"In its annual round-up for 2025, RSF says that 67 reporters had been killed, 503 detained, 135 missing, and 20 held hostage as of December 1. As in previous years, Russia was considered one of the worst places for journalists, ranking only behind China in the number of reporters it has incarcerated, with 48 journalists in detention. Belarus and Iran also remain among the world's top jailers, with 33 and 21 journalists imprisoned respectively, placing both inside RSF's global top 10."
"For example, in what RSF described as a "sham" process and "the first collective trial of journalists in Vladimir Putin's Russia," Konstantin Gabov, Sergei Karelin, Antonina Favorskaya, and Artyom Kriger were each sentenced to five and a half years in prison in April for "collaborating with an extremist organization" due to their coverage of opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, who died in prison in February 2024."
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) recorded 67 reporters killed, 503 detained, 135 missing, and 20 held hostage worldwide as of December 1, 2025. Russia ranked only behind China in jailed reporters, holding 48, while Belarus and Iran imprisoned 33 and 21 journalists respectively. Many Russian reporters faced charges from extremism to allegedly spreading false information about the invasion of Ukraine, with several sentenced in collective trials. The crackdown forced journalists into exile and prompted nearly 70 to be targeted by arrests or convictions in absentia over three years, including 30 in 2025. Conflict zones such as Ukraine saw reporters killed by strikes, artillery and occupation-related violence.
Read at RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
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