Recently, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported that around 320 journalists from around the world were jailed because of their work in 2023. This is reportedly the second-highest number of journalists jailed since the committee started taking an annual talley back in 1992.
Chaima Issa (R), member of Tunisia's "National Salvation Front" opposition coalition, holds a picture of jailed journalist Chadha Hadj Mbarek as she arrives outside a military court in Tunis on October 3, 2023. Issa had been freed from jail late on July 13 after spending more than five months in custody. The Tunisian writer was arrested in February along with former minister and lawyer Lazhar Akremi on charges of "conspiracy against state security".
Though extremely high, this number is down from the 367 journalists who were jailed in 2022. The CPJ believes this is due to the release of many journalists in Iran, some of whom are out on bail awaiting trial.
"Our research shows how entrenched authoritarianism is globally, with governments emboldened to stamp out critical reporting and prevent public accountability," said Jodie Ginsberg, the committee's chief executive officer.
The report shows that more than a third of the journalists on the list were jailed in China, Myanmar and Belarus.
There were 17 "nonlocal" journalists jailed, globally. Nonlocal describes individuals who are jailed in foreign countries. Of these individuals, twelve of them are being held in Russia, including two U.S. citizens, Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, both are being held on pretrial detention.
The People's Republic of China has imprisoned 44 journalists, while Myanmar and Belarus have jailed, 43 and 28, respectively. Russia comes in third with 22, followed by Vietnam.
Somewhat ironically, Iran and Israel are tied for sixth place on this list with 17 journalists jailed in 2023. They're followed by Eritrea, Egypt and Turkey.
"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," said CPJ via its official report.
The Committee to Protect Journalists is a non-profit company based in the United States.
