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). According to CPJ data, 330 journalists are currently behind bars worldwide because of their work. 

The One Free Press Coalition crucially and emphatically unites our collective voices in support of the following individuals and their urgent cases of press persecution.

Reza Valizadeh. Courtesy of the Valizadeh family

After 16 years working as a journalist in the U.S., Iranian-American Reza Valizadeh returned to Iran in February 2024 to care for his aging parents. He claimed to have attempted to negotiate assurances from Iranian authorities for his safe return, but was repeatedly summoned and interrogated for cooperating with exile-based Persian media. He was then arrested in September 2024 in Tehran and sentenced to 10 years in prison for “collaboration with the hostile government of the United States.” Valizadeh’s health has deteriorated in detention, especially worsening of his chronic asthma during a brief transfer from Evin Prison to “dangerously overcrowded” Fashafouyeh Prison (in the words of Valizadeh’s brother) after a deadly strike on Evin during Iran’s 12-day war with Israel in 2025. CPJ reached the U.S. State Department for comment in July 2025 and received word that the Trump Administration called on Iran “to immediately release Mr. Valizadeh and all unjustly detained individuals in Iran.” 

Jimmy Lai Courtesy of the Lai Family

In February, a Hong Kong court sentenced 78-year-old Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison—effectively a life........

© Time