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

March 5, 2025: Torkham Border (C)
Ongoing trade tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan lead to an exchange of gunfire and ‘heavy weaponry’, leaving journalists Azizullah Hassani, Wali Mohammad Shinwar and Hedayat Shah Hedayat of Shamshad TV injured by mortar shells.

April 6, 2024: Ghazni (A)
Habib Rahman Taseer, a journalist for Radio Azadi in southeastern Ghazni, is arrested after a Radio Azadi broadcast was interpreted as ‘insulting’ a senior Imam and attendees of religious services at mosques. He is detained on blasphemy charges and sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

May 4, 2024: Parwan (A)
Reporter, anchor, and news producer of the Taliban-run national broadcaster Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), Neda Mohammad Noori, is taken into Taliban custody while travelling to work. Media reports claim his arrest is due to his alleged collaboration with exiled Afghan media outlets, although no official reason for the arrest has been provided. Noori is released on May 11.

June 1, 2024: Kunduz (A)
Radio Zahra broadcast director Ali Sina Khodayar is arrested by the Taliban, reportedly after he failed to meet with local officers. Held for over a week, Khodayar is released on June 9.

July 12, 2024: Kandahar (A)
TOLOnews TV reporter Mohammadyar Majrooh is detained by Taliban security forces on July 12, with the reasons for his arrest unknown. A source within the Taliban local administration confirmed the arrest of Majrooh, stating he was summoned and detained by a Kandahar court.

July 14, 2024: Kabul (A)
Editor and producer of ANAR Media YouTube channel, Sayed Waris Saeedi, is arrested alongside his father and fellow journalist Sayed Rahim Saeedi and cameraperson Hasib, with no clear reason given. Sayed Waris is released after two days, following a Taliban interrogation.

July 27, 2024: Kandahar (A)
Mohammad Ibrahim Mohtaj, broadcast manager and presenter with Millat Zhag radio station, is detained while leaving his office by agents of the Taliban’s provincial Directorate of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. He is transferred to an unknown location according before being released on August 3.

August 13, 2024: Herat (A)
The head of the Nedai Baloch News Agency, Mohammad Asif Faizyar, is arrested and charged with failing to cooperate with the Taliban’s media directives, having allegedly published crime reports without obtaining prior approval from the Herat Police Headquarters. Faizyar is released from detention on August 18. In a Telegram post, Faizyar’s news agency claimed it was forced to shut down due to the journalist’s detention.

August 27, 2024: Kabul (F)
During a news conference organised by the Taliban Interior Ministry, Taliban-controlled state broadcaster Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) mutes an unnamed female journalist of Ariana News and refuses to show her image during a question-and-answer session.

September 3, 2024: Kabul (A)
Hamid Ullah Farhadi, a reporter at Etilaatroz Daily, is arrested on the accusation of spreading propaganda against the Taliban. He is sentenced by the court to two years in prison, starting from the date of his arrest.

September 21, 2024: Across Afghanistan (H)
The General Directorate of Intelligence imposes new restrictions on Afghan media, banning the live broadcast of political programs and current affairs shows on domestic outlets. Several media sources confirm the Taliban had also introduced its own trusted experts and instructed outlets not to invite critics of the regime.

September 24, 2024: Across Afghanistan (H)
The Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture summons media executives in Kabul and orders journalists producing daily political discussion shows to seek its approval each morning on proposed topics and participants. Shows must then be pre-recorded and approved by the Taliban prior to broadcasting. Content contrary to Taliban policies or critical of the group or its officials must be removed.

September 28, 2024: Kabul (A)
Journalists Mohammad Arif Hijran and Ahmad Kamran are sentenced to ten years in prison, following their arrest on July 16 for allegedly filming an Ashura ceremony in Kabul’s Police District 11. The pair were later accused of “reporting on security conditions in and around the capital”.

October 2, 2024: Takhar (H)
Taliban’s Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice department in Takhar province bans the photography and filming of meetings involving local officials, two months after implementing the ‘Vice and Virtue Law’.

October 5, 2024: Kabul (A)
Afghan News Agency Reporter, Mahdi Ansary, is arrested by the Taliban’s Intelligence Directorate in the Dasht-e-Barchi area of Kabul. The Taliban reportedly told the journalist’s family that he had been arrested for posting allegedly anti-Taliban videos on his personal YouTube channel. On January 8, Ansary is sentenced to 18 months in prison by a Kabul court.

October 14, 2024: Ghanzi (A)
Hekmat Aryan, director of the privately owned Khushal Radio broadcaster in Ghazni province, is sentenced to one month in prison by the provincial court for allegedly broadcasting content related to Taliban military operations. Aryan was arrested on September 29 in Ghazni City, facing accusations of discussing past Taliban suicide attacks, referred to as ‘martyrdom operations’, in a broadcast by his station.

October 29, 2024: Kabul (A)
A Taliban court sentences Sayed Rahim Saeedi, the editor and producer of YouTube-based broadcaster ANAR Media, to three years in prison on charges of disseminating anti-Taliban propaganda.

October 31, 2024: Kabul (A)
Director of Seda-e-Badghis Radio, Abdul Raziq Siddiqi, is summoned and arrested by the Taliban General Directorate of Intelligence Detention Centre in Kabul. The Taliban Information and Culture Department had previously accused him of producing reports regarding women’s employment. Seddiqi is released on December 4 following an order from the Kabul City Court’s second zone.

December 4, 2024: Kabul (A, H)
Seven members of Arezo TV were arrested by the Taliban after members of the Taliban’s Ministry of Vice and Virtue and the General Directorate of Intelligence raided the outlet, confiscating equipment and taking the staff members into custody. Taliban representatives claim the broadcaster published vulgar and immoral content and had collaborated with exiled international news outlets. All detained Arezo TV staff are released on bail on December 21 upon guaranteeing they would not leave Kabul and attend court sessions.

January 6, 2025: Nooristan (H)
Din Mohammad Mostaghni, the director of the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Nooristan province, issued an order prohibiting the broadcast of living beings.

January 8, 2025: Kabul (A)
Cameraman for Shamshad TV, Saber Rahimi, is arrested on charges of providing false information and engaging in illegal activities. A local court sentences him to six months in prison, however full confirmation of the duration has not been received by the AIJU.

January 8, 2025: Kabul (A)
Ithad Azizi, a reporter for Voice of America, is arrested on charges of providing false information and engaging in illegal activities, but the court deems the 58 days he had already spent in detention as sufficient and orders his release. He is released on March 6, 2025.

February 4, 2025: Kabul (A, H)
Islam Totakhil, a sports journalist for Jawanan Radio, is detained after the Taliban’s Ministry of Virtue and Vice and members of the General Directorate of Intelligence raided the radio station, operated by Begum Organisation for Women and directed toward male audiences. The journalist is in custody awaiting trial.

February 4, 2025: Kabul (A, F)
An unnamed editor is detained following a raid on prominent women’s radio station Radio Begum by the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and members of the General Directorate of Intelligence. The journalist is in custody awaiting trial.

February 13, 2025: Across Afghanistan (H)
The Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture issues a verbal directive to media executives in the capital Kabul, stating that organisations may only address political and economic issues through the group’s spokespersons.

February 13, 2025 (A) *cannot find a location here
Reporter Said Rashid Kashifi is accused of working with Tawana News Agency and providing false information against the Taliban to opposition media outlets abroad. He is still under investigation and will be referred to the court when the findings are concluded.

February 18, 2025: Kabul (A)
Broadcast manager Rasa TV, Ghulam Muhaiudin Sahibzada, is arrested along with his employee Jahadmal Habibi. According to officials, the reason for his arrest is collaboration with and providing false information to media outlets opposed to the Taliban. He remains in custody and is awaiting trial.

February 18, 2025: Kabul (A)
Reporter for Rasa TV, Jahadmal Habibi, is arrested along with his employer. According to officials, the reason for his arrest was collaboration with and providing false information to media outlets opposed to the Taliban. He remains in custody and is awaiting trial.

February 27, 2025: Herat (A)
Editor-in-Chief of Nedai Baloch News Agency, Mohammad Asif Faizyar, is detained by police in Herat, with neither the outlet nor the Taliban providing an explanation or charge for his arrest. This is the second time that he has been arrested by the Herat Police Command for publishing news on his Telegram channel, however, he is released due to AIJU’s mediation after spending one night at the Herat Police Command.

March 6, 2025: Across Afghanistan (H)
Due to the pressure from the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice to implement the ban on publishing images of all living things in the media, the National Radio and Television Department transitions into an audio-based platform, eliminating visual programming completely.

March 18, 2025: Kandahar (H)
The Directorate of Information and Culture in Kandahar introduces a new directive titled ‘Essential Guidelines for Radio Stations in Kandahar’, further prohibiting the broadcast of women’s voices on radio, including messages in entertainment programming. Radio personnel must also obtain official permission from the Directorate before travelling to report in other areas of Kandahar.

April 14, 2025: Kabul (A, B)
Taliban intelligence agents detain independent journalist Sayed Rashed Kashefi 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. Kashefi, who was previously a journalist for the state-owned English-language newspaper The Kabul Times, has been working as an independent reporter covering current affairs in Kabul.

June 13, 2024: Parwan (A, B)
Taliban Intelligence officers detain freelance journalist Abdullah Danish while he is travelling from Kabul to Bagrami district, allegedly over a report critical of the Taliban’s education policies. Danish is reportedly held in an unknown location and severely beaten, sustaining a head injury, before being released on June 15 and going into hiding.

January 9, 2025: Balkh (C)
Ariana News TV reporter Najib Faryad is allegedly robbed by unidentified gunmen in the Balkh province of Mazar-e-Sharif. According to Mujib Rahman Baheer, the head of Ariana News, those responsible stole the journalist’s filming and reporting equipment.

