Israel leads as CPJ findings show 320 journalists were jailed in 2023

Israel has been named as one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists, as its war with Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, rages on. 

An annual prison census released by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an independent, nonprofit organisation that promotes press freedom worldwide, showed that more than 80 journalists have been killed in Israel since the war began on October 7, while 17 are recorded to be behind bars.

This is the first time the Jewish nation has been named as one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists, ranking sixth place on the global census — on par with Iran.

CPJ added that the number of Palestinian journalists in prison is also the highest recorded since it began documenting arrests in 1992.

Globally, CPJ said 320 journalists were imprisoned in connection with their work on December 1, 2023, the second highest recorded since CPJ started recording this data.

The previous record was set in 2022, when more than 360 appeared in CPJ’s database.

In 2023, the top five countries where journalists were jailed the most include China (44), Myanmar (43), Belarus (28), Russia (22), and Vietnam (19).

“Our research shows how entrenched authoritarianism is globally, with governments emboldened to stamp out critical reporting and prevent public accountability,” Jodie Ginsberg, CPJ’s chief executive officer, said in a statement issued on Thursday.

“Meanwhile, Israel’s standing in CPJ’s 2023 prison census is evidence that a fundamental democratic norm—press freedom—is fraying as Israel exploits draconian methods to silence Palestinian journalists. This practice must stop.

“Across the world, we have reached a critical moment. We need to see an end to the weaponization of laws that silence reporting and ensure journalists are free to report.

“During a banner election year, with billions headed to the polls across the world, anything less is a disservice to democracy and harms us all.”

THE SITUATION IN AFRICA

In sub-Saharan Africa, the number of journalists jailed last year rose to 47 from 31 in 2022, CPJ said.

Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Cameroon were ranked as the three worst jailers in the region.

In the CPJ database, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zambia, Angola, Burundi, and Nigeria, all had one journalist each listed behind bars.

The data also reflects media crackdowns in Senegal, Zambia, Angola, and Madagascar.

Senegal, which has five journalists jailed, has only appeared on the census twice previously (2008 and 2022) with one jailed journalist in each of those years.

In North Africa, Egypt which is routinely among the world’s worst jailers, was tied with Turkey for the eighth-highest number of jailed journalists globally—13—in the 2023 census.

CPJ added that Morocco has expanded the use of false news, terrorism, and anti-state charges against journalists in recent years.