At Least 250 Journalists in Prison Around the World

Critical journalists in different countries around the world pay a heavy price for their profession; their critical outlook ends up costing them their freedom. According to a new report, the majority of journalists in prison are in China and Turkey.

In a report released on Wednesday, December 20 (December 11) by the American organization “Committee to Protect Journalists,” it is stated that at least 250 journalists are in prison around the world. Most of these journalists are in Chinese prisons. There, at least 48 journalists are imprisoned.

Turkey ranks second after China. Behind the bars of Turkish prisons, 47 journalists are deprived of freedom. Last year, this number in Turkey was 68 people and the country was considered the world’s largest jailer of journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists has emphasized that currently many journalists in Turkey have various cases pending. Additionally, many of them are returned to prison after periods of freedom. Among them is Ahmad Altan, a 69-year-old Turkish writer and journalist who was briefly released in November and then detained again.

In third place are Saudi Arabia and Egypt with 26 imprisoned journalists. Before these two, Eritrea ranks with 16 journalists in detention and then Vietnam with 12. Iran ranks sixth with 11 imprisoned journalists.

It should be noted that according to this report, the number of imprisoned journalists has decreased compared to previous years. In 2016, the number of imprisoned journalists was 273 in different countries. However, this committee emphasizes that the figure of 250 imprisoned journalists is still very high. At the same time, this trend has not been declining in all countries.

The report states that Xi Jinping, the president of China, exercises strict political control over the entire country and the number of journalists who end up in prison continues to increase steadily. The report mentions, among others, “the crackdown in Xinjiang Province, where one million members of the Muslim minority have been sent to mandatory ‘education’ camps,” which “itself has led to the detention of dozens of journalists.” Among these journalists are also groups who had previously been detained due to journalistic activities.

Source: DW