2021 breaks the record for the number of journalists in prison

The Committee to Protect Journalists reports a new anti-record set this year. The number of journalists behind bars around the world has reached a new high: as of December 1, 2021, 293 journalists are in prison. This is 15 people more than last year, Reuters writes.

For reasons related to professional activities, 24 journalists have died this year. Another 18 died in circumstances that could presumably also be related to work. Reasons for imprisonment vary from country to country, but the record numbers reflect the scale of civil and military unrest and a growing intolerance of the independent press.

“For the sixth consecutive year, the Committee has documented a record number of journalists imprisoned”, - said the organization's executive director, Joel Simon. "This number reflects two inextricable problems: Governments are determined to control and manage information, and they are becoming more arrogant in their efforts to achieve this".

Most of all, according to CPJ, prisoners-journalists in China - 50. Followed by Myanmar (26), Egypt (25), Vietnam (23) and Belarus (19). For the first time, the CPJ list includes journalists imprisoned in Hong Kong, a "by-product" of the 2020 National Security Law, which punishes anything that the Chinese authorities see as subversion, secession, terrorism, or collusion with foreign forces. life imprisonment.

The deadliest country for journalists in the Western Hemisphere, according to CPJ, remains Mexico, where journalists are often targeted by criminal gangs and corrupt officials.