Forbidden Stories

25/07/2025

🔴 In Gaza, journalists have endured bombings, targeted airstrikes, and a suffocating siege. Now, they face hunger. Caught between the need to find food and the duty to report, many are too weak to work. Exhausted and malnourished, they fear starvation will silence their voices, leaving Gaza without those who bear witness.
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Hamed Sbeata | Freelancer, recently contributed to TF1 TF1 INFO France tv NOS
Ruwaida Amer | Journalist for +972 Magazine, contributed to the
Basel Khair Al-Din | Independent journalist contributed to Al Jazeera Channel - قناة الجزيرة
Shrouq Al Aila | Independent journalist and producer of AinMedia, 2024 International Press Freedom Award
Mohammed al-Hajjar | Photojournalist, recently contributed to AP Middle East Eye
Youssef Hassouna | Journalist for AFP News Agency

18/07/2025

🔴 NEW INVESTIGATION: A decade‑long ban for Guernsey adviser tied to the family of an Azerbaijani oligarch 🇦🇿

Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated by a car bomb in 2017, a murder that drew global media attention. The following year, Forbidden Stories joined forces with 45 journalists to carry on her investigations.

Several years on, we’ve kept pulling the thread. It led us, once again, to the Pilatus Bank (closed since 2018), which Daphne had accused of money laundering.

Today, at the center of our latest investigation is Ginette Louise Blondel, a financial adviser who was penalized in March 2024 by Guernsey’s financial regulator for operating without the proper license and failing in her due diligence obligations. She performed management and administrative services for two clients considered “high-risk.”

Blondel is a prime example of the offshore facilitators operating in a grey zone—professionals who enable clients to quietly manage their gains despite mounting regulatory scrutiny.

🤝 In partnership with The Sentry
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Head to our website for the full story: https://forbiddenstories.org/daphne-project-azerbaijani-oligarch/

17/07/2025

📰L'Orient-Le Jour rejoint le

Basée au , la rédaction de L'Orient Le Jour mène des enquêtes sensibles à travers le Moyen-Orient. Leurs journalistes opèrent régulièrement sur des terrains à risque et font face à des menaces en raison de leur travail.

🔐 En rejoignant le , L'Orient Le Jour sécurise dès à présent ses enquêtes en cours et s’inscrit dans un réseau solidaire, dédié à la protection du journalisme indépendant.

17/07/2025

🔴 Couvrir les enjeux miniers est particulièrement sensible dans le sud de la République démocratique du Congo. C’est pourquoi Becky Kasongo et Fiston Salumu rejoignent le . Ces deux journalistes d’investigation intègrent notre réseau pour protéger leurs enquêtes à haut risque.

➡️ Becky Kasongo, basée à Kolwezi (Haut-Katanga), enquête sur les conditions de travail dans les mines industrielles, les relations entre les populations locales et les entreprises exploitantes, ainsi que les déplacements de communautés causés par l’expansion des sites miniers. Elle travaille avec Reportage sans Frontières et Mines Actu.

➡️ Fiston Salumu, basé à Lubumbashi, collabore avec la chaîne locale RT Wangu et d'autres médias. Il couvre l’impact environnemental de l’exploitation minière et ses conséquences sur les populations locales.

🔐 Leurs enquêtes sensibles sont désormais protégées : si leur travail venait à être empêché, nous le poursuivrons.

17/07/2025

🇳🇬 In Kwara State, , journalists are increasingly being detained under controversial legal orders originally intended for high-profile criminals, according to an article by Shola Taofeek Salihu - a member of the - published in The Informant247.

Two SafeBox members — Dare Akogun and Salihu Ayatullahi— have been subjected to this practice over the past few years.

Between 2022 and mid-2024, at least 9️⃣ journalists were targeted by a “motion ex parte”, a court procedure that allows suspects to be locked up without a fair hearing. In most cases, the court invokes this order against reporters who published a story that holds powerful people to account.

In 2022, investigative journalist Dare Akogun, was summoned by the police for accusing the Press Secretary to Kwara State of influencing the council election of the Nigeria Union of Journalists. The police asked for apologies, when he refused, Akogun was detained under a “motion ex parte” for seven days.

This episode had a profound effect on his work: “I now think twice before publicly criticizing this government, or publishing stories that question their policies,” Akogun said. “That’s not how journalism should be.”