June 6, 2024: Kabul (H)
Reporters working for the private broadcaster Tamadon TV report that Taliban authorities had issued orders to shut down the channel for its alleged connections to a banned political party, the Islamic Movement of Afghanistan, and alleged misuse of Taliban land. A delegation from the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice visit the broadcaster’s office and inform officials that the media outlet operations would be stopped and the office shuttered.

June 13, 2024: Laghman (H)
Taliban Intelligence officers raid private radio station Kawoon Ghag in the city of Mehtarlam, according to the station’s owner Inqilabi Yousefzai. Officials stop broadcasting and expel the station’s 20 staff before sealing and taking control of the building.

July 22, 2024: Nangarhar (H)
The Afghan Telecom Regulatory Authority (ATRA) suspends at least 17 broadcast licenses of 14 media outlets, with the Taliban’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology informing the outlets that their licenses were being temporarily withdrawn due to non-payment of taxes. The 14 media organisations suspended include three television and radio outlets, Hamisha Bahar Radio and TV, Sharq, and Arzasht, as well as 11 radio networks, including The Nan, Radio Safa, Meena, Radio Dost, Mazal, Manar, Muram, Haqiqat, Hood, Spinghar and Ulfat.

July 31, 2024: Across Afghanistan (H)
Afghanistan’s Taliban Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice pledges to implement a law banning news media from publishing images of all living things, including animals. The Taliban also banned live political programmes, critical discussions on government policies, and hosting guests without prior approval, women’s voices in media, and dictated that media must use the terms “martyr” and “martyrdom” when reporting Taliban casualties. The law was finalised in October 2024

September 4, 2024: Kandahar (H)
The Taliban Intelligence Agency suspends the operations of state-run Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), over a violation of the directive prohibiting the broadcast of living beings. Employees are presented with an option to relocate to RTA’s main station in Kabul, despite this proposition complicating geographical and financial considerations.

September 5, 2024: Kabul (H)
The Taliban reportedly blocks signals to prevent Kabul residents from watching London-based broadcaster Afghanistan International. On September 4, the Taliban’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Stanekzai denounced Afghanistan International as an “enemy” for reporting that aid relief sent to the flooded northern province of Baghlan was misused.

September 19, 2024: Badghis (A, H)
The Taliban Intelligence Agency shutters Naraiman Radio for a week, with three unnamed employees arrested in Qadis district the same day and held for four days before their release. Local sources indicate the radio station had been receiving support from the Afghan Journalists Safety Committee (AJSC) for media protection, which may have prompted the Taliban’s actions.

October 14, 2024: Takhar (H)
The Provincial Branch of Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) force privately-owned television channels Mah-e-Naw and Raihan to halt operations following a directive by the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice , prohibiting the broadcast of living beings.

October 31, 2024: Khost (H)
Prominent station Radio Gharghast is shut down on order by the Provincial Department of the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vicefor the broadcast of music. The station resumes operations on November 3, under the condition it refrain from music broadcasting.

November 6, 2024: Khost (H)
Private radio station, Zhman Radio is shut down by the Department of the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice due to the inclusion of theme music during a broadcast.

November 8, 2024: Khost (F, H)
Lawang Radio is shut down by the Taliban’s Department of the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vicefor reportedly violating the Ministry’s ban on education for girls. Lawang Radio served as an educational radio platform, focusing on programs for schoolgirls who had been deprived of education beyond the sixth grade.

December 4, 2024: Kabul (A, H)
Taliban agents from the General Directorate of Intelligence raid the offices of private broadcaster Arezo TV on December 4. Staff members are questioned for four hours, and seven media workers are detained before woman journalists were expelled from the premises, and the network’s offices were sealed. The current whereabouts of the detained journalists are unknown.

February 4, 2025: Kabul (A, F, H)
The Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice and members of the General Directorate of Intelligence raid the women-led station of Radio Begum, suspending broadcast operations and detaining two unidentified male media workers. Documents and essential broadcasting equipment, including computers, hard drives and mobile devices are confiscated.

February 4, 2024: Kabul (A, H)
The Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and members of the General Directorate of Intelligence raid Jawanan radio station, located on the same premises as Radio Begum. GDI officers and representatives of the Ministry of Information and Culture enter the shared building, separating male and female employees and confiscating their mobile phones. After three hours of interrogation and inspections, the officers return the phones but retain computers, hard drives, and documents.

August 21, 2024: Dhaka (A, D)
Shakil Ahmed, former head of news at Bangladeshi broadcaster Ekattor TV, and Farzana Rupa, the broadcaster’s former chief correspondent, are questioned for two hours by police at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka when attempting to board a flight to Istanbul with their daughter, before being taken into custody. The couple appear in court on August 22, where they are sentenced to four days in police remand on charges of inciting violence against individuals involved in the Anti-Discrimination student protest on August 5. Both journalists are charged with the murder of protesters Fazlul Karim and Mohammed Rubel.

September 4, 2024: Chittagong (D)
At least 28 journalists are among 109 people from Chittagong City accused in a case including charges of abduction, assault, and the publication of misinformation surrounding recent protests across Bangladesh. It is alleged that the journalists disseminated false and misleading content, which obscured the true events of the student movement instead of delivering objective reports. The leaders of eight journalist organisations address the case in a joint statement on September 5, claiming that its registration was driven by an attempt to discredit the press and is considered harassment.

September 16, 2024: Mymensingh (A)
Police arrest three journalists, Mozammel Babu, former managing director and editor-in-chief of the privately owned Ekattor TV, Shyamal Dutta, editor of the privately owned newspaper Bhorer Kagoj, and Mahbubur Rahman, Senior Reporter for Ekattor TV, after they allegedly attempt to illegally enter India from Bangladesh’s northern Mymensingh district. The journalists and their outlets are perceived to support former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Rahman is released the following day; however, Babu and Dutta remain in custody over their alleged connection to two murder cases.

October 24, 2024: Chittagong (A)
Police arrest Pranab Barua, correspondent for Daily Manab Zamin, at Akhaura Land port while reportedly trying to travel to India with his wife’s parents to seek medical treatment. He is later arrested in four cases, with the journalist claiming there are no formal charges against him and asserting that the arrest is part of a conspiracy. Barua is released on November 14, 2024.

November 13, 2024: Dhaka (G)
Four journalists who reported or published material on allegedly illicit business practices and labour violations are charged with criminal defamation after a complaint is filed against them. The journalists, H. M. Mehidi Hasan, editor and publisher of investigative newspaper The Weekly Agrajatra, and Kamrul Islam, assignment editor for same paper, Mohammad Shah Alam Khan, editor of online outlet bdnews999, and Al Ehsan, senior reporter for The Daily Post newspaper, face up to two years in prison if convicted.

November 18 and 22, 2024: Dhaka (D)
Prominent journalist and New Age editor Nurul Kabir is harassed twice by immigration officers at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on November 18 and November 22. Kabir says he is subjected to an intrusive interrogation, with his passport confiscated until moments before his flight, and his documents photographed in a breach of privacy while travelling to and from Colombo to attend the 2024 Sri Lanka Asia Media Forum.

November 23, 2024: Dhaka (D)
The Daily Post Reporter Al Ehsan is registered under a criminal case by the Uttarra West Police, two months after publishing tax evasion reports within ‘Dhaka Cotton’ and sister cotton companies in September 2024.

January 30, 2025: Online (UK-based) (B, I)
Shafiur Rahman, a British freelance documentary filmmaker of Bangladeshi origin, receives an influx of threatening emails and social media comments after publishing an article about a meeting between the leadership of Bangladesh’s National Security Intelligence and the armed group Rohingya Solidarity Organisation. Multiple emails warn Rahman to “stop or suffer the consequences” and “back off before it’s too late,” with social media posts including a photo of the journalist with a red target across his forehead.

March 13, 2025: Rajshahi (A)
Abdur Rashid, Singra Upazila correspondent for Daily Samakal, is arrested in Natore after submitting an application under the Right to Information Act, requesting a district officer to provide information about Jalmahal (water bodies). He is arrested in a raid of the ongoing Devil Hunt Operation, implicating him as an unidentified accused in a case. Rashid is released on bail on March 20.

March 16, 2025: Dhaka (G)
A case is filed by Paltan Police Station against 165 individuals, including eight journalists, in connection with their alleged involvement in the mass killing of protestors during the so-called July Uprising on July 19, 2024. The accused journalists are Ayub Bhuiyan, general secretary of National Press Club, Santosh Sharma, editor of the Daily Kalbela, Shariful Islam Mollah, managing editor of Samakal, Saiful Islam, former president of Dhaka Reporters Unity and former chief editor of Boishakhi TV, Zulfiqar Ali Manik, former planning editor of Boishakhi TV, Motahar Hossain of Climate Journal Online, Asaduzzaman of Samakal and Hira Talukder, former reporter of Shomoyer Alo. Some are accused of directly participating in or ordering the attack, while others are alleged to have incited it.

May 26, 2024: Dhaka
Daily Star correspondent Aklakur Rahman Akash is attacked while covering a dispute between owners of a ceramic factory in Savar on the outskirts of Dhaka. According to media reports, Akash sustains injuries to his face, head, eyes, and other parts of his body, with the assailants also taking his phone. Akash is rescued when journalists from other media outlets arrive on the scene, with police arresting two people connected to the assault the following day.

May 27, 2024: Mymensingh (C)
Journalist Enamul Haque, a local correspondent of Dainik Kalbela in Islampur, is stabbed by the owner of the mill while investigating the stocking practices of the Asad Dali Rice Mill. He was transported to receive medical care at the Jamalpur General Hospital. No cases have been filed in relation to the attack, with the mill owner believed to be in hiding.

August 2, 2024: Sylhet
Mithu Das Joy, Bureau Chief of the daily Kalbela, is shot three times with rubber bullets by police while covering nationwide protests in Sylhet, before being taken to Mound Edora Hospital for treatment.

