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** Public media under threat: time for Europe to wake up
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While Donald Trump's return to power seriously undermines US public media ([link removed]) , in Europe, public media organisations face a series of economic, technological and political crises that jeopardises their survival and ability to inform the public. With less than a month before the European Media Freedom Act ([link removed]) comes into effect, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is sounding the alarm about the threats to public broadcasting in the European Union (EU). RSF report Pressure on public media: a decisive test for European democracies ([link removed]) outlines several scenarios facing EU public service media — some encouraging, others
disheartening — and outlines necessary reforms.


** DATA: Resurgence of journalist killings in Latin America
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The number of journalists killed in Latin America ([link removed]) since the beginning of the year already exceeds the total for the whole of 2024. In Mexico, nearly two journalists are killed every month. Local reporters covering high-risk topics are on the front line of this fight.
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** VIDEO - Trump: six months of attacks on the press
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Donald Trump's battle against the press continues. Since his re-election, the US president has turned years of anti-journalist rhetoric into concrete actions to limit press freedom such as: targeted violence, ([link removed]) punitive lawsuits ([link removed]) and thedismantling ([link removed]) of independent public media.


** NEWS BRIEFS
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** Gaza: Journalists need protection now!
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For nearly two years, RSF has warned about the precarious conditions journalists in Gaza face, which are deteriorating day by day. Over the past 20 months in Gaza, more than 200 journalists have been killed by the Israeli army, including at least 46 slain while doing their job. In addition to bombs, forced displacement, and dire humanitarian conditions, Gaza’s journalists, who are the only ones able to document what is happening in the besieged and closed-off enclave, can no longer find food. In response to this catastrophe, RSF reiterates ([link removed]) its call ([link removed]) to open up Gaza to foreign journalists and lift the blockade, in a joint appeal with over 200 media outlets and organisations from around the world.


** RSF investigation: Ivory Coast wrongfully extradites Beninese refugee journalist
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What should have been a professional assignment turned into a trap. Invited by Ivorian authorities to cover an event in the country, Beninese journalist Hugues Comlan Sossoukpè, a political refugee living in Togo and director of the investigative media outlet Olofofo, wasarrested ([link removed]) in his hotel room in Côte d'Ivoire before being deported on a private plane to Cotonou, Benin’s largest city, where he was immediately imprisoned.


** #FreeGleizes: Over 100 public figures call for his release
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From renowned coaches like Vahid Halilhodzic and Hervé Renard, to Goncourt Prize-winning authors including Mohamed Mbougar Sarr and filmmakers like Michel Hazanavicius, over 100 public figures have joined a call ([link removed]) for the release of French sports journalist Christophe Gleizes, who was unjustly sentenced to seven years in prison ([link removed]) in Algeria for simply doing his job. His place is in the field, not behind bars!

Philippines: Legal Aggression against Frenchie Mae Cumpio and the murder of a journalist

Imprisoned for more than five years, investigative journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio is being held in Tacloban Prison without concrete evidence, as revealed by an RSF investigation. RSF was able to meet her in prison and discovered her case file was riddled with inconsistencies ([link removed]) . Additionally, this week, in the city of Bislig, journalist Erwin Segovia, known for his hard-hitting commentary on political and social issues on his radio program Diritsahan!, was shot and killed ([link removed]) on Monday.


** Saudi Arabia: 14 journalists detained by the regime amid rising censorship
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Wajdi al-Ghazzawi, Turad al-Amr, Maha al-Rafidi, Zana al-Shahri... These names are among the 14 journalists who have been arbitrarily detained for years in Saudi Arabia. RSF calls for their release amid intensifying repression by the Saudi regime, including the recent execution ([link removed]) of journalist Turki al-Jasser, who had been imprisoned for seven years.
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** Good news of the week
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What a relief! After 680-days ([link removed]) of forced conscription ([link removed]) in the army for Kalifara Séré ([link removed]) , a journalist with the private channel BF1, and several months ([link removed]) of the same fate for journalists Luc Pagbelguem, Boukari Ouoba ([link removed]) , vice-president of the Association of Journalists of Burkina Faso (AJB),
Guezouma Sanogo ([link removed]) , president of the AJB, and Phil Roland Zongo ([link removed]) , a journalist with radio station Femina FM, the men have finally been reunited with their families. Journalists Serge Oulon, Adama Bayala, and Alain Traoré are still missing.

When I returned to Baku, I was arrested. (...) One of the government’s strategies is to force independent journalists and critics into exile — to isolate them from society (...). Just because we do critical journalism doesn't mean the government can tell us we don’t belong here.

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Excerpt from a letter written to RSF by Sevinj Vagifgizi ([link removed]) , editor-in-chief of Abzas Media, from her prison cell in Baku. Sentenced to nine years in prison ([link removed]) , she denounces the repression ([link removed]) of journalists by President Ilham Aliyev's regime, and the unacceptable inaction of Western governments.


** Highlight
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In its report, Pressure on public media: a decisive test for European democracies, RSF warns of the political and economic threats endangering public service media in Europe. The report features contributions from RSF correspondents in Europe in addition to interviews with journalists, public media directors, and media economist Julia Cagé.
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** No respite for press freedom in the United States over the past six months
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Since his re-election, US president Donald Trump has been waging an unprecedented offensive against press freedom in the United States and beyond its borders through punitive lawsuits, targeted violence against journalists and media outlets, the dismantling of public media and much more.

In the face of this assault, your donation provides an essential shield that enables us to defend press freedom and the right to reliable information worldwide.

Thank you for believing in our fight and supporting press freedom by making a donation to Reporters Without Borders.
➔ Donate ([link removed]〈=en_EN&reserved_origine=NLS2302&utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=mailchimp&utm_campaign=newsletter-S302)
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