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Many of the world’s journalists have been arrested, kidnapped or disappeared. Both political unrest and the corona pandemic have been fueled, according to a report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
French-Turkish journalist Erol Önderoglu, representative of Reporters Without Borders in Turkey, in front of a court in Istanbul.
Worldwide, 387 journalists are now jailed for work-related issues, 54 have been taken hostage and four are missing, according to RSF.
“Nearly 400 journalists will have to spend their weekends at the end of the year in prison, away from their loved ones and often in conditions that put their lives at risk,” said Christophe Deloire, RSF general secretary, according to a statement. press.
This means that the number of jailed journalists is now almost exactly the same as at the end of last year, when there were 389.
Both years stand out as historically difficult for independent journalism.
Of those currently in custody, 236 (61 percent) are in five countries. Like last year, China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and Syria are the toughest countries.
More women journalists are locked up. This year, there has been a 35% increase in the number of female reporters detained, from 31 to 42. Political unrest in Belarus since August has driven the increase, but Iran, China and Vietnam also stand out.
When it comes to kidnapped journalists, Syria, Iraq and Yemen are particularly vulnerable countries.
Several studies have previously shown that democracy is delayed when many governments restrict both physical freedom and freedom of expression with the fight against the coronavirus as official motivation.
From February to November this year, when the pandemic broke out, arbitrary deprivation of liberty accounted for just over a third of all crimes against press freedom in the world.
Most of these journalists were released after a relatively short period of time, but at the end of the year, 14 of them are still in custody due to their reporting on the pandemic.
“These numbers confirm the impact of the pandemic on journalism,” Deloire said.