August 4, 2024: Rajshahi
Four journalists are dragged from the Royganj Press Club in Bangladesh’s northern Sirajganj District and beaten by a group of unidentified assailants, while covering anti-government protests in Sirajganj. One journalist, Pradip Kumar Bhawmik, is killed in the attack.

August 4, 2024, Dhaka
The Daily Star photographer Amran Hossain is assaulted near Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University while covering the anti-government protests.

August 4, 2024: Dhaka
The Daily Star‘s country desk in-charge Mahmud Hassan Shanto is assaulted at Kawran Bazar while on his way to work on a motorcycle during the anti-government protests.

August 4, 2024: Chittagong
Reporter FM Mizanur Rahman is beaten by protesters in the New Market area of Chattogram city.

August 4, 2024: Rangpur
Prothom Alo correspondent Mozibur Rahman is attacked by protesters near the Judge Court in Thakurgaon.

August 4, 2024: Across Bangladesh
Ekattor TV Senior Reporter Habib Rahman is assaulted in Hatirjheel, with the outlet’s correspondents in Chandpur, Sylhet, and Munshiganj also attacked.

August 4, 2024: Dhaka
Business Standard newspaper reporters Miraz Hossain and Jahidul Islam are attacked by supporters of the Jubo League, the youth wing of the Awami League.

August 4, 2024: Dhaka
Dhaka Tribune reporter Nawaz Farhin Antara is assaulted by protesters.

August 4, 2024: Dhaka (F)
Channel24’s reporter Shamima Sultana is attacked in the Shahbagh area, with two reporters affiliated with bdnews24.com, Mahmud Hasan and Masum Billah, also assaulted when they tried to protect her.

August 4, 2024: Dhaka
Two journalists with Jai Jai Din, Nahid Hasan and Amirul Islam, are attacked in the Zigatola area covering the protests.

August 4, 2024: Dhaka
SomoyTV reporter Morsalin Jonaed and cameraperson Md Murad are injured in Uttara during the anti-government protests.

August 4, 2024: Dhaka
Reporters Manjur Rahman, of Independent TV, Shahidul Islam, of ATN Bangla, and Dewan Sadman, staff correspondent for Amar News, are injured in clashes during the anti-government protests.

August 5, 2024: Dhaka (F)
Police directly fire rubber bullets at a group of journalists covering the protests, including photojournalist Fabeha Monir who says authorities and protestors were particularly targeting women journalists.

August 13, 2024: Dhaka
Moniruzzaman Monir, a correspondent for the daily Desh Rupantar in Raipura and president of the Raipur Upazila Reporters Club, is assaulted and shot by approximately ten unidentified assailants in Narayanganj. The attackers ambush Monir near his home, striking him with a hammer, before shooting him several times. The journalist is taken to the Raipur Upazila Health Complex, before being transferred to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital for more intensive treatment. The reason behind the assault remains unclear, however reports claim it was due to Monir’s recent coverage of local corruption.

August 14, 2024: Chittagong
A group of between 30 to 40 attackers linked to the Bangladesh National Party injure at least 20 journalists during an assault on the Chittagong Press Club in south-eastern Bangladesh, with the assailants breaking into the building after forcibly opening the main gate. The group proceed to the main office on the fourth floor, vandalising rooms, stealing cash and documents, and attacking several journalists inside the club, including senior journalist Nirmal Chandra Das, Golam Mortaza Ali, and Helal Sikder.

August 15, 2025: Dhaka
Two visiting foreign reporters, including an Indian journalist working for France 24, are attacked by a crowd of demonstrators in Dhaka and forced to delete video footage from their cameras.

August 17, 2024: Sylhet
Two Somoy TV journalists, reporter Avijeet Banik Apu and cameraman Naushad Ahmed Chowdhury, are attacked by a group of student protesters while covering a demonstration outside a secondary school in the northeastern city of Sylhet.

August 19, 2024: Dhaka (F)
After a group of at least 70 armed individuals attacked the offices of the East West Media Group Limited Complex, a female journalist is assaulted but sustains no serious injuries.

August 25, 2024: Dhaka
Prothom Alo’s Dhaka University correspondent Asif Himadri is attacked and injured by members of a paramilitary group, known as Ansars, despite identifying himself as a journalist. He was covering a clash between university students and political workers outside the Secretariat Complex of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

September 24, 2024: Chittagong
Around 15 to 20 men severely beat Mosharrof Shah, a correspondent for the privately owned daily newspaper Prothom Alo, on the University of Chittagong campus in southeast Bangladesh.

September 29, 2024: Chittagong
Dhakapost.com correspondent and journalist Sayedul Islam Farhad is assaulted and has his phone stolen by unknown assailants outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Cox Bazar.

October 9, 2024: Mymensingh
Jamuna Television journalist Hossain Shahid and cameraperson Delwar Hossain are assaulted and sustained severe injures by a man named Alif Imran, who attacked them with an iron rod at Patgodam Railway Crossing in New Colony, Mymensingh city. The two media workers were on their way to Bangladesh Agricultural University to cover a story when the attack occurred. Shahid fractured his right hand from the assault. No case has been lodged regarding the incident.

November 8, 2024: Khulna (C)
Shahidul Islam, a local journalist and staff reporter for Khulna Gazette and district correspondent for News21 Bangla TV, is assaulted by approximately 30 unidentified people armed with locally made weapons in Rupsa upazila, located in the western Khulna district. Islam is attacked as he returned home but escaped and managed to contact authorities. The journalist was severely injured in the assault and taken to a private hospital. Islam had been actively covering environmental matters, including the coal-making processes of Goalbari Poramanik Bari temple in Rupsa Upazila.

November 15, 2024: Mymensingh (C)
Shahidul Islam is again attacked the same week at Pogaldigha College while covering a Student Union conference.

November 17, 2024: Dhaka
Kaler Kantho journalist Mohammad Junayed Sheikh is assaulted by members of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) at Jagannath University campus whilst recording an altercation between students. Sheikh says a number of people associated with the JCD attempt to snatch his phone and assaulted him, despite the journalist identifying himself.

November 21, 2024: Khulna (B)
Independent TV correspondent Ziaul Haq and cameraperson Sharif Khan are assaulted while reporting on corruption, with unidentified assailants confined the pair for half an hour before police arrived at the scene.

February 3, 2025: Dhaka
Shariatpur-based journalists Sohag Khan Sujan of Samakal, Bidhan Mojumder Oni of New24 Television, Nayan Das of Bangla TV, and Saiful Islam Akash of Desh TV, are attacked and injured by a group of unknown people in front of Shariatpur District’s Deputy Commissioner’s Office south of Dhaka. The journalists had a disagreement with the hospital’s owner over an article alleging medical negligence, after which the owner and other individuals attacked the media workers with knives and hammers. No arrests have yet been made.

February 5, 2025: Barisal
Journalist Zahirul Islam Miron, Kuakata correspondent of Banglavision and former general secretary of Kuakata Press Club, is attacked and severely injured by a group of unidentified people outside his house in the southern Bangladeshi town of Kuakata in Patuakhali’s Kalapara upazila. Miron is treated for his injuries at Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital in Barisal.

February 5, 2025: Dhaka
Several journalists are allegedly attacked by members of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party on the premises of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh in Dhaka, while covering a High Court verdict acquitting previously convicted individuals in a 1994 alleged assassination attempt against then-opposition leader and ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Several journalists are injured, allegedly by political activists, while ATN News Senior Reporter Zabed Akhter is seriously injured and admitted to Islami Bank Central Hospital in Kakrail.

March 27, 2025: Barisal
Journalists N Amin Russell and Monirul Islam are assaulted whilst covering an event at the Barisal Court premises on March 27. The journalists alleged the attack was led by Barisal District Chhatra Dal’s Organising Secretary, Sohel Rari, and his associates.

March 28, 2025: Dhaka
Three employees of the Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU) are injured during an attack by unidentified miscreants wielding rods, machetes, and hockey sticks at DRU premises after witnessing the forging of ration cards. The injured journalists were identified as Zakir Hossain Babul, Zahidul Islam and Robidul Islam, with both Islam and Babul treated in critical condition for head injuries.

April 2, 2025: Dhaka (F)
Rafia Tamanna, a female journalist and editorial assistant at New Age, and her brother, are assaulted after confronting a group who had allegedly been following her near their home in the Banasree area of Dhaka.

April 6, 2025: Rajshahi
Editor for Natore-based Daily Prantojon and college lecturer, Sajedul Islam Selim, are attacked by assailants while returning home from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib College in Chandrakala. A group of men intercept Selim’s motorcycle near Chandrakala Bazar, dragging him to a nearby tea stall, stealing his mobile phone, and battering him with hockey sticks and wooden poles. The unidentified group of assailants proceed to vandalise his motorcycle, warn him not to return to the college and flee the scene. He is taken to hospital with both arms broken.

April 22, 2025: Khulna (A)
Roknuzzaman Tipu Sultan, the Tala Upazila correspondent of Kaler Kantho in Satkhira, is sentenced to ten days in jail by a mobile court after investigating alleged irregularities in a project for the Tala Upazila Complex building. While collecting information at the site based on reports of poor construction, the assistant engineer began verbally abusing him and assaulting him with an umbrella.

April 25, 2025: Chittagong
News correspondent for bdnews24.com, Mainuddin Rubel, is attacked by former joint secretary of Bijoynagar Upazaila Jubo Dal party, Qayyum Mia, and supporters of the local Swechchhasebak league in Brahmanbaria over publishing an agriculture report. He alleges that the attack was carried out with an intent to kill him.

July 18, 2024: Dhaka
Dhaka Times journalist Hasan Mehedi is killed after he was shot in the head by police while covering a clash between law enforcement and protesting students and activists in Dhaka’s southern Jatra Bari area.

