Nearly 70 journalists were forced into exile over the past 12 months, with more than half coming from Iran and Cuba, according to a new survey by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Iran, which has waged a two-year-long crackdown on the independent press, and Cuba, which freed journalists from prison only to force them to leave their homeland, each sent 18 journalists into exile.
Cuban reporter Victor Rolando Arroyo Carmona, now living in Spain, reflects the typical problems facing journalists in exile when he says: "We live in limbo."
Imprisonment, or the threat being jailed, was the leading cause of journalists leaving their home countries during the period from 1 June 2010 to 31 May 2011. It accounted for 82% of cases.
Another 15% fled following physical attacks or threats of violence. Prolonged harassment, such as frequent interrogations or surveillance, drove 3% of journalists to leave their home countries.
At least 649 journalists facing violence, imprisonment, and harassment have gone into exile worldwide since 2001, when CPJ launched began keeping detailed exile records.
The large majority, about 91%, have not been able to return home. Five countries — Ethiopia, Iran, Somalia, Iraq and Zimbabwe — account for nearly half the total number of journalists driven out of their countries over the past decade.
Iran topped the list of countries driving journalists into exile for the second consecutive year as the government continued an assault on free expression that began with the disputed 2009 election.
CPJ's 2010 survey found at least 29 Iranian editors, reporters and photographers had fled into exile. The country's total exodus over the last decade is 66, behind only Ethiopia and Somalia.
Source, and full report: CPJ
