Press Violations Explode to 180 in May Alone as Israel Cracks Down to Buff Its Image

“The more that Israel is exposed internationally for its human rights violations in Palestine, the more it becomes desperate in its attempt to crack down on journalists and the media in general.” — Dr. Ramzy Baroud

Jessica Buxbaum
By Jessica Buxbaum
Israel Press Freedom Feature photo

OCCUPIED EAST JERUSALEM — Despite wearing a press vest and holding a government press card, Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Givara Budeiri was violently assaulted and arrested by Israeli police on June 5. Budeiri was covering a demonstration in the Occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah when Israeli forces attacked and then

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“No Victory for Press Freedom” – Assange Wins Case but Judge Sets Worrying Precedent

Julian Assange will not be extradited to the United States as many feared, but his fate still hangs in the balance as it was the integrity of his mental health, not the right to a free press, that saved him.

Alan Macleod
By Alan Macleod
Julian Assange extradition

Wikileaks cofounder Julian Assange will not be extradited to the United States, a London court decided this morning. District Judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled that Assange would stay in the United Kingdom over fears for his psychological health. “I find that the mental condition of Mr Assange is such that it would be oppressive to extradite him to the

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John Pilger: The Lies About Julian Assange Must Stop Now

The media, for selfish reasons, may finally be waking up to the consequences of their malign smears and misrepresentation of Julian Assange.

John Pilger
By John Pilger
Julian Assange

Newspapers and other media in the United States, Britain and Australia have recently declared a passion for freedom of speech, especially their right to publish freely.  They are worried by the “Assange effect”.   It is as if the struggle of truth-tellers like Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning is now a warning to them: that the thugs who

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Blinded Palestinian Journalist Exposes Israel’s Increasing Violence Against Media

2018 saw a 52 percent increase in the number of violations against Palestinian press, the majority of them comprised physical abuse, arrests or detentions, questioning, preventing coverage and shutting down websites and social media accounts. 

Delilah Boxstein
By Delilah Boxstein
Muath Amarneh Feature photo

On November 15, Palestinian photojournalist Muath Amarneh covered a demonstration in Surif, a West Bank city where residents were protesting against the theft of their land by Israeli settlers. Wearing a press jacket and helmet, Amarneh was shot in the head by an Israeli bullet while taking pictures on a nearby hill — about 330 feet from the

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Accused of Treason and Imprisoned Without Trial: Journalist Kirill Vyshinsky Recounts His Harrowing Time in a Ukrainian Prison

Eva Bartlett sat down with recently released Ukrainian journalist Kirill Vyshinsky. Vyshinsky endured 15 months of appalling conditions in a Ukrainian prison after being falsely accused of treason.

Eva Bartlett
By Eva Bartlett
Kirill Vyshinsky

  In November 2018, I became aware of the case of Kirill Vyshinsky, a Ukrainian-Russian journalist and editor imprisoned in Ukraine without trial since May 2018, accused of high treason.  Soon after, I interviewed Vyshinsky via email. He described his arrest and the accusations against him as politically-motivated, “an attempt by the

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John Pilger: The Assange Arrest Is a Warning From History

That this outrage happened in the heart of London, in the land of Magna Carta, ought to shame and anger all who fear for “democratic” societies, writes John Pilger,

John Pilger
By John Pilger
Wikileaks | Julian Assange Arrested

The glimpse of Julian Assange being dragged from the Ecuadorean embassy in London is an emblem of the times. Might against right. Muscle against the law. Indecency against courage. Six policemen manhandled a sick journalist, his eyes wincing against his first natural light in almost seven years. That this outrage happened in the heart of London,

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