July 18, 2024: Dhaka
Shakil Hossain, a correspondent for the Daily Bhorer Awaj newspaper, is killed while reporting in Gazipur City.  According to local sources, Hossain was also active in the July movement, and his presence at the student rally where he was killed was more likely as a participant than a reporter.

July 19, 2024: Sylhet
Abu Taher Md Turab, a journalist for the Daily Jalalabad and Daily Naya Diganta newspapers, is killed when police begin firing into a procession in the northeast city of Sylhet. Turab is wearing a press vest when he is fatally shot.

July 19, 2024: Dhaka
Tahir Zaman Priyo, 28, a journalist and former videographer of online news portal thereport.live, is fatally shot in the head as law enforcers open fire to disperse quota reform protesters in the Science Lab area of the capital.

August 4, 2024: Rajshahi
Journalist Pradip Kumar Bhawmik, the Upazila correspondent for the Daily Khoborpatra, and four others were dragged from the Royganj Press Club in Bangladesh’s northern Sirajganj District and beaten by a group of unidentified assailants. He later succumbed to his injuries.

October 12, 2024: Mymensingh
Veteran journalist and former vice-president of a local press club, Swapan Kumar, Bhadra is hacked to death outside his home in Mymensingh district. Kumar was active on social media, where he frequently addressed issues such as terrorism, drug trafficking, and other local concerns. Media reports indicated that an assailant, against whom the journalist wrote on social media, attacked him with a knife.

July 18, 2024: Dhaka
Thousands of protestors set the offices of Bangladesh Television (BTV) in central Dhaka alight with journalists and media workers reportedly still inside, while vandalising several vehicles parked outside.

August 4, 2024, Dhaka
A group of unidentified people throw brick chunks and stones at The Daily Star Centre on the Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue, breaking the glass doors and windowpanes on the ground floor. The incident took place during a clash between protesters and law enforcers aided by ruling party men.

August 4, 2024: Dhaka
Protesters attack Bangladesh’s only music-based television channel, Gaan Bangla, with a video showing nearly all the glass panes of the building shattered. The attackers destroy equipment inside and throw all the remaining equipment out of the windows. A fire is also seen burning in front of the building

August 5, 2024: Dhaka
Protesters attack the office of news network ATN Bangla’ in Dhaka’s Kawran Bazar. “Nothing is left in our office. Everything has been taken except tables,” said a senior reporter at ATN News. The attack was carried out just after the resignation of prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

August 5, 2024: Dhaka
Protesters attack and vandalise media houses Ekattor TV and Somoy TV following the resignation of Sheikh Hasina from the post of premier in the wake of Anti-Discrimination Students’ Movement. Cars on the ground floor of Somoy Television office are vandalized, and while protesters tried to enter the Somoy TV office, they are stopped by security guards.

August 14, 2024: Chittagong
A group of attackers break into Chittagong Press Club after forcibly opening the main gate, proceeding to the main office while vandalising rooms and stealing cash and documents. The assailants attack and injure at least 20 journalists inside the club. Between 30 to 40 individuals are involved in the attack and are linked to activists and leaders in the Bangladesh National Party.

August 18, 2024: Dhaka
A group of at least 70 armed individuals attack the offices of the East West Media Group Limited Complex. The unidentified assailants approached the group’s offices brandishing hockey sticks and batons and shouting slogans targeting former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Over ten vehicles parked outside office premises are damaged, with furniture and equipment inside the offices vandalised. According to reports, a female journalist was also assaulted but sustained no serious injuries.

May 31, 2024: Maharashtra (G)
Independent journalist Vinay Pande registers a legal complaint with Nagpur police after receiving death threats, including one message threatening to behead him, on Instagram, allegedly for his reporting on the Palestinian genocide.

November 8, 2024: Maharashtra (B, F)
The phone number of independent journalist and columnist with the Washington Post Rana Ayyub is leaked on social media platform X, with the journalist receiving over 200 WhatsApp messages, as well as phone calls and video call requests, including many rape and death threats.

March 9, 2025: Maharashtra (B, G, A)
Mumbai police arrest Tushar Abaji Kharat, editor of Lay Bhari News, a local YouTube channel from Satara, for uploading alleged ‘defamatory content’ against State Minister Jaykumar Gore on his channel, with the journalist sent to judicial custody until March 26. Gore alleges Kharat conspired to defame him by reporting on sexual assault and molestation cases and demanded Rs 5 crore (approx. USD 584,000) in an extortion attempt for his silence. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) social media coordinator and Gore’s aide, Shekhar Patole, also lodges a complaint alleging Kharat made ‘casteist comments” and death threats against him.

June 8, 2024: Delhi (G)
Delhi police inform The Caravan magazine that an FIR has been lodged against three of its journalists, Shahid Tantray, Prabhjit Singh, and an unnamed female journalist, nearly four years after an incident of violence against them in Delhi in 2020. They are not given a certified copy of the First Information Reports (FIR), with authorities citing its ‘sensitive nature’, with charges including ‘outraging the modesty of a woman’ and ‘promoting communal enmity’.”

June 17, 2024: Delhi (D)
New Delhi-based French journalist Sébastien Farcis, reporting for French daily newspaper Libération and the French public radio broadcasters RFI and Radio France, is forced to leave India after the Ministry of Home Affairs refused to renew his work permit on March 7, in an alarming signal to foreign personnel in India. He returns to France on June 17 after repeated appeals to the ministry were ignored, with Farcis stating that he was deeply shocked by this “incomprehensible censorship” after working as a journalist in India for 13 years.

July 6, 2024: Uttar Pradesh (B, D)
Police in Uttar Pradesh register FIRs against independent journalists Zakir Ali Tyagi and Wasim Akram Tyagi for allegedly inciting religious enmity through ‘malicious’ posts on social media platform X stating that a Muslim resident of Shamli district was killed in a July 4 ‘mob lynching’. The police complaint claims that the posts by Zakir and Wasim violate two sections of the new penal code, promoting enmity between groups and making statements causing public mischief.

July 11, 2024: Maharashtra (H)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led MahaYuti government tables the Maharashtra Special Public Security (MSPS) Act, 2024, aimed at curbing the ‘menace of Naxalism’ in urban areas. The provisions of the proposed Bill, which allows the State to declare any organisation as ‘unlawful’, raises concerns that it could curb freedom of press. Critics say at least seven sections of the Bill are either vague, bypass courts or give overriding powers to the State machinery, which is far beyond the objective of curbing Naxalism. The Bill is reintroduced by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and subsequently sent to a joint select committee for review. The committee is likely to present its recommendations in June 2025.

October 7, 2024: Uttar Pradesh (D)
Uttar Pradesh police file an FIR against award-winning journalist Mohammed Zubair in Ghaziabad city. The complaint cites several provisions of India’s new penal code, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), in relation to Zubair’s social media post on controversial comments made by a Hindu priest.

December 5, 2024: Delhi (D, I)
Indian journalist Anand Mangnale is the target of an online smear campaign that began on December 5 when Nishikant Dubey, a parliament member with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), linked Mangnale to an alleged effort to ‘derail’ the Indian government through foreign funding. Mangnale, the South Asia regional editor at investigative news outlet Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), is known for his reporting on alleged corporate malfeasance, financial irregularities, and corruption involving the Adani Group, one of India’s largest conglomerates.

January 21, 2025: Assam (A)
Digital journalist Addul Majan is arrested by the police for ‘falsely’ reporting about a hit-and-run case allegedly involving the son of an influential politician in Sootea. He is released on bail the next day.

March 12, 2025: Telangana (A)
Hyderabad based journalist Pogadadanda Revathi managing director of online channel Pulse News is arrested on March 12 and sent to judicial custody for allegedly publishing defamatory content against the Telangana state Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, and of sharing obscene material electronically, false information to incite hatred, intentional insult, and criminal conspiracy charges. The claims are in relation to an interview posted on social media platform X, between Pulse News and an individual making remarks deemed offensive against the Chief Minister. Revathi is granted bail on March 17.

March 12, 2025: Telangala (A)
Reporter with Pulse News, Bandi Sandhya, also known as Thanvi Yadav, is arrested on March 12 and sent to judicial custody for allegedly publishing defamatory content against the Telangana state Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, on charges of sharing obscene material electronically, false information to incite hatred, intentional insult, and criminal conspiracy charges. The claims are in relation to an interview posted on social media platform X, between Pulse News and an individual making remarks deemed offensive against the Chief Minister. Yadav is granted on March 17.

March 25 & March 27, 2025: Assam (A)
Dilwar Hussain Mozumder, chief reporter of digital media portal The CrossCurrent, is arrested by Assam Police on March 25 after covering a demonstration coordinated by Assam Jatiya Parishad’s youth wing, Jatiya Yuva Shakti, against alleged corruption in Assam Co-Operative Apex Bank Ltd. He is released on bail on March 26 and rearrested on March 27, before being released from jail on March 29. He was charged by the Kamrup Chief Magistrate Court for violating the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, with the district police of Hojai also arresting Mozumder’s brother in retaliation on charges of land grabbing, forgery and criminal breach of trust on April 2, 2025.

March 30, 2025: Telangana (A)
South First journalist, Sumit Jha, is 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. Jha is taken into custody, alongside student protesters, while recording a confrontation between students and police. Despite clearly identifying himself as a journalist and displaying his Press ID card, Jha was reportedly driven around the university campus in a police van for an extended period before being taken to Kollur Police Station, and released shortly afterwards.

April 28, 2025: Tripura (A)
Journalist for Agartala-based daily newspaper, Naren Chakraborty, was arrested under charges related to obscenity and privacy violations in Teliamura for circulating a controversial sex video featuring local BJP leader Dilip Sarkar. The investigation is ongoing.

