More journalists jailed all over the world than in nearly 3 decades: Committee to Protect Journalists
More journalists have been jailed
this year by governments around the world than at any time in nearly three
decades, primarily because of the crackdown in Turkey after a failed coup in
July, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Tuesday.
At least 81 journalists were imprisoned in
Turkey as of 1 December, all facing anti-state charges, said the nonprofit
group that works to defend press freedoms. "In Turkey, media freedom
was already under siege in early 2016, with authorities arresting, harassing,
and expelling journalists and shutting down or taking over news outlets,"
said the group's report on its annual census of imprisoned journalists. Written by Elana
Beiser, the report said a total of 259 journalists are jailed around the world,
compared to 199 at the same time last year. That is the highest number since
the group began keeping detailed records in 1990. The numbers do not include
journalists who have disappeared or are held captive by non-state groups.
A state of emergency
is still in force in Turkey following the 15 July coup attempt and the
resulting government crackdown on alleged coup sympathizers has landed thousands
in jail and forced tens of thousands of people from their jobs. Critics call
the move a witch hunt. Western governments, human rights group and legal
experts have repeatedly expressed concern over events in Turkey, which was once
hailed as a model of Muslim democracy. In a two-month period,
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government detained more than 100
journalists and closed down at least 100 news outlets, the report
said. Even before the coup attempt, the rate of press freedom violations
in Turkey spurred the Committee to Protect Journalists to launch last March a
special diary called "Turkey Crackdown Chronicle."
The group said that
after Turkey, the worst offender in 2016 was China, where 38 journalists were
in custody on 1 December. China had jailed the most journalists worldwide in
the previous two years. "In recent weeks, Beijing deepened its
crackdown on journalists who cover protests and human rights abuses," the
report said. Egypt was listed in
third place, with 25 journalists incarcerated. This year marked the
first time since 2008 that Iran was not among the top five worst offenders. The
report said that is because many of those sentenced in a post-election
crackdown in 2009 have served their sentences and been released.
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