Press Freedom Status for Women Journalists: May 2024
Women Press Freedom Documents Almost 60 Incidents of Threats and Violence Against Journalists in May 2024.
Turkey, Georgia, and Russia among top offenders; most common violations include threats, legal harassment, and physical assaults
Threats Documented in May 2024
Click on dropdown menu to see the top violators (country) by violation type
Note from the Editor :
The landscape for journalists in 2024 is marked by escalating threats and mounting challenges. This report from Women Press Freedom for May 2024 captures the alarming increase in violence, repression, and harassment faced by journalists around the world.
The tragic death of Ola Al Dahdouh in Gaza, the imprisonment of journalists such as Shireen Saeedi and Zhina Modares Gorji, and the uncertain fate of Zhang Zhan in China underscore the perils that journalists face daily. These incidents, along with many others documented in this report, illustrate the dire state of press freedom globally.
The data presented here is stark: almost 80 distinct incidents of attacks on journalists in a single month. This includes at least eleven physical assaults, six arrests, and numerous cases of legal harassment and online abuse.
Despite these challenges, there have been moments of justice. The acquittal of Zehra Doğan in Turkey and the dismissal of charges against student journalists in the United States offer a glimmer of hope and emphasize the importance of continued advocacy and legal support for those facing persecution.
As you read through this report, I urge you to consider the broader implications of these individual stories. Each statistic represents a person — someone dedicated to uncovering the truth, often at great personal risk. The international community must not stand idly by as they are threatened, attacked, and silenced.
It is our collective responsibility to advocate for stronger protections for journalists, hold perpetrators accountable, and support those who continue to fight for truth and transparency in the face of overwhelming adversity. This report is a call to action — to governments, civil society, and individuals — to stand in solidarity with journalists worldwide and ensure that their stories are heard, not silenced.
Inge Snip
Senior Editor, Women Press Freedom
1 Journalist Killed
Ola Al Dahdouh
📍Gaza
On May 31, 2024, an Israeli airstrike killed Ola Al Dahdouh and her husband's uncle in Gaza City. The airstrike injured Al Dahdouh's husband, Abdelrahman Helles, and their one-and-a-half-year-old son, Karam.
1 Journalist Whereabouts Unknown
📍China
The much-anticipated release of Zhang Zhan, a Chinese citizen journalist, was met with silence and uncertainty as her whereabouts remained unknown. Zhan, detained in May 2020 and arrested the following month for her live-streamed coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic’s aftermath, completed her four-year sentence on May 13, 2024. Despite this, no information was communicated about her release.
3 Journalists Imprisoned
📍Iran
Shireen Saeedi, identified as a political prisoner, was sentenced on May 9, 2024, to five years in prison by Judge Abolqasem Salavati of Branch 15 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court. Her conviction was based on bogus charges of “colluding and assembling against national security."
On May 23, 2024, following the final hearing on April 10, Zhina Modares Gorji was unjustly sentenced to an outrageously severe 10-year term in Hamedan prison. The court's decision to impose the severe sentence was based on reports from the Ministry of Intelligence, citing “security threats.”
📍Hong Kong
In a landmark case under Hong Kong's stringent national security law, a court on Thursday found Gwyneth Ho guilty of conspiring to subvert the state on May 30, 2024. This verdict marks the most significant crackdown on the city's democratic opposition since Beijing imposed the sweeping legislation. The trial stems from the arrest of 47 pro-democracy figures in January 2021, including journalist Claudia Mo, as documented by Women Press Freedom.
3 Journalists Sentenced
📍Turkiye
On May 8, 2024, the Anadolu 9th Civil Court of First Instance unjustly ordered Yasemin Çongar, Mehmet Baransu, Ahmet Altan, and Yıldıray Oğur to pay damages to retired General Çetin Doğan. The ruling pertains to articles published in the now-defunct Taraf daily, which reported on the alleged 2003 "Sledgehammer" military plot to overthrow the government.
