All over the world, journalists are imprisoned, abducted and murdered. As a result, important information remains hidden forever. Forbidden Stories ensures that those stories do get told. Executive Director Laurent Richard: “We have become well-known among journalists and their enemies.”

Worldwide organization

“Killing the journalist won’t kill the story. That’s our motto and this realization is growing. It was even referred to during the Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism Forum in 2024, the largest annual event for independent media in the Arab world. It was a great recognition of our efforts over the past few years. We have expanded our operations to become a worldwide organization and a well-known name for journalists and their enemies.”

Life insurance for information

“As a result, we are seeing a rise in the number of journalists who share their information through our SafeBox Network. This digital network, which journalists can use to share their ongoing investigations, sadly can’t provide them with life insurance. But it does send a clear message to their enemies: if I’m no longer here, then other journalists will pick up this story.”

Worrying message from Azerbaijan

“Our expansion means we’re now able to conduct several investigations each year. For example, in 2024 we published the investigation The Baku Connection on corruption in Azerbaijan. A year earlier I received a message from journalist Sevinc Vaqifqizi about a possible threat. Shortly after this, she and other colleagues at the last independent media company in Azerbaijan were arrested.”

“More than forty journalists and fifteen media companies from various countries took over the investigation. They discovered suspicious use of 23 million euros in European subsidies for the improvement of prisons in Azerbaijan. Sadly, our Azerbaijani journalists are still imprisoned there today.”

Murder of journalists in Gaza

“Another high-impact investigation was into the murdered journalists in Gaza. A difficult project, as access to the area is almost impossible. I think this was one of the few projects in the world that Israelis and Palestinians were still working on together. Just focusing on the facts, as journalists do, made this possible.”

“Unfortunately, we also observe that the world is becoming more hostile for journalists. In the West they are also openly described as the enemy with increasing regularity. That makes Adessium’s support for independent journalism more important than ever.”