At least 250 journalists in jail worldwide, with most in China: Report

WASHINGTON • At least 250 journalists are jailed around the world, with the largest number held in China, amid a growing crackdown by authoritarian regimes on independent media, a press watchdog group said yesterday.

Many of those imprisoned face "anti-state" charges or are accused of producing "false news", according to the report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which also cited Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Eritrea, Vietnam and Iran for their jailing of journalists.

The press freedom watchdog said it counted at least 48 journalists jailed in China, one more than last year, as President Xi Jinping ramps up efforts to control the media.

That put China ahead of Turkey, which has 47 imprisoned journalists - and the largest number over the previous three years.

The report said the situation in Turkey, which had 68 journalists jailed last year, is not really an improvement but "reflects the successful efforts by the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to stamp out independent reporting and criticism".

The CPJ said the Turkish government has shut down more than 100 news outlets and lodged terror-related charges against many of their staff, putting many reporters out of work and intimidating others.

"Dozens of journalists not currently jailed in Turkey are still facing trial or appeal and could yet be sentenced to prison, while others have been sentenced in absentia and face arrest if they return to the country," the committee said.

The report said authoritarianism, instability and protests in the Middle East led to a rise in the number of journalists locked up in the region, with Saudi Arabia on a par with Egypt as the third-worst jailer worldwide - each has 26 imprisoned.

In Saudi Arabia, no charges have been disclosed against 18 of the journalists behind bars, and the CPJ expressed concern over reports of "beating, burning and starving political prisoners, including four journalists".

Several of the arrests in Egypt came ahead of protests against corruption in September, which included calls for President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to resign.

Campaigners say the global total of 250 remains disturbingly high even if it is slightly below the 255 counted last year and the record 273 in 2016.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on December 12, 2019, with the headline At least 250 journalists in jail worldwide, with most in China: Report. Subscribe