On May 9, 2024, seven former journalists linked to the now-defunct Kurdish media platform Özgürlükçü Demokrasi (Liberal Democracy) stood trial in Istanbul. The court found five of them guilty of aiding a terrorist organization. Among those convicted were Hicran Ürün and Reyhan Hacıoğlu, both former editors, who were unjustly sentenced to three years and 45 days each.
6 Journalists Arrested
📍United States
On May 1, 2024, student reporters Charlotte Hampton and Alesandra “Dre” Gonzales, were apprehended by New Hampshire state troopers during campus protests at Dartmouth College. Despite their clear press identification and professional purpose, both reporters were arrested, zip-tied, and unjustly charged with criminal trespass. Following their arrest, they were detained at the Lebanon Police Station before being released on bail.
On May 2, 2024, Alissa Azar was detained by Portland Police while photographing a protest at Portland State University, where officers forcibly pushed her to the ground before arresting her. Following her arrest, Azar was taken to the Multnomah County Justice Center, processed, and unjustly charged with criminal trespass, with her initial appearance hearing set for June 7.
📍Turkiye
On May 2, 2024, veteran journalist Elif Akkuş was called to testify at the Istanbul Anatolian Courthouse. This came about due to a probe launched by the Board of Inspections of her former employer, TRT (the state broadcaster). The investigation centers on Akkuş's spending while she was a war correspondent for TRT in Libya and Syria. After giving her statement, Akkuş was transferred to the criminal court of peace, where the Ankara 8th Criminal Judgeship of Peace ordered her arrest on suspicion of “tampering with evidence.”
📍Mongolia
On May 5, 2024, in Ulaanbaatar, journalist Bayarmaa Ayurzana was arrested and detained for 48 hours for "threatening to disseminate information that might cause serious damage" to Mongolia’s Deputy Prime Minister. If convicted, she could spend up to eight years behind bars.
📍Tunisia
On May 11, 2024, plain-clothed security officers entered the premises of the Lawyer's House in Tunis to arrest political commentator and lawyer Sonia Dahmani. On May 13, Dahmani was transferred to prison on charges of spreading false news that undermines public safety and inciting hate speech.
6 Journalists Detained
📍Turkiye
On May 6, 2024, a series of police raids, prompted by an investigation initiated by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s office, resulted in the detention of at least eight people, including journalists Derya Us and Nurcan Yalçın. The journalists stand accused of "being a member of an organization" and "violating the law on preventing the financing of terrorism."
📍Tunisia
On May 11, 2024, while filming Sonia Dahmani's arrest live for France24, police detained journalist Maryline Dumas who was covering the dramatic scene in Tunis.
📍Russia
On May 27, 2024, after ten months with no information, Russia acknowledged that it is holding the prominent Ukrainian journalist, Victoria Roshchyna, captive. The revelation came through a letter from the Russian Ministry of Defense to Roshchyna’s father.
On May 7, 2024, Basmanny District Court in Moscow ordered journalist Nadezhda Kevorkova to remain in pre-trial detention for two months until July 6, 2024. The well-known war correspondent is facing bogus charges of justifying terrorism for her 2021 Telegram post mentioning the Taliban. Women Press Freedom stands with the journalist, who rightfully denies these accusations, with her family and colleagues also maintaining her innocence.
12 Journalists Legally Harassed
📍Mexico
On May 6, 2024, Claudia Amelia Solera was served with a lawsuit seekin $18 Million in damages for a 2010 article she wrote, exposing predatory practices by a law firm targeting retirees. Mario Alberto Quiroz, implicated in the investigation, is demanding 300 million pesos (nearly $18 million) for moral damages.
Fabiola Cortés Miranda is facing an unjust lawsuit from the international company Four Cardinals Development México SA de CV. The company demands $3.6 million for "material damages" and an additional 5 million pesos for "serious moral damages." This legal action stems from Cortés Miranda's coverage and legal support of a land dispute involving Mayan indigenous people, who claim dispossession of their property, "El Pocito," due to a real estate project by the company. The indigenous parties are also being sued.
