as Thanvi Yadav, was sent to judicial custody under sections 67 of the IT Act and sections 111(organised crime), 61(2)(criminal conspiracy), 353(2), and 352 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for allegedly publishing defamatory content against the Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, to incite hatred. The claims related to an interview posted on social media platform X, in which a farmer made accusations against the Chief Minister.
Status: Granted bail on March 18, 2025.
Name: Dilwar Hussain Mozumder
Gender: Male
Detained: March 25, 2025, and again on March 27, 2025
Job: Chief Reporter, Cross Current
Accusation: Mozumder was arrested following the filing of two First Information Reports (FIRs) against him, while he was covering a demonstration against alleged corruption within Assam Co-operative Apex Bank Ltd. One was for alleged criminal intimidation and violation of provisions of SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and for “offensive remarks” under section 351 of Bharatiya Nayaya Sanhita, after a complaint filed by the bank’s security guard Sishul Boro at Panbazar Police Station. The other was filed by the bank’s managing director, Dambaru Saikia, who claimed that Mozumder unlawfully entered the first floor of the headquarters and attempted to steal valuable bank documents.
Status: Released on bail on March 29, 2025.
NEPAL
Name: Bijay Shah
Gender: Male
Detained: October 20, 2024
Job: Editor, Dastak Khabar
Accusation: Arrested over material published on allegedly obscene dances and disorderly conduct at an entertainment program organised at Durga Temple in Lahan on the occasion of Dashain festival.
Status: Released after two days.
PAKISTAN
Name: Imran Riaz Khan
Gender: Male
Detained: June 12, 2024
Job: Vlogger
Accusation: Khan was apprehended by plain clothes law enforcement personnel while attempting to travel to Saudi Arabia from the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore and transferred to a secondary location. The journalist was remanded in fraud proceedings and arrested on a one-day physical remand.
Status: On presentation before a local court, the remand was not upheld. Released on bail on June 14, 2024.
Name: Matiullah Jan
Gender: Male
Detained: November 27, 2024
Job: Vlogger
Accusation: Jan and fellow journalist Sadiq Bashir were reported missing on November 27 after the two journalists had travelled to report on claims of casualties in the aftermath of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf protests in November 2024. Security personnel later produced Jan in front of the Rawalpindi Anti-Terrorism Court on November 28 and he was charged under anti-terrorist and anti-drug laws, with a First Information Report claiming that the journalist had injured personnel at a checkpoint while intoxicated, and in possession of methamphetamines.
Status: Granted bail on November 30, with the Islamabad High Court suspending the remand on November 29.
Names: Muhammad Waheed Murad
Gender: Male
Detained: March 26, 2025
Job: Journalist
Accusation: Murad, a reporter for Saudi-owned Urdu News, was arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for alleged social media posts deemed ‘intimidating’, particularly those related to the Balochistan Liberation Army. He was arrested after more than a dozen masked men stormed his home in Islamabad and charged with “cyber terrorism” and disseminating “false and fake information”.
Status: Remanded in custody for two days, granted bail on March 28, 2025.
JOURNALISTS DETAINED 24 HOURS OR LESS
BANGLADESH
Name: Mahbubur Rahman
Gender: Male
Detained: September 16, 2024
Job: Senior Reporter, Ekattor TV
Accusation: Rahman was apprehended by locals and handed to police alongside Mozammel Haque Babu, Shyamal Dutta, and their driver while attempting to illegally cross the border into India in Mymensingh.
Status: Released on September 17, 2024.
INDIA
Name: Addul Majan
Gender: Male
Detained; January 21, 2025
Job; Reporter for an Assam-based digital news platform
Accusation: Arrested by police for ‘falsely’ reporting about a hit-and-run case allegedly involving the son of an influential politician in Sootea, Assam.
Status: Released on bail on January 22, 2025.
Name: Sumit Jha
Gender: Male
Detained: March 30, 2025
Job: Journalist for South First
Accusation: Jha was detained by Hyderabad Police while reporting on a student protest at the University of Hyderabad against the clearing of forest land marked for auction by the Telangana government. He was taken into custody, alongside student protesters, while recording a confrontation between students and police.
Status: Released the same day on March 30, 2025.
PAKISTAN
Names: Zulfiqar Wauchope, Shaukat Korai, Allah Rakhyo, Altaf Channa and Pavan Kumar
Gender: Male
Detained: October 13, 2024
Job: Journalists
Accusation: Five journalists – Zulfiqar Wauchope, Shaukat Korai, Allah Rakhyo, Altaf Channa and Pavan Kumar were among those attacked and detained by police in Karachi, along with several other civilians, as they were covering the Sindh Rawadari March, aimed to advocate for civil rights and religious harmony. Police responded with excessive force, arresting over 100 individuals involved in the protest, including the five journalists.
Status: Released October 14, 2024.
SRI LANKA
Name: Kalpa Gunaratne
Gender: Male
Detained: October 3, 2024
Job: Journalist, Mee Messo YouTube channel
Accusation: Arrested for documenting an act of aggression against a young man by a security guard at the Colombo International Book Fair. Charged him with “acting in a manner that disturbed public order.”
Status: Held for about three hours before being granted bail.
Name: Selvakumar Nilanthan
Gender: Male
Detained: October 20, 2024
Job: Journalist
Accusation: Nilanthan was arrested from his home in Batticaloa possibly because of his reporting on alleged corruption involving a Sri Lankan government official in 2020.
Status: Released on October 21, 2024