May 12, 2024: Uttar Pradesh
Digital outlet Molitics reporter Raghav Trivedi is assaulted by political activists, allegedly linked to the Bharatiya Janata Party, at a demonstration led by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the central district of Raebareli. Trivedi asks several women if they had been paid to attend, after which he is surrounded by demonstrators, told to delete the videos, beaten and locked in a waiting room with police not intervening. He later regains consciousness in a hospital after the attack.

May 23, 2024: Madhya Pradesh (G)
Journalist Ankur Jaiswal lodges a police complaint after he is attacked by habitual offender Satish Bhau and accomplices at a private event in the Banganga area of Indore, for publishing material exposing their criminal activities.

June 1, 2024: West Bengal (B)
Freelance journalist Bunty Mukherjee is severely injured during violent clashes, reportedly between Bharatiya Janata Party and the All India Trinamool Congress supporters on the last day of voting in the Lok Sabha elections in Canning, a town east of the capital Kolkata. Mukherjee is hit by a stone on his head and transferred to the Medical Super Specialty Hospital in Kolkata for treatment.

July 16, 2024: Manipur
Khoirom Loyalakpa, editor of Naharolgi Thoudang vernacular daily newspaper, is attacked by unknown assailants at his residence in Imphal East District, in Manipur. The assailants fire several rounds at Loyalakpa’s residence.

August 1, 2024: Manipur
Impact TV broadcast journalist M Rameshchandra, popularly known as RC Mangang, is allegedly beaten by a policeman while covering a mass rally organised by the Internally Displaced Persons people of Moreh, in the Akampat area in Manipur. Despite identifying himself as a journalist to police, an officer physically assaults him, punching him multiple times, tearing his shirt, breaking his mobile phone and threatening to kill him. He is transported to Raj Medicity in the capital Imphal, for treatment.

September 8, 2024: Tripura
Prasenjit Bhattacharjee, Bijoy Singha Roy, Pranab Shil and Mihir Sarkar, journalists with various media outlets, are assaulted by armed men near Chandrapur Inter-State Bus Terminus in Agartala, near midnight. The assailants also stole ornaments and damaged cameras and phones.

September 28, 2024: Uttarakhand
Hindustan reporter Pramod Dalakoti is reportedly assaulted, his glasses broken, and robbed while covering a clash between rival student union leaders associated with the Parivartan Kami Chhatra Sangathan (Pachas) and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) at the entrance of the Motiram Baburam Govt. Post Graduate College in Haldwani.

December 18, 2024: Assam
Assam Police use tear gas against journalists in Guwahati while covering a demonstration protesting unrest in Manipur, allegations of bribery against the Adani Group, and the installation of smart meters in Assam. One civilian dies as a result of the gas.

April 12, 2025: Madhya Pradesh
Six attackers forcibly enter the house of Brajesh Dixit, a journalist with a Hindi daily and attack him with swords in the Amagon area in Narsinghpur. Dixit sustains injuries to his head and other body parts and is admitted to hospital. According to the journalist, he was targeted after running stories exposing a betting racket in the Kareli area of the district, with Raja Sisodia, Rajendra Sisodia, Munna Sisodia, and three others charged for the assault.

April 13, 2025: Maharashtra
Swati Hadkar, a female journalist working for a YouTube channel, is allegedly attacked by members of the Sand Mafia in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra while capturing videos of an illegal sand excavation activity at a river in Chiplun.

April 15, 2025: Assam
Unknown assailants pelt stones at the home of journalist Brajen Gogoi, badly damaging his house. Gogoi had just filed a report on a tense standoff at the Naoholia Police Outpost earlier the same day.

April 17, 2025: Jharkhand
During a protest by Congress at Randhir Verma Chowk against the Enforcement Directorate, four journalists covering a fight between two factions of the Congress are attacked with sticks and rods. One of the injured journalist’s camera is broken in the attack, and all four are taken to hospital.

April 23, 2025: Jammu and Kashmir
Senior journalist for Dainik Jagran, Rakesh Sharma, is chased and assaulted by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists while covering a protest over the Pahalgam terror attack in Kathua district. In videos widely circulated on social media, BJP workers are seen assaulting Sharma, kicking and manhandling him in retaliation for alleged “separatist language” used by journalists.

May 13, 2024: Uttar Pradesh (C)
Sudarshan News journalist and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member, Ashutosh Srivastava, is shot by unknown assailants while travelling from his home in Sabrahad village to the Imranganj market, outside the eastern Uttar Pradesh city of Jaunpur. He is transferred to a local hospital after the attack but is declared dead on arrival. According to Srivastava’s family, he had received threats prior to his killing, reportedly linked to his coverage of the alleged slaughter of cows in the area and had sought police protection, which was denied.

June 25, 2024: Bihar
Journalist Shivshankar Jha, who worked for several Hindi media outlets, sustains multiple wounds after being stabbed by unidentified assailants, allegedly organised by illicit alcohol suppliers in Bihar. Jha is attacked while returning home in Maripur village, near Muzaffarpur, and is rushed by local residents to the Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital, where he dies on June 26. Jha had complained to the police about threats to his life prior to the attack.

September 17, 2024: Madhya Pradesh
Broadcast journalist Salman Ali Khan is fatally shot by three unidentified assailants riding a motorcycle outside a local hospital in Rajgarh District of Madhya Pradesh. Khan is accompanied by his nine-year-old son while riding his scooter when the attackers approach and open fire. The journalist is pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.

January 1, 2025: Chhattisgarh (B)
The body of freelance journalist Mukesh Chandrakar is discovered in a septic tank at the home of a private contractor in Bijapur, with police suspecting the killing was related to his December report on irregularities and corruption in a road construction project. Police accuse his three relatives, Ritesh Chandrakar, Dinesh Chandrakar, and Suresh Chandrakar, as well as Mahendra Ramteke, their employer, of involvement in the killing and subsequent attempts to hide his body. Chandrakar was lured into a premeditated location under false pretences at a site owned by Suresh. Mukesh sustained fatal blows by metal rods to his head, back, stomach and chest, his liver was torn into four pieces, five of his ribs were broken, his head had 15 fractures, his heart was found ripped apart, his neck was broken, and one hand was broken into two pieces.

March 8, 2025: Uttar Pradesh
Raghvendra Bajpai, correspondent for Hindi daily Dainik Jagran, is fatally shot shortly after receiving a phone call and travelling on the Sitapur-Delhi National Highway in Uttar Pradesh to meet a land tax collector. Unknown assailants riding a motorcycle ram Bajpai’s motorcycle, shooting him at least three times in the upper abdomen. Bajpai is rushed to a nearby hospital where he is pronounced dead on arrival. His family members suspect the killing is related to his reporting on alleged irregularities in rice paddy sales and stamp duties in the central-north region, which resulted in the suspension of four local administrative officials.

June 6, 2024: Andhra Pradesh (I)
Cable operators in Andhra Pradesh reportedly block the transmission of four channels, Sakshi TV, TV9, NTV, and 10TV for reporting on the Telugu Desam Party, which defeated the incumbent Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party in state-level elections.

July 7, 2024: Uttar Pradesh (H)
Thana Bhawan police station files an FIR against YouTube channel Hindustani Media for promoting enmity between groups under Section 196 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and circulating false information to promote enmity, under Section 353(2). The channel had carried a report of an alleged mob lynching of a Muslim man in Shamli district.

January 28, 2025: Delhi (H)
The Income Tax Department revokes the non-profit status of Indian news outlet The Reporters’ Collective, which produces investigative journalism in multiple formats and languages and is critical of the current administration. The department also revoked the non-profit status of Kannada language digital website The File in December 2024, and announced this on January 28. The revocation of a non-profit status means entities will be taxed as a commercial entity, subjecting donations to taxation, which could discourage potential funding. The loss of their non-profit status severely impairs its ability to do work and worsens the conditions for independent journalism in the country.

March 9-11, 2025: Across India
Days after reporting on the Wildlife Animal Protection Forum of South Africa raising concerns about the functioning of the Anant Ambani-led Reliance-owned Vantara Animal and Rehabilitation Centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat, at least three major media outlets take down their stories from the web. Media outlets that did not take down the story, such as Northeast Now in Assam and Vartha Bharati, in Karnataka received threatening emails and were also approached by a PR firm and offered financial incentives to take down the article or change it to a different version which the agency would propose.

April 28, 2024: Malé (I, F)
Alongside threats to set the offices of independent news outlet RaajjeTV ablaze and end its operations, Senior video Journalist Laisa Ahmed was personally targeted in the comment section of a post by Raajje TV on Instagram. The threat has not been publicly disclosed in full, however it is reported that violent language was used against Ahmed.

March 14, 2025: Malé (D)
Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu allegedly intimidates prominent journalist and CEO of independent news outlet Adhadhu, Hussain Fiyaz Moosa, threatening to take ‘strict action’ against the journalist and Adhadhu for recent coverage regarding the decision by First Lady Sajidha Mohamed to commence legal action against the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party for comments made about their son by a party activist at a rally. The Muizzu government launches a targeted campaign to diminish the news outlet, allegedly pressuring advertising partners to cease financial relationships.

April 28, 2024: Malé (I)
An anonymous individual posts a comment on Instagram threatening to set the offices of independent news outlet RaajjeTV ablaze and end its operations. In response, the news outlet refers an official complaint to the Maldives Police Service, calling for an official investigation and protection measures for the station and its media workers.

April 28, 2024: Malé (I)
Independent broadcaster Channel 13 faces threats via a Facebook comment on an article threatening that the outlet would not be ‘given the opportunity to spread discord’ through its operations.

August 2, 2024: Malé
The Muizzu government, via the Maldives Media Council (MMC), blocks news website Dhenme over the ‘publication of content that violates social norms and standards’. An inquiry flagged alleged uses of inappropriate language and publishing news without regard to reputation or slander, with the MMC also asserting the website regularly disregarded the media code of conduct.

