The number of journalists jailed around the world hit a new record in 2021, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said on Thursday, with China and Myanmar having put a quarter of the 293 media workers behind bars.
Adding those jailed in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, Russia, Ethiopia and Eritrea, the CPJ said a total of 293 journalists were in prison worldwide as of December 1 — up from 280 the year before.
“This is the sixth year in a row that CPJ has documented record numbers of journalists imprisoned around the world,” said Joel Simon, executive director of the group.
“Imprisoning journalists for reporting the news is the hallmark of an authoritarian regime,” he said in a statement.
