(New York) The number of jailed journalists worldwide has never been higher, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Thursday, with China and Burma alone making up a quarter of the 293. reporters behind bars.
CPJ, an association funded by private donations and which for 40 years has denounced the murders, imprisonments, violence, censorship and threats against journalists, in its annual report counted 50 journalists imprisoned in China, 26 in Burma, 25 in Egypt, 23 in Vietnam and 19 in Belarus.
Adding Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, Russia, Ethiopia and Eritrea to this ranking, CPJ has counted 293 journalists in prison worldwide as of 1er December 2021, a new record after counting 280 in 2020.
“This is the sixth consecutive year that CPJ has identified a record number of jailed journalists around the world,” said director Joel Simon, quoted in a statement.
“Jailing journalists who report information is the hallmark of an authoritarian regime,” said Simon, finding “particularly terrifying that Burma and Ethiopia have so brutally closed the door to freedom of hurry “.
The association also counted 24 journalists killed this year around the world, including 19 “in reprisal for their work”, first in Mexico and India.
“Mexico remains the deadliest country in the Americas for reporters with three journalists killed in direct retaliation for their reporting,” criticized CPJ, which says it is also investigating six other killings.
India is at the top of this list with four journalists killed this year.
In its report, CPJ considers the number of jailed journalists “a reflection of growing intolerance around the world for independent journalism” amid “political upheaval and media repression.”
The association cites the cases of China and its repressive policy in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, the coup d’état in Burma, the war in northern Ethiopia and even Belarus.