May 3, 2024: Kathmandu
Dunduraj Acharya, the editor of Nepalprofit.com, receives a death threat from the central member and district president of the Nepali Congress-affiliated student organisation Nebi Sangh, regarding a news piece he published.

July 23, 2024: Bagmati
A person named Kapil C, who claims to be the secretariat secretary of student organisation CPN-Biplav, calls Jana Aastha Weekly editor and former acting chairman of Nepal’s Press Council, Kishor Shrestha, and verbally abuses him. The caller threatens physical violence and says they will bomb Shrestha’s house. A week later, an armed individual visits the Jana Aastha Weekly office demanding Shrestha’s presence.

August 10, 2024: Gandaki
An unknown person calls investigative journalist Subhak Mahatto of Nepal Ground Zero on WhatsApp, insulting and threatening to kill him and his family members. According to Mahatto, he is pressured not to write news about the Pokhara Regional International Airport and the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, with the threats coming after the outlet’s publication of evidence of corruption during the construction the airport and other irregularities within the Authority.

May 7, 2024: Koshi
Construction entrepreneur Binod Thapa verbally threatens Chiranjivi Ghimire, a member of the executive committee of the Federation of Nepali Journalists’ (FNJ) Jhapa branch and a correspondent for the Naya Patrika daily, over a news item titled “Illegal exploitation of the Mawa River with the help of public representatives’ threats from contractors to locals” published in the online edition of the daily.

May 14, 2024: Bagmati
Journalists Chhabi Anitya and Manju Mainali are verbally abused with threatening language during their investigation of errors seen on the birth certificate of the Chepang family. When discussing the matter with the Nepali authorities, they are also threatened.

May 21, 2024: Kathmandu (A)
Nepali police arrest Kailash Sirohiya, chairman of Kantipur Publications Limited, after an arrest warrant was issued by the District Court in Dhanusha for a citizenship investigation. Sirohiya alleges he is arrested in retaliation for continuously reporting on various allegations against Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane.

May 26, 2024
Journalist Keshav Khadka of SutraNews.com is verbally abused by the producers of local film Pharki Pharki regarding a negative review he published online.

July 5, 2024: Koshi
Journalist Sanjita Dhamala, working for Purveli News.com, is abused by Harkaraj Sampang Rai, the mayor of Dharan Sub-metropolitan City in Sunsari, calling her to his office, abusing her and then forcibly removing her with the assistance of local police. The abuse follows Dhamala informing the mayor that she was aware that he sought bribes by people’s representatives for recommendation of citizenship certificates.

July 24, 2024: Kathmandu (H)
Journalists are obstructed from reporting news regarding the parliamentary hearing of Krishna Man Pradhan, who was recommended as the Commissioner of the Election Commission.

July 29, 2024: Gandaki (D)
Rajiv Gurung, Minister for Physical Infrastructure Development of Gandaki Province, makes a public threat targeting Amrit Subedi, a member of the FNJ Kaski branch and Gandaki Bureau Chief of Online Khabar.com. According to FNJ, Subedi had made public a photo of Minister Gurung wearing a ganji (a casual undergarment) in his office on July 26.

July 30, 2024: Madhesh
Mahottari-based journalist Rajesh Singh, working for newspaper Rajdhani Today Online, is abused by Kanti Pandey, an employee of the National Cooperative Board, while reporting from the Nigaul Gai Gaushala office to collect news about a cow shelter at the request of locals. Singh’s mobile phone is confiscated inside the office meeting room and is abused by Pandey, with police present at the scene also reprimanding the journalist.

August 2, 2024: Karnali
Karnali Awaz.com’s chief reporter Mohan Singh is verbally abused by Ganga Regmi, a nurse working at the Health Service Office in Jajarkot, while he took photos after hearing complaints from service recipients at the Jajarkot Health Service Office. Regmi attempts to assault Singh and take control of his camera, deleting photos before calling the district police office.

August 6, 2024: Madhesh (H)
Several journalists, including Federation Saptari Secretary and Kantipur Television correspondent Ram Narayan Biswas, Treasurer Navin Kumar Gupta, and Bidyananda Ram, are obstructed from collecting news about a protest being carried out by local residents by the municipality chairperson, Om Prakash Mandal.

August 21, 2024: Madhesh
Mukesh Yadav (Swami), a member of the FNJ Siraha district chapter, is verbally abused by Shiva Shankar Mahato, the mayor of Dhangadhimai Municipality in Siraha, regarding the news item broadcast on Supreme Khabar Online, News Karkhana and Prime Television on August 7, 2024.

October 20, 2024: Madhesh (A)
Local police arrest Bijay Shah, a member of the FNJ Siraha chapter and the editor of Dastak Khabar, from the newspaper’s office over material published on obscene dances and disorderly conduct at an entertainment program organised at the Durga Temple in Lahan for the Dashain festival.

October 22, 2024: Karnali
Balendra Oli, a journalist with the National News Agency and Kakhara Online, is obstructed from covering a program attended by Karnali Province Chief Minister Yamalal Kandel, who verbally abuses Oli, telling him not to record video and to leave.

November 22, 2024: Kathmandu
Bibhisha Pokharel, head of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication of Tribhuvan University, threatens Royal Acharya, general secretary of the FNJ’s Associate Provincial Committee and editor of KTM Voice, over a news story published against the university, regarding the issue of students passing their exams by accepting bribes.

December 4, 2024: Koshi (I)
Journalist Gopal Dahal is threatened by the mayor of Dharan Sub-metropolitan City in Sunsari, Hark Sampang (Harkraj Rai), via social media for an investigative report.

December 31, 2024: Sudurpashchim (D)
Simana News.com is sent a letter by the Dadeldhura District Administration Office to remove a news item about Chief District Officer Chomeendra Neupane its channel. Neupane also verbally threatens to arrest the journalist who published the article.

January 4, 2025: Madhesh (I)
Threats and defamatory statuses are published on social media targeting Jialal Sah, a member of the FNJ’s Parsa district chapter and a journalist of Sidhakura.com., regarding a news item published on the outlet on December 29, 2024 investigating the admission of a person with a controversial background into the Communist Party of Nepal.

January 22, 2025: Bagmati
Gopal Dahal, a correspondent for Himalkhabar.com, is verbally abused and threatened with assault by AMS Music and Entertainment chairman, Satyakala Tamang Lama, over a news story published about the company.

February 24, 2025: Sudurpashchim
Dirgha Raj Upadhyay, editor of Paschim Today daily, and his family are threatened and harassed through a fake account on social media after an article critical of the mayor of Dhangadi Metropolitan was published.

February 24, 2025: Kathmandu
KBL International Chairman Kumar Karki threatens Kyodai News Editor-in-Chief Deepak Gautam over a news item published in Kyodai News about the company sending people from Nepal to Japan by creating fake certificates of eligibility. Karki sends voice messages to Gautam through social media, verbally abusing him and threatening him with physical abuse.

March 4, 2025: Kathmandu (H)
The Federal Parliament Secretariat announces that it had suspended the passes of journalists Kishor Shrestha and Prakash Oli for one month for allegedly violating the journalistic code of conduct when they questioned the Prime Minister while he left the House of Representatives meeting.

July 28, 2024: Gandaki
Journalists Bina Thapa and Suraj Thapa are assaulted by public transport drivers while reporting on a protest against ride sharing at Prithvi Chowk in Pokhara, with their scooter vandalised.

August 4, 2024: Kathmandu
Prince Mishra, a journalist working for Himalaya Television Foundation, is severely beaten after questioning Devi Pratibha, a reader at the Kotihom run in Pashupati.

August 16, 2024: Kathmandu
Journalist Shyam Sundar Pudasaini of Nepal Views.com, who had reached Pashupatinath premises on the last day of the Kotihom religious program to report on the event, is chased, assaulted and has his belongings looted by the program organisers. At midnight, Pudasaini is forcibly taken to the stage in Banakali and is subjected to public humiliation and harassment.

September 20, 2024: Kathmandu
Unknown assailants attack Bharat Lamichhane, a FNJ, Kathmandu branch member, correspondent for Mega Television, and editor of National News, near Hotel Everest in New Baneshwor while he travels to the office.

October 9, 2024: Gakandi
Journalists Bikram Rai and Sunil Rai, working for Purnapushti Weekly and Purnapushti.com, are attacked by the operator of the cafeteria of the Treasury and Accounts Control Office in Udayapur while reporting on a food safety issue, vandalising their camera and seizing their mobile phones.

October 20, 2024: Gakandi
Journalists Niraj Tamang, Anita Ghimire, and camera person Arjun Bhandari of Prime Television are assaulted while live broadcasting a protest in Pokhara against the arrest of Rastriya Swatantra Party Chairman Rabi Lamichhane. Cadres of the party damage the broadcasting van and assault the journalists live on air, attempting to damage their camera.

October 22, 2024: Karnali
An unknown person attacks and seriously injures Jagat Sapkota, the executive editor of Karnali Media Online, while at Moksha Hotel in Surkhet after finishing a press conference.

December 4, 2024: Bagmati
Members of the National Independent Party who protested against the investigation of President Lamichhane, severely assault Santosh Deuja, a FNJ, Chitwan member and a journalist working at Kapurkot Media.

February 3, 2025: Kathmandu
Kamal Bahadur Bohara, editor of Palikasamaya.com and a member of FNJ, Kathmandu branch, is attacked for unknown reasons while walking in the Madhya Baneshwor area of Kathmandu.

February 5, 2025: Madhesh
The vehicle of journalist Santosh Singh from Mahottari is vandalised by an unknown group while parked in the courtyard of his house in Mahottari.

February 5, 2025: Koshi
Journalist Kumar Khadka is severely attacked and injured by Mahendra Bahadur Lawati while mediating a dispute over waste management at Yasok Bazaar in Panchthar, and is admitted to the B&C Hospital in Jhapa.

