Reporters Without Borders, a media monitoring group, reported that this year saw a record-high number of journalists being imprisoned. More than one journalist was slain every week in 2022, according to the RSF’s annual roundup of violence and abuses against journalists, and as of December 1, there had been 20% more journalists killed than at this time last year.
According to the Paris-based watchdog’s report, which was released on Wednesday, at least 533 journalists are presently being held around the world, up from 488 last year, which was already a record high. With 110 journalists now detained, it also referred to China as “the biggest jailer of journalists in the world.” Vietnam came next (62), than Myanmar (62), Iran (47), and Belarus (31).
This new record in the number of detained journalists confirms the pressing and urgent need to resist these unscrupulous governments
According to the research, at least three-quarters of those detained are in Asia and the Middle East, and little over one-third of all detained journalists worldwide have been found guilty. The other two-thirds, though, are being held without charge. The RSF stated that some of them had been awaiting trial for more than 20 years. The RSF also noted that Ivan Safronov, a Russian investigative journalist, received a 22-year prison term after being found guilty of disclosing “state secrets” and receiving the harshest sentence the watchdog had ever seen in 2022.
In addition, the number of women working as journalists who have been imprisoned has increased from 60 to 78 since 2021, which the research mostly attributes to the increase in female entry into the field. Notably, the RSF has been releasing the yearly report since 1995 and has called attention to Iran’s historic action that has imprisoned at least 34 members of the media since the nationwide protests began in September. Following the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, who was allegedly killed in detention after being arrested by the nation’s morality police, protests were called.
“Dictatorial and authoritarian regimes are filling their prisons faster than ever by jailing journalists,” said RSF Secretary-General, Christophe Deloire. He added, “This new record in the number of detained journalists confirms the pressing and urgent need to resist these unscrupulous governments and to extend our active solidarity to all those who embody the ideal of journalistic freedom, independence, and pluralism.”
According to the research, 57 media professionals have died in 2022, an increase of 18.8% compared to 48 deaths the previous year. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia is blamed for the rise in numbers, which have risen from “record lows” of 48 and 50 during the previous two years, respectively. In the first six months, at least eight journalists were killed while covering the conflict, compared to more than 60% of media personnel slain in nations that are thought to be at peace. According to reports, this year saw the deaths of seven female journalists, or 13% of all victims.
Mexico topped the list with a total of 11 reporters killed this year
In contrast, Mexico topped the list with a total of 11 journalists killed this year, which is nearly 20% of all journalists killed worldwide. Following this were Haiti (6) and Brazil (3), which helped make the Americas the world’s deadliest region for media in 2022, contributing to 47.5% of all fatalities globally.
The report also mentioned that almost 49 journalists are still missing and that at least 65 journalists and media professionals are currently being kept captive. According to the research, 80% of media professionals worldwide were “deliberately targeted” in 2022 because of their jobs or the issues they were covering, such as organized crime and corruption trials.