Never before have so many journalists been in prison – these are the worst countries BAG reports: 16,362 new corona cases ++ In hospital: 357 ++ 21 new deaths

Never before have so many journalists lost their freedom because of their work as this year. On December 1, 2022, the Association Reporters Without Borders (RSF) counted a total of 533 media workers worldwide who were behind bars simply for reporting the crime.

“More than a quarter of them were arrested during the year.” This is evident from the “Annual Balance Sheet of Press Freedom 2022”, which the human rights organization published on Wednesday.

In which countries is it worst?

The three countries with the most prisoners from the media industry are China, Myanmar (formerly Burma) and Iran. But also in Russia, for example, the state is taking firm action.

Reporters Without Borders has never recorded such a high number. “Last year the number of detainees increased by 20 percent to 470. This year the increase was slightly lower at 13.4 percent.” But the enormously high number shows one thing again:

Just over a third of the jailed media workers were convicted. The other two-thirds are in prison without trial. “Some have been waiting for their trial for more than 20 years,” Reporters Without Borders said.

China’s largest prison

“In China, censorship and surveillance have reached extreme levels. The country is still the largest prison for media workers in the world,” said RSF. Including Hong Kong, 110 media workers are being held there.

July 13 marks the fifth anniversary of the death of Nobel laureate and RSF laureate Liu Xiaobo. The Chinese journalist died of cancer after being denied treatment while in detention.

“Journalism is now a de facto criminal offense in Myanmar, as evidenced by the large number of media outlets banned following the February 2021 military coup.” There are 62 industry prisoners there.

“It only took the regime in Iran a few weeks to get its country to third place on this list. Nearly two months after the outbreak of massive nationwide protests, 47 journalists are currently in prison there.”

Putin’s terror at home and abroad

In Russia, too, the political leadership has been cracking down since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the organization reports. “Almost all independent media outlets in Russia were banned, blocked, declared ‘foreign agents’ – or all of them together” during the year.

Most of the media people who have remained in the country are forced to work underground because of the draconian penalties: if they spread “false information” about the Russian army, they risk up to 15 years in prison.

And Qatar?

Press freedom is a foreign word in the Arab country that will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Media representatives were also repeatedly prevented from reporting during the major FIFA event.

What must we do?

Christoph Deloire, General Secretary of the RSF:

In other words, it is important to choose politicians or parties that are committed to media freedom. And you can sign petitions and donate money online through the Reporters Without Borders website.

Sources

(dsc/sda/dpa)