February 10, 2025: Koshi
Lalit Bahadur Singh, President of FNJ, Bajhang district chapter, is attacked with knives and other items while returning to his room after dinner at the Devisthan Hotel in Chainpur, the district headquarters of Jayaprithi Municipality-10. Binod Kathayat of Masasta, who had called the journalist to his hotel room to talk, was among the attacks with the motive is currently unknown.

April 27, 2025: Kathmandu (F)
Female journalist of Prime Television, Sabina Karki, was injured during a teacher’s demonstration in New Baneshwor, Kathmandu on April 27. Karki reportedly sustained severe eye injuries when police used water cannons to disperse protesting teachers from entering a prohibited area.

November 11, 2024: Sudurpashchim (C)
Suresh Bhul, a right-to-information activist and journalist from Kailali district working for Sudurpati.com, is beaten to death by a mob in a premeditated attack connected to his reporting on public institutions. Bhul, a resident of Kantipur Tole, belonged to a marginalised caste and was joint secretary of the National Dalit Journalists’ Association.

March 28, 2025: Kathmandu
Photojournalist Suresh Rajak is burned to death while reporting from a building in Tinkune, Kathmandu that was set alight by pro-monarchy protestors during a violent demonstration. Rajak’s colleagues reportedly pleaded with police to search for Rajak inside the burning building, with authorities allegedly showing little concern and maintaining no one was inside the building. Several other journalists were injured and media equipment damaged during the protests.

May 27, 2024: Kathmandu
The central office of the Federation of Nepali Journalists is locked out by the Socialist Press Organisation, Press Chautari Nepal, Progressive Journalists Association Nepal, Press Forum Nepal, Independent Journalists Association, and others. The lockout was lifted after talks with the central committee of the FNJ.

March 28, 2025: Kathmandu
The offices of Kantipur Television, part of Kantipur Media Group, are attacked during pro-monarchy protests in Kathmandu, with demonstrators hurling stones at the building in the Tinkune area, causing damage to the property.

March 28, 2025: Kathmandu
During pro-monarchy protests in Kathmandu, the office of Annapurna Media Network is attacked by demonstrators hurling stones at the Corporate Tower in Tinkune and setting the building on fire. Security guards manage to extinguish the flames before they can cause significant damage.

June 12, 2024: Punjab (A)
Imran Riaz Khan, a vlogger and vocal critic of the government, is arrested by police in Lahore in Punjab province for alleged involvement in a monetary fraud case. He is released three days later by a judicial magistrate with the case against him continuing.

September 8, 2024: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (D, F)
Journalist and TV anchorperson Gharida Farooqi is threatened by Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur at a public rally in Peshawar, accusing her of accepting payments to push political narratives and warning of action from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party members led by former prime minister Imran Khan. Farooqi states she will take legal action against the Chief Minister.

October 6, 2024: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (G)
Journalist Ehsan Naeem of Battagram in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is charged with allegedly disturbing public order under the Maintenance of Public Order law for interviewing political rights activist Manzoor Pashteen, a vocal critic of political restrictions.

October 7, 2024: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (C, G)
Journalists Farooq Mehsud of Aaj TV, Ishtiaq Mehsud of Masah Radio, and Aslam Mehsud of Ummat daily from South Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are added to a notorious watchlist of suspects under the Anti-Terrorism Act. After public outcry, they are removed from the list.

November 20, 2024: Punjab (A)
Eight journalists, including Amjad Parvez, Azizur Rehman, Shahbaz Gul, Sheikh Javed, Asrar Shah, Javed Asad, Ehsan Ullah, and Shafaqat Wattoo, are arrested by police in Hafizabad in Punjab province for allegedly aiding the escape of political workers attempting to hold a press conference. They are freed on bail by a district court on December 3.

November 27, 2024: Islamabad (A, G)
Vlogger Matiullah Jan is charged in Islamabad with alleged terrorism and drug possession. He is arrested by police on November 27 and was freed on November 30 by the judge of the anti-terrorism court where his case was moved.

December 14, 2024: Islamabad (G)
The FIA registers cases under the PECA law against over 150 individuals, including several journalists, for allegedly inciting hatred against state institutions over their crackdown against the November 26 violent protests by opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. The journalists include Harmeet Singh, Ahmad Noorani, Imran Khatana, Rizwan Ahmad Khan, Salman Durani, Hussain Rafique, Ahmad Malik, Azhar Tariq Khan, Asif Bashir, Saraj Ahmad, Muhammad Arshad, Abdul Qadir, Aroosa Nadim, Komal Afridi, and Maryam Shafqat Malik.

January 12, 2025: Across Pakistan (F)
Over 60 journalists and rights activists sign a public petition in support of journalist Asma Shirazi who reported persistent abusive threats and an organised social media trolling campaign against her by workers and supporters of opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf of former prime minister Imran Khan, often through official party media accounts.

February 3, 2025: Islamabad (D, F)
Journalist Munizae Jahangir of Aaj TV and co-chairperson of Pakistan’s Human Rights Commission faces threats and blasphemy allegations for her defense of human rights in a television program.

March 13, 2025: Balochistan (E)
Pakistani journalist Asif Karim Khehtran disappears from his home district of Barkhan in Balochistan province, with no information since about his whereabouts. The disappearance follows persistent threats against Khehtran from military authorities, who pressured him to halt his reporting on human rights issues in Balochistan. Members of the journalist’s family had also previously been forcibly disappeared.

March 14, 2025: Islamabad (G)
The FIA registers cases against journalists and bloggers Ahmad Noorani, Shafiq Ahmad, and Aina Durkhanai under the PECA law for allegedly promoting anti-state propaganda and inciting hatred against national institutions. The FIRs claim the media workers used their verified social media accounts to support a banned organisation and create public uncertainty.

March 18, 2025: Islamabad (B, E)
Approximately two dozen individuals, identifying themselves as police, forcibly enter and search U.S.-based exiled Pakistani journalist Ahmed Noorani’s family home in Islamabad at midnight. They assault the journalist’s two brothers, Mohammad Saif ur Rehman Haider and Mohammad Ali, dragging them into vehicles and taking them to an undisclosed location.

March 20, 2025: Sindh (A)
Farhan Mallick, founder of Raftar digital news company, is arrested in Karachi after the Federal Investigation Agency Cybercrime Reporting Centre commenced an inquiry based on allegations that Mallick had ‘run several programs against the security establishment’. Cases were registered against him for allegedly uploading “anti-state” content on his YouTube challenl and also for alleged data theft through spoofing.  He was granted bail on April 7, 2025.

March 26, 2025: Islamabad (A)
Muhammad Waheed Murad, a reporter for Saudi-owned Urdu News, is arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) under ‘cyber terrorism’ and disseminating ‘false and fake information’ changes for alleged social media posts deemed ‘intimidating’, particularly those related to the Balochistan Liberation Army. He is arrested after more than a dozen masked men storm his home in and is remanded in custody for two days, before being granted bail on March 28.

April 6, 2025: Azad Kashmir (G)
Muzaffarabad-based newspaper The Daily Jammu & Kashmir is accused of ‘spreading fake news’ and disseminating ‘negative propaganda’ in a case registered by the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Home Department Affairs against a report published on March 26 claiming the Cabinet approved the formation of a new Azad Jamu Parliamentary Ranger Force and criticising the Secretariat Police Station in Muzaffarabad. Police receive a First Information Report (FIR) on March 28, lodged on the orders of Prime Minister Anwarul Haq and Interior Minister Waqar Noor, months after the AJK government amended the region’s laws to recognise “public criticism of government officials” as a punishable offence on September 14, 2024, with a minimum of seven years in prison.

April 7, 2025: Sindh (H)
A First Information Report is lodged at Dadlo Police Station in Pano Akil, Sukkur against Sindh-based journalist Muneeb Indhar under Section 20 of the PECA law and Sections 500, 504, and 506 of the Pakistan Penal Code, for allegedly using ‘derogatory’ language against President Asif Ali Zardari on his Facebook account. Police raid Indar’s home and abduct his brother, Abdul Qadeer.

April 14, 2025: Islamabad (A, F)
Pakistani police detain Afghan journalist Freshta Sadeed at her residence in Islamabad and transfer her to a detention facility, placing her at serious risk of deportation to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. She had previously worked as a reporter for Radio Bahar in Kapisa province and had fled to Pakistan to escape Taliban threats due to her reporting on human rights issues.

April 20, 2025: Islamabad (A)
Pakistani police detain Afghan journalist Zahir Bahand in Islamabad without providing any explanation or legal warrant, near his residence in the ‘Gulberg Greens’ area. Bahand states that he has done nothing but report on the struggles of Afghan refugees in the country.

May 29, 2024: Sindh
Journalist Haider Mastoi and cameraperson Khan Pitafi, both staffers of The News daily, are traveling on a motorcycle in Rohri province when they are intercepted by unidentified gunmen who open fire on them. Both journalists manage to escape but sustain serious injuries and are hospitalised.

May 30, 2024: Punjab
Chaudhry Ikhlaq, a journalist for Daily Express newspaper, is shot and wounded by two motorcyclists as he drove home in Gujar Khan.

August 9, 2024: Sindh (A, B)
Khursheed Rajput, a local journalist in the Tando Adam region, is allegedly attacked and tortured by local police for reporting on corruption. He is also charged with alleged robbery and possession of illegal weapons.

August 11, 2024: Punjab (C)
Kashif Ghafoor Arain, a local journalist in Sadiqabad region in Punjab province, is attacked by unidentified assailants, robbed and beaten badly.

