The International Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) announced in its new report that the number of jailed journalists in the world reached 293 in 2021, breaking a record.
CPJ reported that Turkey, which was in the second place in last year’s report, fell to the sixth place. The report also stated that Turkey released 20 journalists from prison this year, and 18 journalists are still in prison.
According to the annual report of the committee, the three countries with the highest number of journalists in prison are China (50), Myanmar (26) and Egypt (25).
In Myanmar, which took the second place, the army’s seizure of power and the declaration of a state of emergency in February caused pressure on the media.
In fourth and fifth places are Vietnam (19) and Belarus (19).
The committee, which has followed journalists in prison around the world since 1992, notes that the reasons for the detention of journalists are different in each country, but that the increasing numbers each year, and the record-breaking numbers for the past six years, indicate an increase in press freedom and intolerance towards independent journalism.
“This is the sixth year the world has set a record number of jailed journalists,” CPJ director Joel Simon said in a statement.
Journalists killed in 2021
CPJ announced today that 24 journalists were killed for doing their job. He added that the causes of death of 18 other journalists have not yet been determined, but their deaths may be related to their profession.
Among those killed are Reuters photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, who was killed in a Taliban attack in Afghanistan in July, and Gustabo Sanchez Cabrera, who was shot and killed in Mexico in June.
In the report, it was announced that 9 journalists were killed in Mexico in 2021. The report also reported that 5 journalists were killed in India, 4 in Afghanistan and 3 in Pakistan.
The situation in Turkey
CPJ said that it would be ‘naive’ to think that the attitude towards the press has changed with Turkey’s recession to sixth place.
Noting that after the failed coup attempt in 2016, the pressure on the media increased and the mainstream media in the country was almost completely destroyed, CPJ stated that many journalists left the profession in the last five years.
CPJ also said that many journalists have been paroled from prison and are still waiting for a trial date.
Other key topics in the report
CPJ’s report this year also includes journalists imprisoned in Hong Kong for the first time.
Eight journalists have been arrested in Hong Kong, with the approval of a security law in 2020 that criminalizes separatism, subversion and cooperation with foreign powers, some of whom are thought to face life sentences.
The report cites that Mexico remains the deadliest country in the Western Hemisphere for journalists.
It is stated that at least 17 journalists have been imprisoned for cybercrime.
Of the 293 journalists imprisoned, 40, or about 14 percent, are women.