--- description: These cases illuminate governments’ efforts at criminalizing journalism, silencing the media, and withholding information from the public. title: The Most Urgent Threats to Press Freedom Around the World image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec8be5ea5ef80b1b/6998c63566d4e37c67cbc6dc/Image-Jimmy-Lai-1-Credit-Lai-Family.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [world affairs](/tag/world-affairs/) ## world affairs Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Most Urgent Threats to Press Freedom Around the World by [One Free Press Coalition](/author/one-free-press-coalition/) ## One Free Press Coalition Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Contributor Contributor May 1, 2025 10:13 AM CUT  Since December 2020, Jimmy Lai Chee-ying has been jailed in solitary confinement in a Hong Kong maximum-security prison. Since December 2020, Jimmy Lai Chee-ying has been jailed in solitary confinement in a Hong Kong maximum-security prison.Credit: Lai Family by [One Free Press Coalition](/author/one-free-press-coalition/) ## One Free Press Coalition Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Contributor Contributor May 1, 2025 10:13 AM CUT Coinciding with World Press Freedom Day (May 3rd), global media outlets unite as [One Free Press Coalition](https://onefreepresscoalition.com/ "undefined") to publish this annual “10 Most Urgent” list, bringing attention to fellow journalists who are being imprisoned for seeking to tell the truth. These ten cases illuminate governments’ efforts at criminalizing journalism, silencing the media, and withholding information from the public. The list is compiled in collaboration with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF), and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). According to [CPJ data](https://cpj.org/2025/01/journalist-jailings-near-record-high-in-2024-as-crackdown-on-press-freedom-grows/#:~:text=China%2C%20Israel%2C%20and%20Myanmar%20were,in%20connection%20with%20their%20work. "undefined"), 361 journalists were behind bars worldwide at the end of 2024 (up from 320 in 2023). In August 2024, the One Free Press Coalition celebrated the release of two American journalists—Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva—from Russian detention after their cases topped the [May 2024 list](https://www.onefreepresscoalition.com/list/may-2024 "undefined") of “10 Most Urgent” press freedom cases. Given the increasing number of journalists detained for simply doing their jobs and seeking to tell the truth, and given the successful 2024 campaign to free Gershkovich and Kurmasheva, the One Free Press Coalition crucially and emphatically unites our collective voices in support of the following individuals and their urgent cases of press persecution. ## **1\. Jimmy Lai (Hong Kong)** Since December 2020, Jimmy Lai Chee-ying has been jailed in solitary confinement in a Hong Kong maximum-security prison. The 77-year-old media entrepreneur and British citizen founded the newspaper _Apple Daily_ which has since been shuttered in China’s crackdown on pro-democracy advocacy and journalism. Lai’s son Sebastien [told CPJ](https://cpj.org/2024/11/jimmy-lais-hong-kong-jail-is-breaking-his-body-says-his-son/ "undefined") in late 2024, “For his dedication to freedom, they have taken his away. For his bravery in standing in defense of others, they have denied him human contact.” Beijing has [repeatedly delayed](https://rsf.org/en/freejimmylai-hong-kong-publisher-set-testify-landmark-trial-rsf-raises-alarm-over-his-prolonged "undefined") Lai’s trial on [charges](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/hong-kong-jimmy-lai-finishes-testifying-national-security-trial-rcna195073 "undefined") of sedition and conspiring to collude with foreign forces, while Lai is currently serving a sentence of 5 years and 9 months. Lai denies the charges and has pleaded not guilty. His legal team [told PBS](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/son-of-jailed-hong-kong-journalist-jimmy-lai-rallies-u-s-support-in-fight-for-his-release "undefined") in 2024 that Lai has been “prosecuted for being a journalist and for his writing, raising human rights concerns with international human rights organizations, and speaking to politicians internationally to raise concern about these issues.” ## **2\. Shin Daewe (Myanmar)** Award-winning documentary filmmaker [Shin Daewe](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOKvTW49NEQ "undefined") was [ordered](https://cpj.org/2024/04/myanmar-jails-filmmaker-shin-daewe-for-life-for-buying-a-drone/ "undefined") a life sentence in 2024 (since [reduced](https://www.rfa.org/english/myanmar/2025/01/09/myanmar-filmmaker-prison-sentence/ "undefined") to 15 years) on charges of illegal possession of an unregistered drone, after being arrested and interrogated by police in 2023 when she was [receiving](https://rsf.org/en/myanmar-documentary-filmmaker-sentenced-life-imprisonment-symbol-juntas-unbridled-repression-right "undefined") the drone that she had ordered online. According to a VOA report, Daewe was denied legal representation and convicted of financing terrorist activities. Her husband [noted](https://cpj.org/2024/04/myanmar-jails-filmmaker-shin-daewe-for-life-for-buying-a-drone/ "undefined") that Daewe [appeared](https://rsf.org/en/myanmar-documentary-filmmaker-sentenced-life-imprisonment-symbol-juntas-unbridled-repression-right "undefined") to have been beaten during police interrogations, based on visible stitches on her head and welts on her arms. Daewe [reported](https://cpj.org/2024/04/myanmar-jails-filmmaker-shin-daewe-for-life-for-buying-a-drone/ "undefined") for local media group Democratic Voice of Burma and regularly freelanced for Radio Free Asia, contributing documentary coverage about environmental issues and the toll of armed conflict on the country’s civilians. CPJ reports Myanmar as the world’s second-worst jailer of journalists. ## **3\. Frenchie Mae Cumpio (Philippines)** Tacloban-based journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, 26, [has been held](https://rsf.org/en/freefrenchiemaecumpio-rsf-and-international-coalition-call-philippine-journalist-s-release-trial "undefined") in pre-trial detention for five years. Authorities raided her home in February 2020 and arrested her—along with colleagues [Marielle Domequil](https://www.instagram.com/altermidyanetwork/reel/DCjLi0RzlE0/ "undefined") and [Alexander Abinguna](https://www.altermidya.net/chakoy-human-rights-defender-in-jail/ "undefined")—on charges of illegal firearms possession and terrorism financing, which she denies. Cumpio testified to having been subjected to months of surveillance and harassment prior to the raid, and an outside investigation found that a firearm and grenade were planted by military members in her home to incriminate the then-21-year-old. Her reporting included local radio coverage of military and police abuse and independent media stories about marginalized people in the Philippines. If convicted, she faces up to 40 years in prison. ## **4\. Pham Doan Trang (Vietnam)** Vietnamese author, journalist and activist Pham Doan Trang, 45, was [arrested](https://apnews.com/article/pham-doan-trang-pen-america-freedom-write-4fca31e2d333865d706841b097a6f603 "undefined") in 2020 and [accused](https://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/trang-pen-award-04112024231904.html "undefined") of “anti-state propaganda.” She was held incommunicado for more than one year before her one-day trial and [conviction](https://www.thevietnamese.org/2025/03/rsfs-2025-campaigns-spotlight-the-plight-of-imprisoned-vietnamese-journalist-pham-doan-trang/ "undefined") in 2021, sentencing her to nine years in prison. For years prior to her arrest, she [endured](https://cpj.org/awards/pham-doan-trang-vietnam/ "undefined") threats, police brutality, self-imposed exile and interrogations over her writings about democracy, freedom of expression, human rights, environmental degradation and women’s empowerment. Her work had [appeared](https://cpj.org/awards/pham-doan-trang-vietnam/ "undefined") in _Luat Khoa_ legal magazine which she founded, independent English-language website The Vietnamese, state media, andexile-run blog Danlambao. Former PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel [said](https://apnews.com/article/pham-doan-trang-pen-america-freedom-write-4fca31e2d333865d706841b097a6f603 "undefined") in 2024, “She has sacrificed her health and freedom in the pursuit of justice.” ## **5\. Ihar Losik (Belarus)** A freelance journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Belarus Service, Ihar Losik was detained in June 2020 in advance of Belarus’ rigged election in August. He was tried on [charges](https://about.rferl.org/advocacy/imprisoned-journalists/ihar-losik/ "undefined") including “organization of mass riots” and “incitement to hatred.” After a five-month closed-door trial in 2021 resulting in convictions for six journalists, Losik was [sentenced](https://about.rferl.org/advocacy/imprisoned-journalists/ihar-losik/ "undefined") to 15 years in prison. [Reports](https://about.rferl.org/advocacy/imprisoned-journalists/ihar-losik/ "undefined") suggest that Losik, 32, has [endured](https://www.usagm.gov/news-and-information/threats-to-press/ihar-losik/ "undefined") hunger strikes, frequent cell transfers, denied mail privileges and self-inflicted injuries, and he is currently being held incommunicado. In 2025, RSF [filed](https://rsf.org/en/belarus-ahead-sham-election-rsf-files-icc-complaint-lukashenko-s-crimes-against-humanity-targeting "undefined") a complaint at the International Criminal Court on his behalf. President Alexander Lukashenko and his regime have [cracked down](https://www.rferl.org/a/imprisoned-rferl-journalist-belarus-losik-incommunicado/32827593.html "undefined") on independent media, holding dozens of [political