Around 320 journalists were imprisoned for their work around the world in 2023, according to a report released Thursday by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). This figure is the second highest in history since the committee began working on an annual census in 1992.
The committee described this attempt to silence independent voices as disturbing. Jodie Ginsberg, the committee’s chief executive officer, said: “Our research shows how entrenched authoritarianism is globally, with governments emboldened to stamp out critical reporting and prevent public accountability.”
Alarming figures
This independent, non-profit organization, which promotes press freedom, found in its annual report that a third of the imprisoned journalists are in China (44), Myanmar (43) and Belarus (28), followed closely by Russia (22) and Vietnam (19). Meanwhile Iran and Israel are tied in sixth position with 17 imprisoned journalists.
Some countries have used transnational repression, prosecuting journalists beyond their borders: Russia ordered the arrest of Russian journalists living in other countries and Ethiopia forced the return of an exiled journalist on terrorism charges.
Of the journalists in prison, more than half (168) face anti-state charges such as terrorism, espionage and fake news. Meanwhile, 66 of the cases have not been told which charges they face. The CPJ census only counts journalists in government custody; journalists held captive by non-state actors or those who have disappeared are not included.
China tops the list of worst jailers
China is not surprising; the country has been present in this list for years. “China has long ranked as one of the world’s worst jailers of journalists. Censorship makes the exact number of journalists jailed there notoriously difficult to determine,” said the report.
The numbers in the Asian country have risen since the national security law imposed by Beijing in response to mass protests calling for democracy. Chinese authorities have also increased anti-state charges and several of the journalists are facing delays in their cases.
A large percentage of the imprisoned journalists (19) are ethnic Uighurs from Xinjiang, where the country has been accused of crimes against humanity. “The media repression highlights the Chinese government’s harsh attempt to silence minority voices and independent reporting,” Beh Lih Yi, the CPJ’s Asia program coordinator, told Radio Free Asia.
“They have been targeted under vague charges such as inciting separatism or being ‘two-faced,’ a loose term Chinese authorities often use to punish those they see as publicly supporting government policy but secretly opposing it,” she said.
Repression in Myanmar, Belarus and Russia
Since the coup in 2021, Myanmar’s media has been severely attacked, forcing the closure of media companies and the exile of many journalists. Meanwhile, in Belarus, 71% of imprisoned journalists face anti-state charges with sentences of five years or more. Five of the 2023 prisoners are accused of participating in extremist groups or facilitating these activities.
On the other hand, Russia has been trying to criminalize journalism inside and outside its borders, intensifying this effort since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Moscow has a disproportionate number of foreign reporters in prisons: two U.S. citizens and ten Ukrainian.
Israel among the worst jailers
Israel has represented a key change in the 2023 list. The country now has the highest number of arrests of Palestinian journalists since the report’s release in 1992 and this is the first time it has ranked in the top six.
Most are held in administrative detention, without charge, on suspicion of a future crime. This closed nature of the proceedings does not allow CPJ to know the charges journalists are facing. Risks have also increased in the area, 83 media workers have been killed in Gaza, 16 have been injured and three have disappeared.
“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,” Ginsberg said.
Cruel treatment
Nearly 30% of the journalists in the 2023 census of imprisoned journalists have health problems. CPJ found that many have been denied medical care, medicine and basic necessities such as hot water, heat or electricity. Family members of journalists also feel the weight of the sentence, often unable to speak out because of reprisals.
Additionally, prisoners in China, Belarus, Russia, Myanmar and Vietnam face conditions of physical and sexual abuse, food shortages and overcrowding.
Imprisoned journalists often face reprisals and restrictions beyond prison time, with bans on the free exercise of their profession and being under administrative surveillance. Other incidents documented by CPJ include threats, assaults, censorship and cyberattacks, which is why the organization stresses the urgent need to protect press freedom and safeguard journalists.
Image: Matthew Ansley