The watchdog accused governments worldwide of suppressing the media and fueling misinformation amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
A United States-based
watchdog, Committee to Protect Journalists, has revealed that 274 journalists
were jailed globally in 2020.
In a statement on
Tuesday, the watchdog accused governments worldwide of suppressing the media
and fueling misinformation amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The annual report by
the Committee to Protect Journalists revealed that 274 journalists were
imprisoned this year -- the highest number since the non-profit organisation
began its survey in the 1990s.
The report also found
that 26 journalists and media workers were murdered this year, with Mexico
listed as the world's most dangerous country for the press.
CPJ Executive
Director, Joel Simon, in a statement, said that it is shocking and appalling.
He added that "this wave of repression is a form of censorship that is
disrupting the flow of information and fueling the infodemic."
The worst offender was
China for the second consecutive year, the survey found, with 47 reporters
behind bars and authorities. The country, only last week, detained a Bloomberg
employee on suspicion of endangering national security.
Other top jailers are
Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, with Belarus and Ethiopia — where widespread
unrest and armed conflict flared this year — also seeing sharp increases in the
number of reporters behind bars.
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