📍Iran
Iran's prosecutor has pressed bogus charges against Marzieh Mahmoudi, the editor-in-chief of Meydan-e Azadi Monthly, and Asal Dadashloo for spreading "false and insulting content against the regime" online, following a BBC investigation uncovering Iranian security forces sexually assaulted and murdered 16-year-old protester Nika Shakarami during the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising.
📍Turkiye
On May 21, 2024, Mezopotamya news agency reporters Esra Solin Dal, Mehmet Aslan, and journalist Erdoğan Alayumat were indicted on terrorism offenses at the Istanbul 25th High Criminal Court. After spending 24 days behind bars, the three journalists were released pending trial.
On May 28, 2024, Sevinç Özarslan, a journalist for Kronos news website, disclosed that she is under investigation by the Kayseri Chief Public Prosecutor's Office due to her work.
📍Russia
On May 15, 2024, the Tagansky District Court in Moscow unjustly fined Aleksandra Ageyeva and her colleague Mumin Shakirov for alleged violations of Russia’s stringent “foreign agents” law. Ageyeva, the founder of SOTAvision received a fine of 10,000 rubles (approximately $111), while Shakirov, a reporter for the news outlet, was fined 30,000 rubles (approximately $333).
On May 21, 2024, the Basmanny District Court of Moscow extended the pre-trial detention of SOTAvision journalist Antonina Favorskaya until August 3, 2024. Authorities allege her involvement with the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), an organization linked to Alexei Navalny and classified as extremist by Russian authorities.
On May 21, 2024, it was announced that exiled journalist Svetlana Reiter faces prosecution under Article 20.33 of the Russian Administrative Code. This law penalizes participation in the activities of “an undesirable organization.” Sanctions under this article include fines of up to 15,000 rubles ($169).
Rosfinmonitoring, Russia's financial intelligence agency, added journalists exiled Anna Loiko and Maria Menshikova to its list of "terrorists and extremists" on May 29, 2024. The reporters were previously charged and arrested in absentia.
📍Serbia
KRIK journalist Bojana Pavlović and Editor-in-Chief Stevan Dojčinović face an oppressive SLAPP lawsuit on May 30, 2024, brought by appellate judge Dušanka Đorđević and her husband. These legal actions, stemming from KRIK's investigative work on the "Judge Who Judges" database, claim privacy violation and demands financial compensation, a two-year professional ban on KRIK journalists, and a ten-month prison sentence.
“Tackling 16 lawsuits at once means you also have to dedicate a lot of time to replying to those lawsuits, filing complaints, and appearing in court. This all is distracting us from our journalistic work”
1 Journalist Sexually Harassed
📍Romania
Adina Florea, a reporter for BIRN and former VICE Romania journalist, bravely revealed on May 20, 2024, how Razvan Baltaretu, ex-editor-in-chief of VICE Romania, sexually assaulted her in 2015 when she was just 20. Following her revelation, Florea was bombarded with disparaging comments across social media platforms and Romanian websites, with many attempting to undermine her credibility and question her motives.
At Least 11 Journalists Physically Assaulted
📍Sudan
Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary force formerly operated by the Government of Sudan, raided the home of Inaam Ahmady from El Geneina, West Darfur on May 7, 2024, and threatened her at gunpoint to surrender her equipment. The paramilitairy group also threatened her family.
📍Uganda
On the evening of May 12, 2024, in Uganda's western Buhweju District, freelance reporter Juliet Kyarisiima and others were attacked by a group of armed assailants and left injured and shaken. Kyarisiima was covering a public meeting addressing a contentious land issue when three men confronted her, demanding her camera and bag containing her laptop and a substantial amount of money. Despite her compliance, she was slapped and struck with a stick on her arm. The assailants also hurled stones at her as she attempted to flee.
On May 18, 2024, private bodyguards of opposition leader and former MP Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, widely known as Bobi Wine, assaulted and harassed three women journalists: Zainab Namusaazi, Gertrude Mutyaba, and Margaret Kayondo.
📍South Africa
Several women journalists covering the MK Party rally at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, South Africa, faced harassment, intimidation, and aggressive behavior on May 18, 2024.