prisoners](https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/01/23/belarus-jailed-protecting-loved-ones "undefined"), including having [detained](https://www.rferl.org/a/33050318.html "undefined") Losik’s wife Darya for more than [a year](https://www.svaboda.org/a/33020013.html "undefined") after she gave an interview to Poland-based news outlet Belsat. ## **6\. Sevinj Vagifgizi (Azerbaijan)** Since 2023, Azerbaijan has implemented a major [crackdown](https://cpj.org/data/people/sevinj-vagifgizi/ "undefined") on independent press, criminally charging at least 16 journalists including Sevinj Vagifgizi, the chief editor of anti-corruption investigative outlet Abzas Media. She and five colleagues have been [arrested](https://cpj.org/data/people/sevinj-vagifgizi/ "undefined"), and she continues to be detained in reportedly “horrific conditions” on multiple financial crime charges in relation to allegedly illegally receiving funding from Western donors. Police claimed to have found more than $43,000 during a search of the outlet’s offices. Vagifgizi and her colleagues deny the charges and [claim](https://cpj.org/data/people/sevinj-vagifgizi/ "undefined") they are retaliation for Abzas Media’s published investigative series into the wealth of public figures. “This case is not about smuggling, illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion, or document forgery,” Vagifgizi, 35, [said](https://rsf.org/en/azerbaijan-behind-bars-journalist-sevinj-vagifgizi-embodies-resistance-free-press "undefined") during a March 2025 hearing. “It’s about intolerance for the truth.” The journalists [could face](https://cpj.org/data/people/sevinj-vagifgizi/ "undefined") up to 12 years in detention. ## **7\. Vladyslav Yesypenko (Russia)** One of at least 18 Ukrainian journalists from Russian-occupied Crimea being [held](https://www.rferl.org/a/vladyslav-yesypenko-jailed-russia-crimea/33339971.html "undefined") in Russia on politically motivated charges, Vladyslav Yesypenko has been in detention for more than four years. He is a 56-year-old Russian-Ukrainian dual citizen and a contributor to Crimea.Realities, a unit of Radio Free Europe/RadioLiberty’s Ukrainian Service who had been covering social and environmental issues in Crimea, including ecological crises and the impact of Russia’s occupation on the region. He was [arrested](https://www.usagm.gov/news-and-information/threats-to-press/vladyslav-yesypenko/ "undefined") in 2021 and sentenced in 2022 to six years in prison (later reduced to five years). Initially [detained](https://www.usagm.gov/news-and-information/threats-to-press/vladyslav-yesypenko/ "undefined") on suspicion of spying for the Ukrainian government, those charges were dropped and replaced eight days later with charges relating to possession and transport of explosives. He, his employer and human rights groups have [denounced](https://www.rferl.org/a/vladyslav-yesypenko-jailed-russia-crimea/33339971.html "undefined") the charges as fabricated. According to RFE/RL, Yesypenko [testified](https://about.rferl.org/advocacy/imprisoned-journalists/vladyslav-yesypenko/ "undefined") that he was tortured with electric shocks to force him into a false confession. ## **8\. Li Yanhe (China)** China is the world’s leading jailer of journalists, holding at least 150 behind bars according to [RSF](https://rsf.org/en/china-rsf-calls-release-li-yanhe-taiwan-based-publisher-sentenced-three-years-prison "undefined") and [CPJ](https://cpj.org/2025/03/china-jails-taiwan-based-publisher-for-3-years-on-separatism-charges/ "undefined") reporting in December 2024\. Among them, Taiwan-based radio host and publisher Li Yanhe was [arrested](https://cpj.org/2025/03/china-jails-taiwan-based-publisher-for-3-years-on-separatism-charges/ "undefined") two years ago during a trip to Shanghai, [held](https://rsf.org/en/china-rsf-calls-release-li-yanhe-taiwan-based-publisher-sentenced-three-years-prison "undefined") incommunicado, and sentenced in February 2025 to a $6,900 fine and three years in prison on charges of inciting separatism. A government spokesperson [said](https://apnews.com/article/taiwan-publisher-china-incitement-separatism-li-yanhe-6fe887c4dfcc2f718071a8110e85cb59 "undefined") that Li—who was [born](https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/26/china/taiwan-publisher-detained-china-intl-hnk/index.html "undefined") in China in 1971 and goes by the name Fu Cha—pleaded guilty and did not appeal the verdict. Li had immigrated to Taiwan in 2009, where he founded Gusa Press, which has published books critical of the ruling Chinese Communist Party. He also hosts a program on Radio Taiwan International about Chinese politics and current affairs. A statement from Gusa Press [said](https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taiwan-based-publisher-convicted-china-secession-charge-2025-03-18/ "undefined"), “We can’t see the indictment, don’t know what exactly Fu Cha was convicted for doing, don’t