Will Trump Defend the Jailed Journalists Who Worked for America?

As global crackdowns on press freedom intensify, a troubling pattern is emerging: journalists formerly affiliated with United States-funded media outlets are being imprisoned, exiled, or silenced — often with little recourse or protection.From Azerbaijan to Russia, reporters working for Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty have faced state retaliation for doing the work previous United States administrations asked them to do.“It’s difficult and always has been to protect foreign reporters whose pieces work for American agencies and at the same time claim they are free from government control,” Adjunct Media Professor at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, John Walcott, tells The New York Sun. Consider Ulviyya Ali, also known as Ulviyya Guliyeva, a former Voice of America contributor in Azerbaijan, arrested in May, after the March 14 executive order that cut funding and placed nearly 1,300 workers on administrative leave. Ms. Ali, who continued writing on her personal social media after the Voice of America’s closure, was accused of illegally bringing Western funding into the country. She is currently being held in pre-trial detention.Human Rights Watch observed that Ms. Ali was the 25th reporter Azerbaijani authorities have jailed over the past 18 months. She is also one of at least 10 reporters who worked for Washington-backed outfits — Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Radio Free Asia — now languishing behind bars. Unresolved CasesBeyond Azerbaijan, journalists across Asia and Eastern Europe remain detained under sweeping national security or propaganda laws.The issue of apprehending journalists, however, is not limited to those connected to the United States. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, roughly 361 journalists are imprisoned worldwide — the second-highest total since the organization began tracking in 1992 — and more than half are detained in China, Israel, Myanmar, Belarus, and Russia. Around 63 percent of these journalists faced broad “anti-state” charges, such as terrorism or extremism, reflecting governments’ growing use of vague laws to silence independent reporting.Many of the unresolved journalist arrests originated during the Biden administration. Among them are five Vietnamese correspondents: Voice of America contributor Pham Chi Dung, serving a 15-year sentence for vague “dangerous actions,” and four Radio Free Asia journalists, including Truong Duy Nhat, Nguyen Tuong Thuy, Nguyen Lan Thang, and Nguyen Vu Binh, who face charges ranging from defamation to anti-state propaganda. Other detained journalists include Myanmar-based Voice of America correspondent Sithu Aung Myint, who received hard labor for alleged defamation of the military; Azerbaijani financial journalist Farid Mehralizada, arrested on currency-smuggling charges; Radio Free Europe’s Nika Novak, accused of secret cooperation with a foreign organization. While the specific accusations against the journalists vary, all are associated with American-funded media. Their plight becomes even more urgent following the March 14, 2025, executive order dismantling these outlets. There were, however, a few positive moments last week.On Saturday, June 21, Belarusian’s Ihar Karnei — who was behind bars for five years, serving a 15-year prison term for “inciting hatred” — became one of 14 political prisoners released by President Lukashenko following a visit from United States special envoy Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg. This was part of what Belarusian officials described as a response to a direct request from President Trump.Two days later, Ukrainian journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko, imprisoned in Crimea on espionage charges, was released this past Monday in what advocates are hailing as a “victory” for free speech.Washington’s Response What is the Trump administration, which has prioritized the release of American political prisoners and hostages, doing in response to the outstanding cases? The approach has been a mix of progress and setbacks.One tool under discussion to apply to governments arresting journalists is the Global Magnitsky Act. This United States law allows the government to impose financial sanctions and visa bans on foreign officials involved in serious human rights abuses or corruption. If applied, it could be used to hold accountable those who detain, torture, or silence journalists simply for their affiliation with American-backed broadcasters.Director of Corporate and Community Relations for the hostage and political prisoner activist organization, The James W. Foley Foundation, Amy Coyne, tells the Sun that they “applaud the efforts of the Trump administration in securing the release of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Ihar Karnei from captivity in Belarus.”“The Foundation believes the U.S has a moral and ethical obligation to make every effort to secure the release and provide refuge for all journalists hired by federally funded media outlets who are now imprisoned or in exile,” Ms. Coyne continued. “The Foley Foundation supports these efforts that benefit journalists, including offering emergency legal funds and potential Magnitsky sanctions. These are much-needed steps in countering the human rights abuse many journalists face in large part due to their work with the U.S government.”American officials are also considering the creation of emergency funds to support endangered journalists, covering legal defense costs and emergency relocation when necessary, and weighing the use of targeted sanctions against foreign governments that persecute reporters connected to American-funded media outlets.Critics point to the Trump administration’s complicated record with the media in general. Mr. Walcott concurs that “emergency legal funds and Magnitsky sanctions would be a step in the right direction,” but what is also needed overall is a shift away from “attacking” news sources that present a different viewpoint than that of the administration. In what some consider a concerning step backward, in April, the State Department’s 2025 human rights report was released with few specifics on detained United States-linked journalists — omitting names, cases, and accountability for their captors. This came on the heels of cuts made under the administration to United States-funded international broadcasting services.Other Journalist Issues The prospect of jail time isn’t the only cause of concern since the global media funding cuts. As a result of the media dismantling, many journalists are left uncertain about their legal status or ability to stay in the countries where they were based. The abrupt loss of support was especially devastating for Russian-speaking journalists in exile, working from cities like Prague, Riga, and Vilnius. Many face possible deportation because their visas were tied to suddenly terminated employment contracts.Other former international employees for Voice of America also tell the Sun that they are still awaiting their last months of payment since the abrupt suspension and have no recourse or way of reaching someone to help, given the mass layoffs. “I’m a single mother, and that money might not seem much to those in the U.S., but it is a lot to me,” the former Asia-based employee said. “I’m not asking for my job back; I just want to be paid what I am owed. No one can answer my emails because everyone is gone.”Yet the long-term fate of these outlets isn’t clear cut. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on March 28 to pause further dismantling, and ongoing court battles have led to some partial legal protections. Still, by late June, at least 639 layoff notices had been disseminated — an 85 percent reduction in the workforce — leaving these institutions barely functional and thousands of journalists without support.The administration is determined that the once-storied news outlets are no longer the way forward.During a House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, Keri Lake, who runs the U.S. Agency for Global Media, described independent reporting from international news agencies funded by Washington as “corrupt” and “biased,” emphasizing that the president’s objective was not to revamp but to permanently shutter Voice of America, which she deemed “a rotten piece of fish.”However, in the wake of Israel’s bombing incursion into Iran earlier this month, Washington officials scrambled to reinstate Voice of America’s Persian-language staff. The U.S. Agency for Global Media instructed employees on administrative leave to resume their work countering Iranian state media, suggesting a growing sense that soft power’s importance is still a key tool. Mr. Walcott hopes we may see other foreign newsrooms return, stressing that closing these newsrooms was a “disastrous mistake in a world that now is flooded with disinformation, half-truths and lies, increasingly bolstered by artificial intelligence.”Regarding the imprisoned journalists, a spokesperson for the United States Department of State told the Sun, “We condemn any harassment, attacks, or unjust detentions of journalists for exercising their freedom of expression.”Others want to see more concrete action for those left languishing. “We’ve always cared about people imprisoned in other countries, even in cases when they are not American citizens, and we have a duty to these people if they worked in any way on behalf of the United States government,” CEO of AMW Public Relations and media expert, Adam Weiss, tells the Sun. “We should care. And do something about it.”

Will Trump Defend the Jailed Journalists Who Worked for America?

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