Press Freedom
CPJ Updates
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- Number of journalists behind bars reaches global high
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Reporter Without Borders
CPJ Report Places China as Worst Jailer of Journalists
Police push protesters back after a scuffle broke out at the building of Cathay Pacific offices during a rally against White terror and the dismissal of Cathay Pacific staff on August 28, 2019 in Hong Kong, China. Photo: Chris McGrath/Getty Images
The Committee to Protect Journalists found in its annual press freedom survey that at least 250 journalists are imprisoned around the world, and declared China as the top jailer of journalists in the world, overtaking Turkey for the first time in four years.
The CPJ’s survey ranked China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt as the top four jailers of journalists.
“China tightened its iron grip on the press and Turkey, having stamped out virtually all independent reporting, released journalists awaiting trial or appeal. Authoritarianism, instability, and protests in the Middle East led to a rise in the number of journalists locked up in the region — particularly in Saudi Arabia, which is now on par with Egypt as the third worst jailer worldwide.”
Last year, the number of jailed journalists worldwide was 255. The highest number of jailed journalists in a single year since CPJ started the reports crested at 273 in 2016.
The CPJ said the crackdown in Xinjiang against members of Muslim ethnic groups has led to arrests of “dozens of journalists” for charges that in some cases reference reporting that was done many years ago.