Number of jailed journalists worldwide hits record high

A man in the Iranian capital Tehran on October 30, 2022, holds a copy of the Hammihan newspaper, featuring on its cover a headline mentioning the statement by the Tehran journalists' association, criticising the detention by authorities of two journalists, Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi (drawing on cover), who according to local media, helped publicise the case of Masha Amini. (Photo: AFP)

NEW YORK: A record-high 363 journalists were imprisoned around the world this year for doing their work, with Iran jailing the most at 62 of the total, a New York-based journalism advocacy group said Wednesday.

The total jailed as of Dec 1 increased some 20% from last year's record high, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Iran, China, Myanmar, Turkey and Belarus, respectively, are "this year's top five jailers," the report said.

Authoritarian governments increased oppressive efforts to stifle the media, "trying to keep the lid on broiling discontent in a world disrupted by Covid-19 and the economic fallout from Russia's war on Ukraine," the report said.

In Iran, 49 of the 62 have been arrested since mass protests began in September over the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who was arrested after allegedly not adhering to the country's legal requirement to wear a hijab, according to the group.

The non-governmental organisation said the number of female journalists held was "unprecedented" this year, listing 24 female journalists in the latest imprisonment report.

The group ranked China as the second worst this year with 43 journalists imprisoned, a drop from the world-most 48 in last year's report.

China's censorship of the media and surveillance of its people make it "especially difficult" to research the exact number of journalists jailed in the county, the report said.

Japanese documentary maker and journalist Toru Kubota, who was recently released from Myanmar in a prisoner amnesty, holds up an image of himself prior to his arrest during a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Nov 28, 2022. (Photo: AFP)

In Myanmar, jailed journalists increased to at least 42 from 26 last year. Nearly half of the journalists sentenced in 2022 were prosecuted under an anti-state provision that penalises "incitement" and "fake news," according to the group.

Russia's restrictive new laws to control the narrative over its war on Ukraine have gutted the country's remaining independent media, the report said, noting 19 journalists were in custody and several of them faced sentences of up to 10 years on charges of spreading "fake news."

Other countries in the report known to have journalists imprisoned for their work include Vietnam, India, Eritrea, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Guatemala, Cuba, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Georgia.