Syria

Syria ranks 177th out of 180 in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), scoring around 14-15—classified as “very serious,” near the bottom globally, one year after Bashar al-Assad’s fall in December 2024.

Two journalists were killed in 2025 due to their work, per IFJ reports (among 128 global deaths), amid transitional violence. Notable cases include photojournalist Sari Majid al-Shoufi, killed covering clashes in Sweida in July 2025.

Syria has the world’s highest number of missing journalists (37 per RSF), many from Assad-era detentions or ISIS captivity, still unresolved. Post-Assad risks include militia harassment, assaults, detentions, office damage during sectarian clashes (e.g., Sweida, coastal areas), and self-censorship amid polarization. Impunity for abuses continues, threatening emerging independent media in this fragile transition