Prisoner sitting in his prison cell
China tops, as 488 journalists imprisoned in 2021– Report
There are currently 488 media professionals imprisoned around the world, the highest number since the Reporters Without Borders began counting more than 25 years ago, the organisation announced Thursday.
By contrast, the number killed this year, 46, was the lowest since it began issuing annual tallies, due to the relative stabilisation of conflicts in the Middle East.
“The number of journalists detained in connection with their work has never been this high since Reporters Without Borders began publishing its annual round-up in 1995,” the group, which battles for freedom of the press, said in a statement.
The number has risen by some 20 percent over the past year thanks largely to crackdowns on the media in Myanmar, Belarus and Hong Kong.
The group said it had also never seen so many female journalists detained, with 60 representing a third more than in 2020.
China once again has the highest number of imprisoned journalists at 127, said the group, which has routinely lambasted Beijing over what it describes as an “unprecedented crackdown” on press freedoms.
In Hong Kong, there has also been an uptick in arrests as Beijing’s national security law has taken hold. “In this special administrative region, which used to be a regional model of respect for press freedom, and which had no imprisoned journalists, the national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020 has been used as a pretext for arresting and detaining at least 10 journalists as of 1 December,” the group said.
Myanmar was second with 53, followed by Vietnam (43), Belarus (32) and Saudi Arabia (31).
The falling number of deaths since a peak in 2016 reflects changing dynamics in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, where a reduction in conflict means fewer journalists have been drawn to the region.
Most of the 46 killings were assassinations: “65 percent were deliberately targeted and eliminated,” the report said.
The most dangerous countries were once again Mexico and Afghanistan, with seven and six journalist deaths respectively, followed by Yemen and India with four apiece.
The organisation also counted 65 journalists and colleagues held as hostages around the world.
All are in the Middle East – Syria (44), Iraq (11) and Yemen (9) – apart from French journalist Olivier Dubois, held in Mali since April.
AFP
