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Israeli army vehicles.jpeg

Israeli army vehicles are pictured outside the Ofer military prison in
the occupied West Bank on November 29. (Photo: AFP/Fadel Senna)

Israel among top jailers of journalists worldwide, as imprisonments
globally continue unabated, CPJ finds

New York, January 18, 2024-Amidst a months-long war, Israel
emerged for the first time as one of the world's leading jailers
of journalists, with 17 recorded behind bars as of December 1, 2023,
according to the Committee to Protect Journalists' (CPJ) annual
prison census.

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This is the highest number of Palestinian journalists in detention
since CPJ began documenting arrests in 1992 and the first time that
Israel has ranked in sixth place on the census. The ranking comes as
more than 80 journalists have been killed since the Israel-Gaza war
began on October 7.

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Globally, 320 journalists were imprisoned in connection with their
work on December 1, 2023, the second highest recorded since CPJ
started recording this data. The previous record was set in 2022, when
more than 360 appeared in CPJ's database. In 2023, the top three
jailers of journalists-China (44 behind bars), Myanmar (43), and
Belarus (28)-held more than a third (35.8%) of those
incarcerated on the day of the census. Russia (22) and Vietnam (19)
rounded out the top five jailers of journalists.
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"Our research shows how entrenched authoritarianism is globally,
with governments emboldened to stamp out critical reporting and
prevent public accountability. Meanwhile, Israel's standing in
CPJ's 2023 prison census is evidence that a fundamental
democratic norm-press freedom-is fraying as Israel
exploits draconian methods to silence Palestinian journalists. This
practice must stop," said Jodie Ginsberg, CPJ's chief
executive officer.

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Israel's unprecedented ranking was driven by its practice of
administrative detention in the occupied West Bank, a type of
incarceration that allows a military commander to detain someone
without charge-and extend their detention an unlimited number of
times-on grounds of preventing them from committing a future
offense. Administrative detention has peaked amid the ongoing
conflict, with thousands of Palestinians in detention.

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In a world where journalists are routinely vilified by political
leaders, the majority of the journalists listed in the census face
anti-state charges, such as false news and terrorism in retaliation
for their critical coverage. More than 60 journalists around the world
were being held without having any charge disclosed. Prolonged
pretrial detentions and cruel treatment are common, while some
governments, such as Russia and Ethiopia, have even persecuted
journalists across borders. In Vietnam, Egypt, and other countries,
even after their release, journalists continue to face travel bans,
other movement restrictions, and measures that effectively curtail
their freedom.

"Across the world, we have reached a critical moment. We need to
see an end to the weaponization of laws that silence reporting and
ensure journalists are free to report. During a banner election year,
with billions headed to the polls across the world, anything less is a
disservice to democracy and harms us all," said Ginsberg.

Asia remains the region with the highest number of journalists in
jail, per the 2023 prison census. In addition to the leading
jailers-China, Myanmar, and Vietnam-journalists were also
behind bars in India, Afghanistan, and the Philippines. India's
April 2024 election can be expected to be a test for press freedom in
a country where anti-terror charges, dangerous legislation,

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and routine raids of newsrooms have become the norm.

Pervasive censorship in China, which has ranked as one of the
world's worst jailers of journalists for years, makes it
notoriously difficult to determine the exact number of journalists
jailed there. Nonetheless, the country continues to exert its
censorship regime in Hong Kong following Beijing's harsh
national security law amid mass pro-democracy protests. Jimmy Lai,
founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily,
endured nearly 1,100 days behind bars before his trial on foreign
collusion charges, which is ongoing, finally began.
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In Europe and Central Asia, Belarus and Russia-allies in
Moscow's full-blown war against Ukraine-hold a
disproportionate number of journalists behind bars. Belarusian
authorities have increasingly jailed journalists for their
work since 2020, following mass protests over the disputed
reelection of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko. Over 70% of
journalists in Belarus face anti-state charges, with almost half
serving sentences of five years or more.

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Russia has become adept at jailing foreign reporters, with 12 of the
17 imprisoned foreign-national journalists held globally detained by
Russia, including Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, both U.S.
citizens held in pre-trial detention. Moscow's transnational
repression also included a spate of arrest warrants for Russian
journalists living in other countries.
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In sub-Saharan Africa, the number of journalists jailed on December 1
rose to 47 from 31 in 2022, with Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Cameroon
ranking as the three worst jailers in the region. Those held in
Eritrea include some of the longest-known cases of journalists
imprisoned around the world, none of whom have ever been charged.
Ethiopia, which forced the return of a journalist exiled in Djibouti
to face terrorism charges, held eight journalists as of December 1, as
press freedom challenges linger despite a 2022 peace agreement that
ended two years of civil war.

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In the Middle East and North Africa, Iran's numbers saw a sharp
decline from its 2022 designation as the worst jailer of journalists
following its clampdown on coverage of nationwide women-led protests
sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. Many of the 62
journalists listed on the 2022 census have since been released on bail
to await charges or sentencing, underscoring Iran's continued
repression of the media.

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Egypt, routinely among the world's worst jailers, was tied with
Turkey for the eighth-highest number of jailed journalists
globally-13-in the 2023 census. Egypt, Saudi Arabia,
Morocco, and Iraqi Kurdistan have all expanded the use of false news,
terrorism, and anti-state charges against journalists in recent years.

While few journalists were jailed in Latin America and the Caribbean
on the census date-one each in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Cuba
respectively-threats to the media continue to undermine press
freedom. All three countries have a record of journalists being forced
into exile, including a mass

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deportation from Nicaragua.

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In Guatemala, José Rubén Zamora remains in prison even
after a court overturned his June 2023 conviction on money laundering
and ordered a retrial, scheduled for February 2024. Zamora has been
forced to change lawyers eight times since being jailed in July 2022,
experiencing solitary confinement and mistreatment throughout his
imprisonment.

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To address the challenges, CPJ provides journalists with financial
support to cover the cost of legal fees, as well as resources intended
to help journalists and newsrooms better prepare for or mitigate
threats of legal harassment and action. The organization also makes
concerted efforts to advocate for the release of journalists like
those previously mentioned, whose cases could revert or stem the tide
of criminalization.
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About the Committee to Protect Journalists

The Committee to Protect Journalists is an independent, nonprofit
organization that promotes press freedom worldwide. We defend the
right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of
reprisal.

CPJ's report is available on cpj.org in Amharic, Arabic,
English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Russian, Kurdish, Chinese, and
Hebrew.
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CPJ's prison census is a snapshot of those incarcerated at 12:01
a.m. on December 1, 2023. It does not include the many journalists
imprisoned and released throughout the year; accounts of those cases
can be found at [link removed] . CPJ's data includes detailed
information about each imprisoned journalist in every country listed,
including the circumstances around their jailing, legal proceedings,
and advocacy around each particular case.
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Media contact: [email protected]



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+1 (212) 300 9032

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Committee to Protect Journalists
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New York, NY 10108 - United States