Risky Truth: Journalism Faces Global Repression | ClipTV Online

Journalists across the globe keep leaving footprints that make the world better than it used to be. They uphold public trust, escalate issues that may be in the dark, and strengthen institutions. However, a major challenge to these noble efforts. This confrontation tends to limit press freedom, undermine journalistic efforts, and repress journalists in various ways.

There was the case of Daniel Ojukwu, an investigative journalist who reports for the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ). Ojukwu was arrested, detained, and abused by the Nigerian Police in 2024. He was denied access to a lawyer until FIJ declared him missing. He was eventually released after 9days of psychological trauma and distress.

In 2020, Pelumi Onifade, a reporter with Gboah TV, was a victim of the EndSARS protests. In October 2020, Onifade was covering the EndSars protest at a government facility in Agege when the Lagos Task Force Police officers reportedly arrested him. The report also notes that he was wearing a Press jacket that identified him as a reporter. Days later, he was identified in a morgue, dead.

These are among many other realities of journalists’ repression around the world.
Sophia Huang Xueqin is another case study. Sophia is a Chinese journalist who exposed sexual abuse in China 5 years ago. She was arrested, detained, and imprisoned. She has been serving a jail term for the past 5 years. Her case brought out the #MeToo movement. Sophia’s sentence is to end on the 18th September, and due for release. However, there are concerns that arbitrary restrictions may be imposed.

Speaking on Sophia’s case, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Asia-Pacific Director, Beh Lih Yi, noted that she “should never have spent a day in jail.”

60 human rights and press freedom organizations are calling on the Chinese government to ensure Sophia’s “released without arbitrary restrictions and allowed to return to journalism without surveillance or retaliation” CPJ said.

CPJ further added that “her imprisonment exposes a regime terrified of truth-tellers, independent media, and female journalists.” The organization urged China to grant Sophia full and unrestricted freedom without delay.

Journalists’ repression, harassment, and intimidation by state and non-state actors have remained a global concern that requires ongoing discussion. They ask tough questions, speak truth to power, and demand accountability.