The Free Press Union (Yekitiya Ragihandina Azad - YRA) was founded on July 13, 2012, when numerous journalists, academics, and intellectuals gathered in the city of Amûdê to stand up for journalism rights and freedom of expression in North and East Syria.  Since its establishment, YRA has worked to strengthen the values of freedom, justice, and gender equality, improve journalists' performance through training programs, defend journalists' rights, and build relations with regional and international media organizations. It has also striven to safeguard the culture of coexistence and guarantee the freedom to work and access information.

Alongside the organization of newly founded media institutions in North and East Syria, YRA was established out of an urgent need to welcome journalists and delegations visiting the region to get to know the resistance. Beyond all these, the necessity for an alternative media that would pursue the truth and convey accurate information about the people's revolution to the world made the creation of YRA essential.

The establishment of YRA was not only a response to rapidly unfolding events but also emerged as a necessary duty in the face of growing challenges. The attempts by regional and international powers to manipulate the events in Syria through expansive media networks and steer popular uprisings into crisis for their own interests further increased this necessity. In response, YRA played a crucial role in guiding media institutions and journalists in the right direction, countering black propaganda, and conveying developments on the ground as well as the voice of truth.

YRA’s structure consists of a general congress, co-presidency, general assembly, executive board, and specialized committees for education, legal affairs, and finance. In each of its congresses held so far, YRA has aimed to improve its performance and renew itself according to the security, administrative, and political developments in the region.

In 2015, YRA introduced the co-presidency system as a new step within media institutions and unions. The union, which developed periodic plans and programs, became a source of pride for its member journalists and media organizations. As a result, it gained recognition at local, regional, and international levels.

Through its congresses, YRA has worked to adapt media activities in line with the transformations brought by the revolution. At its second congress held in 2015, the challenges facing restructuring and the methods for addressing them were discussed. A new charter was approved to ensure a more effective and sustainable performance.

At the third congress in 2017, important decisions were made, including the establishment of branches in Raqqa and Manbij and the preparation of annual reports on violations against journalists and the state of the media.

During the fourth congress in 2018, issues arising from the Turkish state’s occupation attacks on Afrin were addressed. The charter was amended, reducing the number of assembly members from twenty-two to nine. The principle of gender equality was adopted in all structures affiliated with the union, and it was decided that congresses would be held regularly every two years.

At the fifth congress in 2020, participants emphasized the need to strengthen the journalism profession and take necessary measures against the media war in North and East Syria. It was also stated that a committee should be formed to organize activities and oversee the election of new co-presidents.

The deep scars left by war, occupation, and crises in society once again highlighted the essential role of the media in conveying the voice of truth and resistance. This reality was clearly reflected during YRA’s sixth congress in 2022, held under the slogan "Together for a Just, Responsible, and Transparent Press." The congress stressed the importance of strengthening YRA's role in restructuring and adapting to ongoing developments.

On August 17, 2023, YRA officially joined the International Arab Journalists Federation, based in the United Kingdom. The federation includes numerous Arab journalist organizations, such as the International Arab Journalists Union, the Kuwait Journalists Syndicate, the Libya Journalists Organization, the Iraq Journalists and Writers Organization, the Arab Intellectuals Union, the Mauritania Judicial Reporters Syndicate, the Journalists' Union, and Algerian Journalists.

On this journey of truth, YRA has lost many of its colleagues as martyrs. Among them are ANHA agency reporters Dilishan Ibish, Hogir Mohammed, Rizgar Deniz, Seed Ahmed Isam Abdullah, and Cihan Bilgin; Ronahi TV reporter Mustafa Mohammed; and journalists Nazim Dastan and Egid Roj, who all fell as martyrs on the path of truth.

At a time of great transformations across Syria and the Middle East, YRA will hold its seventh congress today, which will be its first congress since the fall of the Baath regime.

Through this congress, YRA aims to become an influential journalism institution throughout Syria and to serve as the professional and free voice of truth and popular will.