📍Turkiye
On May 1, 2024, during a May Day march in Istanbul, police used aggressive tactics against protestors and journalists, violating press freedom and the right to peaceful assembly. Fatoş Erdoğan, a reporter for outlet Dokuz8 Haber, and KRT TV reporter Umut Taştan were among those injured during the police crackdown
📍Armenia
On May 13, 2024, in the capital, Yerevan, Nare Gevorgyan, a journalist affiliated with opposition media outlet Mediahub.am. was struck by a police truck while crossing a street. She was unmistakably identifiable as a member of the press, visibly holding a microphone and prominently displaying her press credentials.
📍Greece
Rena Kouvelioti, a journalist with Alpha TV, was viciously assaulted while investigating oxygen welding activities in Lagonisi, Attica, southern Greece, on May 14, 2024. The assailant forcibly turned her hand, causing severe injuries, including swelling in the collarbone, bruising, and neck injuries.
📍India
Reporter Yesha Kotak was covering PM Modi’s election event in the port city of Mumbai on May 15, 2024, when she was attacked by a police constable during the roadshow. The officer disregarded the CNN News18 reporter’s status as a journalist and forcibly hauled her, tearing her clothes in the process. The reporter’s microphone was also lost amidst the chaos."
3 Journalists Surveilled
📍Turkiye
On May 27, in leaked documents obtained by Nordic Monitor, it was revealed that Turkiye's Foreign Ministry has been spying on critical Turkish journalists living in exile. The surveillance program targeted journalists across various countries, including Sweden, Germany, Canada, the US, and the UK. Specific names of targeted journalists were mentioned, including Sevinç Özarslan, indicating a broad and systematic effort to monitor and intimidate exiled press
📍Russia
A joint investigation by Access Now and Citizen Lab has revealed that between August 2020 and January 2023, the phones of seven Russian and Belarusian-speaking independent journalists and opposition activists based in Europe were targeted and/or infected with Pegasus spyware. Exiled Russian journalist and CEO of Novaya Gazeta Europe Maria Epifanova’s iPhone was infected on or around August 18, 2020. Natallia Radzina, editor-in-chief of the independent Belarusian media website Charter97.org also had her device infected with Pegasus spyware.
2 Attacks on Equipment and Property
📍Georgia
On May 10, 2024 investigative media outlet Studio Monitori reported that the car belonging to journalist and organization head, Nino Zuriashvili, was defaced with insulting posters. Phrases such as 'agent sold for money' and 'whore' were found written on Zuriashvili’s car, accompanied by crude drawings. This attack not only targeted Zuriashvili but also aimed to intimidate the entire organization.
The NGO Media Development Foundation (MDF) and the Myth Detector fact-checking platform also fell victim to the attacks. Posters labeling staff as 'grant-eating agents' were placed outside their offices. Tamar Kintsurashvili, CEO of MDF and Chief Editor of Myth Detector, on May 10, 2024 shared footage showing two people dressed in black and wearing masks as they hung the posters on the walls, indicating a coordinated effort to intimidate and silence media organizations critical of the government.
14 Journalists Threatened and Intimidated
📍Malta
Former Labour Party Secretary General Jason Micallef has followed Prime Minister Robert Abela's lead in targeting Newsbook Malta journalist Monique Agius, accusing her of collusion with the "establishment" — a recurring allegation by the Labour government. Micallef, who also heads the Valletta Cultural Agency, allegedly displayed personal chats of Agius, suggesting an intrusive breach of privacy as photos were reportedly taken without her knowledge. This incident comes on the heels of Prime Minister Abela's similar accusations a week earlier during a press conference, where he criticized Agius for her questioning related to the magisterial inquiry into the Vitals/Steward hospitals scandal.
📍India
Neha Purav, a reporter for the last 25 years, faced threats at the doorstep of her house on May 1, 2024,, with men warning her to halt her reporting. Purav, who works for a local Marathi newspaper, Navakal, filed a first information report (FIR) at Mumbai’s police two days after the four unidentified men arrived at her home to warn her.