know the sentence, and are even more uncertain about whether he can return home after serving his sentence.” ## **9\. Makhabat Tajibek kyzy, Azamat Ishenbekov, Aike Beishekeyeva (Kyrgyzstan)** In February, Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court [confirmed](https://cpj.org/2025/02/kyrgyzstan-supreme-court-upholds-lengthy-prison-terms-for-temirov-live-journalists/ "undefined") sentences against three journalists from YouTube-based anti-corruption investigative [outlet](https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/10/kyrgyzstan-drop-baseless-charges-against-temirov-live-and-ayt-ayt-dese-journalists/ "undefined") Temirov Live on charges of calling for mass unrest. The three individuals are the outlet’s director Makhabat Tajibek kyzy (sentenced to six years), presenter Azamat Ishenbekov (five years), and reporter Aike Beishekeyeva (five years after a three-year probation period). Seven other colleagues had been arrested in January 2024 but were later [acquitted](https://cpj.org/2025/02/kyrgyzstan-supreme-court-upholds-lengthy-prison-terms-for-temirov-live-journalists/ "undefined") into house arrest or released under travel bans. The decision also [included](https://cpj.org/2025/02/kyrgyzstan-supreme-court-upholds-lengthy-prison-terms-for-temirov-live-journalists/ "undefined") sentencing for Aktilek Kaparov, a former reporter of Temirov Live which was founded by now exiled Bolot Temirov. Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov dismissed the journalists as “not real” in September 2024 and claimed they were “spreading false information calling for riots,” according to [Amnesty International](https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/10/kyrgyzstan-drop-baseless-charges-against-temirov-live-and-ayt-ayt-dese-journalists/ "undefined"). ## **10\. Joakim Medin (Turkey)** Joakim Medin, a special correspondent for the Swedish newspaper [ETC](https://www.etc.se/om/joakim-medin "undefined"), has been [held](https://rsf.org/en/turk%C3%AFye-rsf-calls-authorities-release-swedish-journalist-joakim-medin "undefined") in a high-security prison in Silivri, Turkey since March 30\. He was [arrested](https://cpj.org/2025/03/swedish-journalist-imprisoned-in-turkey-accused-of-insulting-president-terrorism/ "undefined") three days earlier in Istanbul, while traveling to report on civil unrest in the city, and was [accused](https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/swedish-journalist-jailed-turkey-terrorism-insult-charges-2025-03-28/ "undefined") of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and “belonging to an armed terrorist organization” because he was present as a reporter at an anti-Erdoğan rally [organized](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/30/turkey-says-swedish-journalist-detained-on-terror-charges-and-for-insulting-the-president "undefined") by individuals tied to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in Stockholm in 2023\. Medin’s reporting specializes, among other topics and regions, in Kurdish issues. Through his lawyer, Medin [sent](https://rsf.org/en/turk%C3%AFye-rsf-calls-authorities-release-swedish-journalist-joakim-medin "undefined") the handwritten message from prison: “Journalism is not a crime in any country.” An RSF [report](https://rsf.org/en/t%C3%BCrkiye-ten-years-state-hostility-towards-press-under-president-erdogan "undefined") with local partner Bianet published in August 2024 found that at least 77 journalists have been convicted of “insulting the president” during Erdoğan’s decade-long administration. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7281669/threats-to-press-freedom/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7281669/threats-to-press-freedom/"},"headline":"The Most Urgent Threats to Press Freedom Around the World","datePublished":"2025-05-01T10:13:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-11T00:22:55.695Z","description":"These ten cases illuminate governments’ efforts at criminalizing journalism, silencing the media, and withholding information from the public.","url":"https://time.com/7281669/threats-to-press-freedom/","keywords":["world affairs","freelance"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec8be5ea5ef80b1b/6998c63566d4e37c67cbc6dc/Image-Jimmy-Lai-1-Credit-Lai-Family.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"One Free Press Coalition","jobTitle":"Contributor","url":"https://time.com/author/one-free-press-coalition/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec8be5ea5ef80b1b/6998c63566d4e37c67cbc6dc/Image-Jimmy-Lai-1-Credit-Lai-Family.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Jimmy Lai","caption":"Jimmy Lai","creditText":"Credit: Lai Family","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/world-affairs/","name":"world affairs"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7281669/threats-to-press-freedom/","name":"The Most Urgent Threats to Press Freedom Around the World"}}]}] ```