Journalists are being imprisoned across the world. These are the 10 most urgent cases.

Journalists have been wrongfully imprisoned in various countries.One Free Press CoalitionJournalists are facing unjust imprisonment across the world.Each year, a coalition of news publishers identifies a list of the 10 "most urgent" cases.At the top of this year's list is Jimmy Lai, who is being held in solitary confinement in Hong Kong.Journalists globally are facing unjust imprisonment for doing their jobs.Among them is Jimmy Lai, the founder of Apple Daily, the pro-democracy paper that was forced to shut down in 2021. Lai has been in solitary confinement in Hong Kong since 2020.Lai is on this year's list of "10 most urgent" cases of unjustly imprisoned journalists, which is compiled annually by One Free Press, a coalition of news organizations including Business Insider.One Free Press selects cases that "illuminate governments' efforts at criminalizing journalism, silencing the media, and withholding information from the public."Data from the Committee to Protect Journalists showed 361 journalists behind bars worldwide at the end of 2024, up from 320 in 2023.Some journalists have recently been freed. Two journalists detained in Russia who topped last year's list, Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, were released last August. But many more are still imprisoned."We cannot forget that these journalists are more than just statistics," Kurmasheva said in a video statement. "They are real people like me with families, friends, and coworkers that love and rely on them.""We must treat them as the heroes they are and never stop fighting for their release," she added.Here is the "10 most urgent list," with descriptions provided by One Free Press. The CPJ, International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF), and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also contributed.1. Jimmy Lai (Hong Kong)Jimmy LaiLai FamilySince 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 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 Lai's trial on charges 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 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)Shin DaeweIWMFAward-winning documentary filmmaker Shin Daewe was ordered a life sentence in 2024 (since reduced 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 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 that Daewe appeared to have been beaten during police interrogations, based on visible stitches on her head and welts on her arms. Daewe reported 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)Frenchie Mae CumpioAlterMidyaTacloban-based journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, 26, has been held in pre-trial detention for five years. Authorities raided her home in February 2020 and arrested her—along with colleagues Marielle Domequil and Alexander Abinguna—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 in 2020 and accused of "anti-state propaganda." She was held incommunicado for more than one year before her one-day trial and conviction in 2021, sentencing her to nine years in prison. For years prior to her arrest, she endured 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 in Luat Khoa legal magazine which she founded, independent English-language website The Vietnamese, state media, and exile-run blog Danlambao. Former PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said in 2024, "She has sacrificed her health and freedom in the pursuit of justice.5. Ihar Losik (Belarus)Ihar LosikRFE_RLA 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 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 to 15 years in prison. Reports suggest that Losik, 32, has endured hunger strikes, frequent cell transfers, denied mail privileges and self-inflicted injuries, and he is currently being held incommunicado. In 2025, RSF filed a complaint at the International Criminal Court on his behalf. President Alexander Lukashenko and his regime have cracked down on independent media, holding dozens of political prisoners, including having detained Losik's wife Darya for more than a year after she gave an interview to Poland-based news outlet Belsat.6. Sevinj Vagifgizi (Azerbaijan)Since 2023, Azerbaijan has implemented a major crackdown 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, 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 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 during a March 2025 hearing. "It's about intolerance for the truth." The journalists could face up to 12 years in detention.7. Vladyslav Yesypenko (Russia)Vladyslav YesypenkoRFE_RLOne of at least 18 Ukrainian journalists from Russian-occupied Crimea being held 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 in 2021 and sentenced in 2022 to six years in prison (later reduced to five years). Initially detained 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 the charges as fabricated. According to RFE/RL, Yesypenko testified that he was tortured with electric shocks to force him into a false confession.8. Li Yanhe (China)Li YanheRTIChina is the world's leading jailer of journalists, holding at least 150 behind bars according to RSF and CPJ reporting in December 2024. Among them, Taiwan-based radio host and publisher Li Yanhe was arrested two years ago during a trip to Shanghai, held 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 that Li—who was born 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, "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 sentences against three journalists from YouTube-based anti-corruption investigative outlet 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 into house arrest or released under travel bans. The decision also included 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.10. Joakim Medin (Turkey)Joakim MedinJoakim MedinJoakim Medin, a special correspondent for the Swedish newspaper ETC, has been held in a high-security prison in Silivri, Turkey since March 30. He was arrested three days earlier in Istanbul, while traveling to report on civil unrest in the city, and was accused 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 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 the handwritten message from prison: "Journalism is not a crime in any country." An RSF report 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.Read the original article on Business Insider

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