October 13, 2024: Sindh (A, B)
Five journalists, Zulfiqar Wauchope, Shaukat Korai, Allah Rakhyo, Altaf Channa, and Pavan Kumar, are among those attacked and detained by police in Karachi, along with several other civilians, while covering the Sindh Rawadari March advocating for civil rights and religious harmony. Police respond with excessive force, arresting over 100 individuals involved in the protest, including the journalists.

November 26, 2024: Islamabad
The digital satellite news gathering van of Express News TV channel is attacked and damaged in Islamabad by workers and supporters of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party after a protest ran amok. The driver and cameraperson operating the van are forced to flee for their safety.

January 10, 2025: Sindh
A team from ARY News TV channel investigative program Sar-e-Aam, conducting a sting operation against alleged electricity theft in Karachi, are attacked by a lynch mob with scalding water spiced with chili powder.

April 24, 2025: Sindh
During protests on the National Highway Link Road against a canal project in Karachi, a Samaa reporter is hit with stones hurled at him while reporting. He is injured but continues to document the protests.

May 15, 2024: Punjab
Mehar Ashfaq Siyal, reporter for Urdu daily Khabrain, is gunned down by two unidentified motorcyclists in Muzaffargarh, later succumbing to his injuries in hospital. While no motive has been confirmed, Sial had been reporting on Iranian oil smuggling, which could have made him a target.

May 21, 2024: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (B)
Kamran Dawar, a freelance digital journalist who operated online media outlet Waziristan TV, is shot by unidentified gunmen while returning home in Miramshah city of the North Waziristan tribal region. He is taken to hospital but succumbs to his injuries. Prior to his death, he received threats from militant groups due to his reporting on their activities in the region. He had expressed concerns for his safety to colleagues and local press clubs, yet no protection was provided.

May 23, 2024: Sindh (C)
Nasrullah Gadani, a reporter for Awami Awaz, is shot as he rode his motorcycle in Mirpur Mathelo. Gadani’s murder is orchestrated by Shahbaz Lund and Noor Muhammad Lund, sons of MNA Khalid Hussain Lund. The assailants, Asghar Lund and Abdullah Lund, carry out the attack. This follows Gadani’s critical reporting against Shahbaz Lund for using police resources and privileges. He is rushed to a local hospital where his condition worsened before being flown by air ambulance to Karachi where he succumbs to his injuries on May 25.

June 18, 2024: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (C)
Khalil Jibran, a reporter for Khyber TV news channel, is shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the Landikotal region of Khyber district, while returning from a dinner party with a friend. The journalist’s car is stopped by masked men who drag him out and shoot him multiple times, killing him instantly. Before his killing, Jibran received threats from the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) due to his critical reporting on their militant activities.

July 15, 2024: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (C)
Hasan Zaib, a journalist for Aaj TV news channel, is killed by unidentified men who intercept his car in the Nowshera district on his way home, opening fire and killing him on the spot. His brother, traveling with him, also sustains injuries. The motive for Zaib’s killing remains unclear.

August 27, 2024: Sindh (C)
Bachal Ghunio, a journalist for Awaz TV news channel, is ambushed by a group of seven men, including his relative Shoukat Ghunio, who accused him of reporting on their criminal activities in the region. The group shoots him multiple times in his village fields in the Ghotki district, killing him instantly.

November 20, 2024: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (C)
Janan Hussain, a digital journalist for 365 News digital media outlet, is among 42 people killed in a terrorist act in Kurran district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The reporter was covering an incidence of violence when he was caught in a sectarian shootout.

November 27, 2024: Islamabad
Several media establishments and offices, including the National Press Club, Aik TV, Samaa TV, and Geo News TV channels are attacked and ransacked by workers and supporters of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party of former prime minister Imran Khan in Islamabad. The offices are close to D-Chowk, a site favoured by the party for protests, with journalists Mohammad Adil, Mohammad Yousaf, and Quratul Ain injured, and the vans of several media outlets are also damaged.

September 14, 2024: Western Province
Journalist Chamuditha Samarawickrama sends a letter to the Minister of Law & Order and Public Security after a person named Ajith Dharmapala, claiming to be head of Sri Lankan police, told him that Army Intelligence is conspiring to launch an attack on him, then pin the blame on the NPP (National Peoples’ Power). He requests government protection.

October 5, 2024: Western Province
Tissa Ravindra Perera, a journalist for news outlet Aruna who exposed corruption in the tender of goods containers at Colombo Port, complains to the police that his life has been threatened via phone call. A person named ‘Kudulal’, currently abroad and engaged in corrupt dealings, is suspected to be behind the threats.

June 11, 2024: Western Province (B)
Journalist Tharindu Uduvaragedara files a fundamental rights petition against the Sri Lankan police for forcibly arresting, assaulting, and detaining him in a police cell while returning home after reporting a protest in Borella. On June 11, 2024, when his case was heard before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court No. 2, the police said that more people should be arrested, and nobody was reprimanded.

June 20, 2024: Western Province
Two people attempt to forcefully enter the Piliyandala Cambridge Court housing complex, where journalist Chamuditha Samarawickrama lives, shattering several windows and throwing feces at the house. A letter seeking protection was submitted to the Minister of Law & Order and Public Security on August 24, 2024, which was met with no response.

August 6, 2024: Western Province (C)
A group of journalists from the North, who attended a meeting at the Water’s Edge Hotel in Colombo, had long sought to present a memorandum to the President demanding justice for their slain colleagues. However, the President’s security forces denied them this opportunity. They also claimed that Tamil journalists were not allowed to express their views at the meeting.

September 1, 2024: North Central Province (H)
Journalists reporting on a clash that took place at a meeting ground during a presidential campaign rally held in Kekirawa are threatened, with officers of the Presidential Security Unit forcibly checking their cameras and deleting footage.

September 9, 2024: North Western Province (H)
Journalists invited to cover a business meeting attended by presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa are forcibly removed from the meeting hall, despite security checking their camera equipment, and their obtaining required authorisation for entry.

October 3, 2024: Western Province (A)
Cinnamon Garden police arrest journalist Kalpa Gunarante protesting the assault of a young man by a security guard at the Colombo International Book Fair and also recording the incident. The journalist is held at the police station for approximately three hours before being released.

October 21, 2024: Eastern Province (A)
Tamil Guardian correspondent Selvakumar Nilanthan is arrested after reporting on protests against alleged corrupt activity conducted by the Chenkalady Divisional Secretary in 2020. Nilanthan is arrested alongside two non-journalists on charges related to the obstruction of official duties, and reports spending the night in a cell filled beyond its intended capacity, describing the conditions as unsanitary. Despite having previously lodged complaints with authorities and the local Human Rights Commission Sri Lanka office concerning the alleged harassment, Nilanthan claims that intimidation against him has intensified.

October 23, 2024: Western Province (H)
Journalists are removed from court at the request of the Government Counsel representing the Attorney General during the trial against Nandun Chinthaka (Harak Kata) for organised crime, including drug trafficking. Expressing their concern, the journalists complain to the Judicial Service Commission and the Chief Justice.

January 9, 2025: Western Province (D)
Four journalists from the News Center are summoned to appear before Kaduwela Magistrate’s Court on January 23, after a court order was obtained by the Hiru Media Network against the News Center for publishing a confidential statement by Deputy Minister Nalin Hewage, under the contentious Online Security Act. The journalists cannot present their case due to the absence of the Magistrate, delaying proceedings until January 28.

January 20, 2025: Western Province (D)
Udayajeeva Ekanayake, news editor of Aruna newspaper, is summoned to the Criminal Investigation Department after a complaint by Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala over a report that misrepresented the Minister’s statement. Despite the publication issuing a correction and apology, the CID remained involved, setting a dangerous precedent of police interference in journalistic matters.

January 22, 2025: Eastern Province (D)
Journalist Shashi Punyamoorthy, whose work was obstructed under Sri Lanka’s previous administration, is harassed, with police obtaining an open warrant from the Eravur Magistrate’s Court for his arrest and a foreign travel ban. The charges stem from his reporting on a protest in 2023 during former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s visit to Batticaloa, with Punyamoorthy now unable to return to the Eravur area due to police pressure and targeting by influential groups.

January 27, 2025: Western Province (G)
Sri Lanka’s Attorney General Parinda Ranasinghe orders the release of three suspects detained in relation to the murder of journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge in 2009. The suspects had been accused of influencing witnesses, withholding and destroying critical evidence, and suppressing the investigation into Wickrematunge’s murder, among other charges, with many media rights and legal groups asserting that they hold the essential information to identify the key perpetrators of the killing.

June 13, 2024: Northern Province (B)
Unidentified men on two motorcycles set fire to the house and vehicle of freelance journalist Thambithurai Pradeepan in Achuweli, Jaffna, causing serious damage. The Achuweli police arrest three suspects in connection with the case.

June 21, 2024: Western Province
A group of people severely assault Supreme TV journalist Dhanushka Seneviratne after arriving at this residence in the Kelaniya area, injuring him on his head and limbs. Seneviratne is taken to Colombo National Hospital, and two suspects are arrested in connection with the incident

October 20, 2024: Southern Province (C)
Hakmana regional journalist Yasantha Aryasena is attacked while attending a press conference of youth organisations of the National People’s Power (NPP) political alliance. The journalist is admitted to the Gangodagama Divisional Hospital and later transferred to Tangalle Base Hospital for further treatment. Aryasena lodges a complaint with Hakmana police alleging that after the meeting, a person who identified himself as a representative of the NPP attacked him after inquiring about a report published in the Lankadeepa newspaper.

December 26, 2024: Northern Province (B)
A gang in a black vehicle assault and attempts to abduct journalist Murukaiya Thamilselvam in front of the telecommunications office in Kilinochchi, intercepting his motorcycle, questioning him and threarning to kill him. The journalist’s leg is caught in the vehicle door, preventing two assailants from closing it, and they manage to flee. Thamilselvam is admitted to the Kilinochchi hospital.