📍Turkiye
On May 6, 2024, Rojda Altıntaş, a Demirören News Agency (DHA) reporter, publicly disclosed the undue pressure and interference she faced while attempting to report on a significant news event concerning a car accident.
📍Georgia
Natia Kuprashvili, Director of Journalism Resource Center: Kuprashvili received multiple calls from numbers registered in Chad, Ukraine, and Georgia. The callers used vulgar language, mentioned her apartment address, and threatened revenge for opposing the foreign agent law.
Director of MDF and Chief Editor at Myth Detector, Tamar Kintsurashvili, also faced similar intimidation tactics, with callers swearing at her and her family members due to her opposition to the foreign agent law.
Nino Zuriashvili, Editor-in-Chief of Studio Monitori, also received numerous intimidating calls, with the caller expressing anger over her characterization of the foreign agent law as Russian rather than "European law on transparency." Zuriashvili suspected that her personal information might have been obtained from government sources, indicating a potential breach of privacy and misuse of state resources for targeting dissenters.
📍Russia
On May 6 and 7, 2024, Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs officers visited Lutfiye Zudiyeva at her Dzhankoi home, in Russian-occupied Crimea. The journalist was questioned and pressured to sign a document warning against breaking the law.
While reporting the pro-Russian Victory Day march in Chisinau on May 9, 2024, journalists Nadejda Roșcovanu from Jurnal.md and Viorica Tătaru from TV8 encountered intimidation, verbal abuse, and physical attacks from certain protestors.
📍France
On May 16, 2024, local residents' demonstration against disturbances caused by construction at the Grand Port Maritime of Marseille and a counter-mobilization led by port employees and members of the CGT (a major French trade union) escalated into violence. A journalist from the regional newspaper La Provence was physically assaulted by a port employee while covering the event. The employee, partially concealing his face, aggressively confronted the journalist and forcibly took her mobile phone.
Louise Bihan was reporting on a demonstration by Riposte Alimentaire, an ecological and social activist campaign, in Lille on May 17, 2024, when police attempted to intimidate her and curb her reporting.
📍New Caledonia
Coralie Cochin and Charlotte Mannevy, who have shown exceptional courage in reporting on the recent riots in New Caledonia. Despite escalating violence, have risked their safety to keep the public informed. The unrest in New Caledonia, triggered by changes to French voting laws that many fear will marginalize the indigenous Kanak community, has resulted in casualties and widespread damage. Journalists covering the events have faced significant threats and harassment, further complicating their efforts to report accurately.
📍Pakistan
Absa Komal, received multiple threats, including one person suggesting they could turn from 'flower' to 'sword' and another referencing a past murder by a supporter in Europe, warning Komal to be cautious.
6 Journalists Harassed Online
📍Mexico
On May 8, 2024, following the La Mañanera press conference, Stephanie Palacios faced intimidating messages and threats that focused on her physical appearance and hair color, as well as suggestions that she seek therapy. Palacios has submitted a discrimination complaint to the Mexico City Attorney General's Office against those responsible for inciting hatred or violence towards her.
On May 30, 2024, Anabel Hernández's X account was suspended for allegedly "violating community rules," days after she spoke out against the censorship of her book 'The Secret History: AMLO and the Sinaloa Cartel.’ Following the publication, trolls attacked her based on her caste identity and appearance instead of engaging with her lived experiences. One of Mondal's reporter friends in New Delhi — who wished to remain anonymous — tells Women Press Freedom that this was not the first time Mondal had been attacked for their identity and appearance.
📍India
A deepfake video falsely depicts Pooja Shali, a well-known journalist with India Today and Aaj Tak, promoting a non-existent trading application that misleadingly suggests lucrative investment opportunities with Reliance Industries, owned by Mukesh Ambani, Asia's wealthiest businessman.
📍Kosovo
Klan Kosova’s Ardiana Thaçi-Mehmeti became a target of harassment after her report on the Telegram group "Albkings" aired on KIKS Kosova on May 7, 2024. In retaliation, members of "Albkings" distributed her personal phone number within the group, leading to a flood of harassing calls and messages on various social media platforms.
