Imprisoned Journalists
RFE/RL advocates on behalf of its journalists who have been imprisoned because of their work. They must be released immediately to their families. Journalism is not a crime.
RFE/RL 101
RFE/RL’s mission is to promote democratic values by providing accurate, uncensored news, and open debate in countries where a free press is threatened and disinformation is pervasive. RFE/RL reports the facts, undaunted by pressure.
Reporting the facts
Our Mission
RFE/RL provides independent news in places where a free press is banned by the government or not yet fully established.
Our Impact
48.1M
Weekly audience
(FY2025)
978M
Visits to RFE/RL websites
(January–December 2025)
1.3B
Facebook video views
(January–December 2025)
1.7B
YouTube video views
(January–December 2025)
Where We Work
RFE/RL reports in 24 languages to 18 countries, reaching nearly 50 million people every week.
18 Countries, 24 Languages
We report in 18 countries and 24 languages across Europe, Eurasia, Central Asia, and the Near East.
Our Prague Headquarters
RFE/RL was based in Munich from 1950–1995, then moved to Prague at President Vaclav Havel’s invitation in 1995.
Closed Media Environments
Closed media environments force many of our journalists to report remotely from Prague, Riga, Vilnius, and other locations.
Reaching Growing Audiences
RFE/RL breaks through state censorship and restrictions on media to provide audiences a platform for informed discussion and debate.
Afghanistan
In April 2025, RFE/RL’s Afghan Service, Radio Azadi, relaunched “Education Hour,” a program designed to help girls in Afghanistan keep up with their studies as the Taliban bans them from formal education.
Iran
The Persian-language service, Radio Farda, experienced dramatic audience growth on social media following Iran’s historic demonstrations sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini.
Russia and Ukraine
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian– and Russian-language audiences have surged to record numbers.
Advocacy priorities
Advocating for Press Freedom
RFE/RL journalists work in challenging media environments, often at great personal cost. We support them and a free press.
Extreme Government Pressure
RFE/RL faces extreme government pressure, harassment, and sophisticated censorship across its broadcast markets.
Farid
Mehralizada
Farid Mehralizada is an economist and journalist for RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service who has been unjustly detained in Baku since May 30, 2024.
Nika
Novak
Nika Novak is a journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)’s Russian Service, known as Radio Svoboda, who has been unjustly detained in Russia since December 25, 2023.