2025 World Press Freedom Heroes

In its 75th anniversary year, the International Press Institute (IPI), in partnership with International Media Support (IMS), has announced the recipients of the 2025 IPI-IMS World Press Freedom Hero award, honouring seven extraordinary journalists from around the globe who have displayed tremendous courage and resilience in the fight for media freedom.

 

Jailed by Georgia’s ruling party for her refusal to be silenced, Mzia Amaglobeli has become a symbol of the power of media resistance to rising authoritarianism.
Undeterred by institutional resistance, legendary American journalist Martin Baron embodies the power and purpose of journalism at a time when press freedom comes increasingly under threat around the globe, and now, in the United States.
Killed by an Israeli strike, photojournalist Mariam Abu Dagga exemplifies the remarkable courage and determination of Palestinian journalists bringing the world the truth.
A legendary figure in Latin American investigative journalism, Gustavo Gorriti built a career out of holding the powerful to account. Now he faces imprisonment as the subjects of his past investigations seek to punish him for his reporting.
Imprisoned for nearly five years, Jimmy Lai faces a possible life sentence behind bars as he awaits the verdict of a landmark trial that has come to symbolize the fight for free expression in Hong Kong.
One of the only journalists willing to cross the front lines of Russia’s war on Ukraine, Victoria Roshchyna paid the ultimate price for her determination to expose the truth about life in the occupied territories.
Despite multiple imprisonments and constant government pressure, Tesfalem Waldyes has dedicated his career to preserving a space for independent, public interest journalism in Ethiopia.