China, Israel, Myanmar lead in jailing journalists: CPJ report
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The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a global media advocacy organization, has released its 2024 annual prison census, revealing that China, Israel, and Myanmar are the leading jailers of journalists worldwide. The total number of detained journalists reached 528, driven by authoritarian crackdowns, conflict zones, and political instability.
China ranks first with 50 journalists behind bars, followed by Israel with 43, and Myanmar with 35. China and Myanmar consistently appear on CPJ’s annual list due to their repressive regimes. Israel’s significant increase in detentions is attributed to its crackdown on media in the occupied Palestinian territories since the onset of the Gaza war in 2023.
The CPJ report focuses on Israel’s crackdown on journalism, particularly in the occupied West Bank, where journalists are detained under the administrative detention system. This allows authorities to detain individuals without charges for extended periods, under the pretext of preventing future offenses. A similar system operates in Gaza, where detainees are held under the Incarceration of Unlawful Combatants Law, which permits detention without formal charges and denies legal representation.
Human rights group B'Tselem has reported severe mistreatment of detainees, including arbitrary violence, humiliation, and deprivation, all justified in the name of national security. Most detained journalists were arrested for engaging with or interviewing individuals deemed of interest to Israeli authorities.
Asia remains the region with the highest number of jailed journalists, accounting for over 30 percent of global detentions, with 111 journalists imprisoned. In Bangladesh, four journalists have been detained, all with close ties to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted in August 2024. These media figures are facing criminal investigations due to their support for Hasina’s administration.
In India, three journalists—including two from Kashmir—are imprisoned. Their arrests highlight the growing pressures on media freedom in the region, especially following the revocation of Kashmir’s autonomy in 2019. A Reporters Without Borders (RSF) report in May 2024 ranked India 159th out of 180 countries in press freedom, trailing behind Pakistan (152nd). RSF described the state of press freedom in India as a “crisis,” noting the increasing repression under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.
The CPJ report also highlights ongoing repression in authoritarian states such as Belarus, Russia, and Vietnam, where journalists are imprisoned for exposing government abuses or dissent. In countries like Egypt and Nicaragua, political and economic turmoil has led to a rise in journalist detentions.
The 2024 report documents over a hundred new detentions, underscoring the escalating risks faced by journalists in conflict zones, authoritarian regimes, and politically unstable nations. CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg emphasized the significance of these findings, stressing that attacks on journalists often precede broader erosions of fundamental freedoms. The continuing detentions serve as a grim reminder of the global threat to press freedom in many parts of the world.
