The annual report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has found that as of December 2016, there are now more journalists in prisons around the globe than ever before.
The CPJ found that there are 259 journalists in goal, most of whom had been sent there by their respective governments. However, 2016’s surge in imprisonments did come off the back of Turkey’s recent coup that saw 81 local journalists gaoled.
The previous highest record was 199 set in 2015 while 2016’s number is the highest since the CPJ started collecting records in 1990.
According to the report, that you can read here, Turkey tops the list for gaoling journalists and editors. China was second with 38 and Egypt was third with 25.
The CPJ report states: “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.”
Governments, human rights groups and legal experts have repeatedly expressed concern over events in Turkey and the manipulation of its media outlets. On top of journalists being imprisoned, a number more have been detained and harassed, while over 100 local media outlets have been forced to close.