In January 2024, Salihu Ayatullahi, the Informant247’s editor-in-chief was arrested after publishing an investigative report that exposed financial mismanagement at the Kwara State Polytechnic. He was detained overnight under harsh conditions.The police sought to remand the journalist for 21 days through a “motion ex parte”.

However, this time the Magistrate of the court declined the plea. Throughout the 11-month period in which the case lasted, the police repeatedly failed to present any evidence. According to Salihu Ayatullahi “they were only interested in using the remand order to break us. That didn’t work so they had to abandon the case.”

Following their arrests, they both joined the . Their documents are therefore also shared with us. Should they ever be silenced, Forbidden Stories reserves the right to continue their investigation.

Full story available at: https://theinformant247.com/in-kwara-police-govt-use-laws-meant-for-high-profile-criminal-cases-to-jail-journalists/

16/07/2025

🔴Protecting the work of Mohammed Hafeez amid threats

Yemeni journalist Mohammed Hafeez, a member of the , has faced escalating threats after exposing the forced eviction of displaced families by armed tribal groups—while displacement authorities failed to intervene.

His reporting embarrassed officials and spurred a belated visit to the victims. In response, Hafeez received online threats, was removed from press groups, threatened by authorities, and ultimately barred from speaking at a humanitarian event due to political pressure.

The Yemeni Journalists’ Union has condemned these violations: https://www.guyj.net/news845.html

Hafeez protects his materials with us. We will ensure his investigation continues should he ever be silenced.

11/07/2025

10/07/2025

🇵🇾 : Forbidden Stories y sus socios investigan un silencio mortal

¿Por qué han sido asesinados tantos periodistas a lo largo de la frontera entre Paraguay y Brasil —y por qué se han resuelto tan pocos casos?

Con la , Forbidden Stories y sus socios continúan el trabajo de reporteros silenciados por el crimen organizado, la corrupción y la impunidad.

Desliza para descubrir lo que encontramos.

🔗 Enlace para leer todas nuestras investigaciones en español, inglés y francés: https://forbiddenstories.org/es/alianza-paraguay-investigacion-crimen-organizado/

fue coordinada por Forbidden Stories y en colaboración con , , La Nación de Argentina, y , junto con . colaboró como socio de republicación.

09/07/2025

🔴 : Forbidden Stories and its partners investigate a deadly silence

Why have so many journalists been murdered along Paraguay’s border with Brazil—and why have so few cases been solved?

In Alianza Paraguay, Forbidden Stories and its partners continue the work of reporters silenced by organized crime, corruption, and impunity.

All our articles are available at: https://forbiddenstories.org/projects_posts/alianza-paraguay/

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was coordinated by Forbidden Stories and Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, in collaboration with Cuestión Pública, revista piauí, LA NACION from Argentina, La Diaria, IrpiMedia, and with DDOS. ABC Digital collaborated as a republication partner.

08/07/2025

🔴 Nuestra nueva investigación, disponible mañana.
La Paraguay fue coordinada por Forbidden Stories y Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, en colaboración con Cuestión Pública, revista piauí, La Nación de Argentina, La Diaria, IrpiMedia, y DDoS. ABC Digital colabora como socio en la republicación de los reportajes.

08/07/2025

🔴 Stay tuned. We're publishing tomorrow, at 2PM CET.
was coordinated by Forbidden Stories and Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, in collaboration with Cuestión Pública, revista piauí, LA NACION from Argentina, La Diaria, IrpiMedia, and with DDOS. ABC Digital collaborated as a republication partner.

07/07/2025

🔴 : « Je suis toujours traumatisé. »

Le 24 décembre 2024, le journaliste Whisly Desir couvrait la réouverture du plus grand hôpital public d’Haïti, à Port-au-Prince. Quelques minutes avant le début de la cérémonie, le gang « 5 Segond » a lancé une attaque meurtrière — des balles ont criblé le portail et les murs de l’hôpital.

Pris au piège, les journalistes ont filmé la scène. Deux reporters et un policier ont été tués, sept journalistes blessés.

Desir, qui a filmé l’attaque avec son téléphone, participe aujourd’hui à un groupe de soutien — dans l’espoir d’un jour « oublier » le massacre dont il a été témoin.

Cette attaque illustre les risques extrêmes auxquels sont confrontés les journalistes en Haïti, où les gangs utilisent désormais des drones pour mener leurs offensives et diffuser leur propagande.

Notre enquête en intégralité est à retrouver sur notre site : https://forbiddenstories.org/hospital-gangs-haiti/