The number of journalists behind bars reached a global high in 2022, according to a new report from the non-profit Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which says that 363 journalists were imprisoned worldwide as of 1 December.
CPJ said in its annual prison census that the new global high overtook last year’s record by 20 per cent and marked another grim milestone in a deteriorating media landscape.
“The prison census trends toward higher arrest rates of journalists, in tandem with creeping authoritarianism around the globe,” said Arlene Getz, CPJ editorial director. “Press freedom — essential to the preservation of democracy — is one of the first targets of regimes that seek to weaken or fully undermine democratic norms, so it is no surprise that as despots rise to power, journalists are increasingly under threat.”
“With the number of jailed journalists at an all-time high, journalist safety and press freedom are at great risk. Even high-profile cases…
