Number of jailed journalists worldwide hits record high— CPJ
Detained Myanmar journalist Wa Lone (centre) is escorted by police from a courthouse following his ongoing pre-trial hearing in Yangon on July 9, 2018.Two Reuters reporters accused of breaking Myanmar's draconian secrecy law during their reporting of the Rohingya crisis must face trial, a judge ruled on July 9, on a charge that carries up to 14 years in jail.
The number of journalists languishing in prisons around the world has hit a new record, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
CPJ on Wednesday issued its prison census, which showed a record 363 journalists were behind bars at the beginning of December, a 20 per cent jump over 2021.
The report lists Iran at the top of the list, with 62 cases, majority of the scribes arrested while on duty as authorities ruthlessly crack down on the nationwide protests that erupted in September. Tehran is followed by China, Myanmar, Turkey, and Belarus as the other biggest jailers of journalists.
Other countries that threw journalists in prison for their work are Vietnam, India, Eritrea, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Guatemala, Cuba, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Georgia.
In Africa, the committee says 56 journalists have been jailed for crimes related to their work, while four have been killed in the same period.
Egypt remains Africa's highest jailer with 21 journalists behind bars while South Africa does not feature on the list.
In sub-Saharan Africa, Eritrea with 16 cases remains the region’s worst jailer of journalists, ranking ninth globally. Journalists there have been held without trial or access to their families or lawyers for periods ranging from 17 to 22 years.
In Rwanda, three of the four journalists behind bars publish their work on YouTube, one of the country’s few remaining publishing platforms as the space for dissenting voices continues to shrink within the mainstream media.
Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega (right), who was given an 18-year prison sentence in 2012 on accusations of links to the banned Ginbot 7 group, reacts with journalist Temesgen Desalegn (2nd R) and people after being released from Kaliti Prison in Addis Ababa on February 14, 2018.
At least two of those YouTubers behind bars, Aimable Karasira and Dieudonne Niyonsenga (also known as Hassan Cyuma), have allegedly been subjected to torture and ill-treatment.
In Iran, 49 of the 62 journalists were arrested since mass protests began in September over the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who was arrested after she allegedly breached the country's legal requirement to wear a hijab, according to CPJ.
The group also ranked China as the second worst this year with 43 journalists imprisoned, a drop from the world-most 48 in last year's report.
China's censorship of the media and surveillance of its people make it “especially difficult” to research the exact number of journalists jailed in the county, the report says.
Myanmar has 42 journalists behind bars while Turkey has 40, Belarus 26 while Egypt has 21 journalists behind the bars.
CPJ says the number of female journalists held is "unprecedented" this year, listing 24 female journalists in the latest imprisonment report.
In a statement dated December 14, the committee says that most journalists are jailed under ambiguous state laws and cyber-crime allegations.
It said that its census only includes journalists who are in government custody and not those who have disappeared or been kidnapped by non-state actors.
“The record number of journalists in jail is a crisis that mirrors an erosion of democracy globally,” said CPJ President Jodie Ginsberg.
“This year’s prison census brings into sharp relief the lengths governments will go to silence reporting that seeks to hold power to account. Criminalising journalism has impacts far beyond the individual in jail: it stifles vital reporting that helps keep the public safe, informed, and empowered.”
This is the seventh year in a row that CPJ has documented record numbers of journalists imprisoned around the world.
“The prospect of lengthy legal processes and long jail sentences is a way to intimidate journalists into silence. It sows distrust in the media, creating an environment in which abuses of power can flourish,” said Ginsberg.
While 2022 has been especially grim for defenders of press freedom, CPJ says its advocacy contributed to the early release of at least 130 imprisoned journalists worldwide.
