Thread by @pressfreedom

Journalist imprisonments reach a record high, according to CPJ’s 2022 prison census.

Worst jailers:

#Iran 62 journalists imprisoned
#China 43
#Myanmar 42
#Turkey 40
#Belarus 26
#Egypt 21
#Vietnam 21
#Russia 19
#Eritrea 16
#Saudi Arabia 11

cpj.org/reports/2022/1…

CPJ’s 2022 prison census has found 363 journalists deprived of their freedom as of December 1, 2022—the highest number CPJ has recorded in the 30-year history of the census, overtaking last year’s record by 20% & marking another grim milestone in a deteriorating media landscape.

In a year marked by conflict and repression, authoritarian leaders doubled down on their criminalization of independent reporting, deploying increasing cruelty to stifle dissenting voices and undermine #pressfreedom

Read more: cpj.org/reports/2022/1…

In #Iran, dozens of journalists—22 of them women—are among the thousands of Iranians arrested during the crackdown on protests sparked by the death in police custody of #MahsaAmini, a young Kurdish woman arrested for allegedly breaking Iran’s hijab law.

cpj.org/reports/2022/1…

#China’s tight media censorship & citizens' fear of speaking out makes it especially difficult to research the exact number of journalists among its prison population. Against that backdrop, CPJ was able to document 43 journalists jailed in China in 2022.

cpj.org/reports/2022/1…

At least 42 journalists in #Myanmar were in jail on December 1, 2022—up from 30 in 2021—as the regime doubled down on its efforts to mute reporters and disrupt the country’s few remaining independent media outlets.

#FreeThePress

cpj.org/reports/2022/1…

The number of journalists held in #Turkey more than doubled from 18 in 2021 to 40 in 2022 after the arrests of 25 Kurdish journalists amid the country’s ongoing efforts to silence those it associates with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party
#FreeThePress
cpj.org/reports/2022/1…

#Belarus held 26 journalists in custody on December 1, up from 19 last year. The arrests have taken place against the backdrop of Lukashenko’s ongoing vindictiveness against those covering the aftermath of his disputed 2020 election.

cpj.org/reports/2022/1…

A key driver behind the record number of journalists jailed in 2022 is authoritarian governments’ increasingly oppressive efforts to stifle the media, trying to keep the lid on broiling discontent in a world disrupted by COVID-19 & Russia’s war on Ukraine

cpj.org/reports/2022/1…