The Most Urgent Threats to Press Freedom in 2026
The One Free Press Coalition, in partnership with CPJ, IWMF, and RSF, released its 2026 '10 Most Urgent' list highlighting journalists imprisoned on anti-state charges worldwide. The report underscores that 61% of the 330 journalists currently jailed globally face such charges, with cases spotlighted in Iran, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and China. The coalition calls for international attention and action to defend press freedom and secure the release of persecuted journalists.
- ▪Reza Valizadeh, an Iranian-American journalist, was sentenced to 10 years in Iran for allegedly collaborating with the U.S. government after returning to care for his parents.
- ▪Jimmy Lai, a British citizen and founder of Apple Daily, received a 20-year prison sentence in Hong Kong under the national security law for collusion and sedition charges.
- ▪Pham Doan Trang, a Vietnamese journalist and activist, is serving a nine-year sentence for 'anti-state propaganda' and has been denied medical care and family contact.
- ▪Zhang Zhan, a Chinese journalist who reported on the Wuhan pandemic, is serving a second four-year sentence after being re-arrested in 2024 on 'picking quarrels' charges.
- ▪The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that China is the world’s worst jailer of journalists, with at least 51 currently imprisoned, including eight in Hong Kong.
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Coinciding with World Press Freedom Day (May 3rd), global media outlets unite as One Free Press Coalition to publish this annual “10 Most Urgent” list, bringing attention to fellow journalists who are being threatened for seeking to tell the truth. These 10 cases focus on journalists who are targeted for “terrorism” or “anti-state” charges.According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the majority of imprisoned journalists—61% of those jailed worldwide—are being held on “anti-state” charges, which include accusations of terrorism or accepting funds from a foreign government. The list is compiled in collaboration with CPJ, International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF), and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
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