Jakarta, IO – The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a journalism advocacy group based in New York reported on Wednesday (14/12) that 2022 is a bad year for journalists around the world as the 363 have been imprisoned, up by 20 percent compared to last year – a new record since record began in 1990s, reported CNN Indonesia, Saturday (17/12).
The top five countries where many journalists have been jailed this year are Iran, China, Myanmar, Turkey and Belarus. A total of 62 Iranian journalists have been jailed for doing their work, especially since the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old girl who was arrested by the country’s morality police for not wearing hijab (headscarf) properly last September.
“Authoritarian governments are stepping up oppression to silence the media, trying to cover up growing discontent in a world disrupted by COVID-19 and the economic fallout from Russia-Ukraine war,” the report noted.