Cameroon’s 2025 presidential election exposed a troubling paradox: a nation voting under the watchful eye of power, while its press remained silenced. From the arrest of a teenage reporter to bans on political debate and digital manipulation, freedom of expression is under siege, and journalism is on trial.

As journalists weigh the costs of their work against threats to their lives and families, the fight for press freedom in the Maldives enters a dangerous new chapter, one where the stakes have never been higher.