SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Reporters Without Borders said on Thursday there are currently 488 media professionals imprisoned around the world, the highest number since it began counting more than 25 years ago.
The RSF released its annual round-up on Thursday, saying 46 journalists were killed this year, the lowest since it began issuing annual tallies, due to the relative stabilization of conflicts in the Middle East, according to AFP.
“The number of journalists detained in connection with their work has never been this high since RSF began publishing its annual round-up in 1995,” said the RSF, which battles for freedom of the press.
The number has risen by some 20 percent over the past year due to crackdowns on the media in Myanmar, Belarus and Honk Kong, it added.
The NGO also said it had never seen so many female journalists detained, with the overall number of 60 representing a third more than 2020, AFP reported.
China leads the way for imprisoned journalists with 127, thanks in large part to the national security law it imposed on Hong Kong, undermining many of its long-standing democratic freedoms.
Myanmar was second with 53, followed by Vietnam (43), Belarus (32) and Saudi Arabia (31).
Most of the killings were assassinations, according to the RSF. “65 percent were deliberately targeted and eliminated.”
It also counted 65 journalists and colleagues held as hostages around the world, including 44 in Syria and 11 in Iraq.