📍France
Nassira El Moaddem, a journalist with Arrêt sur Images, became the target of online harassment and a flood of hateful messages after she posted a tweet denouncing racism in France. The harassment began on May 1, 2024, after she reacted to news from the soccer sports federation about banning certain attire on soccer pitches in the name of secularism. Expressing her dismay in a tweet, she referred to France as a "country of degenerate racists."
5 Journalists Denied Access or Accreditation Revoked
📍France
Authorities in France have denied a press card application from Manal Fkihi, a Paris-based Moroccan journalist, for wearing a hijab in her identification photo. The CCIJP's adherence to passport photo standards, which prohibit head coverings, is a regressive policy that fails to recognize the distinction between professional and personal identification. A press card is fundamentally a professional document and should not be subjected to the same restrictive standards
📍Switzerland
The denial of interview permits to Taiwanese journalists Tian Si-ru and Judy Tseng, who both worked for the Taiwanese Central News Agency (CNA) as its Brussels and Paris correspondents, for attending the annual World Health Assembly slated to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 27.
📍Georgia
Between April 28 and May 1, while covering the protests, police obstructed Publika reporter Lika Zakashvili and TV Pirveli reporter Nanuka Kajai, preventing them from taking images of demonstrations.
2 Journalists Lost Employment
📍United Kingdom
Sangita Myska, a renowned radio presenter and former BBC reporter, has not been on air at LBC since April 20. The station announced last week that Myska would be leaving at the end of her contract, which she began in 2022. Her departure follows a contentious interview with an Israeli spokesperson regarding the ongoing war in Gaza.
📍United States
On May 22, 2024, Media Matters for America revealed plans to lay off around a dozen staff members. Legal pressures, including a lawsuit from Elon Musk's X social media platform, were a key factor in the decision.
3 Journalists Insulted or Discredited
📍Croatia
Following news of the arrest of key Croatian government figures implicated in a corruption scandal exposed by Telegram journalist Dora Kršul, Technical Prime Minister Andrej Plenković dismissed Kršul's revelations about the Ministry of Culture scandal, stating that they did not constitute investigative journalism but rather the “illegal” publication of investigation documents obtained through unauthorized means. He labeled her reporting politically motivated.
📍United States
Narinder Kaur became the recent target of actor-turned-politician Laurence Fox, who callously shared an indecent image of her, an illegal act in the UK. The Metropolitan Police have confirmed their ongoing investigation under the Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019, which criminalizes the act of operating equipment or recording an image under another person's clothing without consent.
📍Georgia
The Mayor of Tbilisi, Kakha Kaladze publicly insulted a reporter from the government-critical Formula TV, Nutsa Bakhutashvili. The incident occurred on May 2, 2024, when Bakhutashvili pressed Kaladze about the alleged use of rubber bullets by police during a protest against the “foreign agents” bill on May 1.
Legal Wins
📍Turkiye
On May 6, 2024, Zehra Doğan was finally acquitted in her retrial at the Mardin 2nd Heavy Penal Court. The journalist and artist, who spent 2 years behind bars had her bogus terrorism conviction overturned.
📍United States
On May 16, 2024, prosecutors dropped the criminal trespassing charges against the Dartmouth student journalists Charlotte Hampton and Alesandra “Dre” Gonzales. Initially, Dartmouth indicated it would allow the legal process to unfold, but faced criticism from press freedom advocates including Women Press Freedom. President of Dartmouth Sian Beilock stated the journalists, Hampton and Gonzales, should never have been arrested.
On May 23, 2024, reporter Brittany Hailer secured a settlement against the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh over regulations prohibiting staff from engaging with the media or expressing views on social media platforms.
If you would like to request more insight into our findings, or would like to suggest an addition to our work reach out to us at info@womeninjournalism.org. For media inquiries reach out to us at press@womeninjournalism.org.
Women Press Freedom is an initiative by The Coalition For Women In Journalism
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.