RSF Annual Report: More Journalists in Detention than Ever before
Reporters Without Borders International publishes its annual tally of attacks against journalists worldwide. The results are frightening.
Reporters Without Borders' (RSF) annual tally of attacks on journalists worldwide sets a new record in 2022, with 533 media professionals imprisoned. The number of people killed also rose again this year - to 57, an increase of 18.8 percent over 2021. In addition, 65 journalists are being held hostage and 49 are considered missing. The number of detainees has thus increased by 13.4 percent compared to the previous year.
The three countries with the most media prisoners are China, Myanmar (formerly Burma) and Iran. But in Russia, for example, the state is also cracking down, according to the "Annual Press Freedom Review 2022" , which the human rights organization published today.
"Dictatorial and authoritarian regimes are filling their prisons faster than ever by imprisoning journalists. This new record in the number of media professionals imprisoned confirms the urgent need to resist these ruthless governments and to exercise our active solidarity with all those who embody the ideal of journalistic freedom, independence and diversity," said Christophe Deloire, Secretary General of RSF International.
Even countries considered peaceful dangerous
More than 60 percent of the media professionals killed did not die in war, but in countries that were considered peaceful in 2022. Mexico alone recorded eleven journalists murdered. These figures, along with those from Haiti (six killed) and Brazil (three killed), contribute to making the Americas the most dangerous region for journalists.
RSF's 2022 review also looks at some of the most sensational cases of the year. For example, the case of Ivan Safronov, one of Russia's top investigative journalists, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison for publishing "state secrets" that were already public on the Internet. This is the highest sentence recorded by RSF in 2022.
Since 1995, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has produced an annual tally of attacks on journalists based on accurate data collected between January 1 and December 1 of the year of publication. The 2022 figures include professional journalists, non-professional journalists and media workers. (sda/RSF)
