Nothing need be added by way of comment to this appalling state of affairs.....
Intolerant governments in Ankara, Tehran, and Beijing used mostly anti-state charges to silence a combined 107 critical reporters, bloggers, and editors. Turkey and Iran retained their distinctions as the worst and second worst jailers for two years in a row, despite each having released some prisoners during 2013. The number detained by China held steady. (Read detailed accounts of each imprisoned journalist here.)
Journalists in Turkish jails declined to 40 from 49 the previous year, as some were freed pending trial. Others benefited from new legislation that allowed defendants in lengthy pre-trial detentions to be released for time served. Additional journalists were freed after CPJ had completed its census on December 1. Still, authorities are holding dozens of Kurdish journalists on terror-related charges and others for allegedly participating in anti-government plots. Broadly worded anti-terror and penal code statutes allow Turkish authorities to conflate the coverage of banned groups with membership, according to CPJ research.
In Iran, the number of jailed journalists fell to 35 from 45, as some sentences expired and the government kept up its policy of releasing some prisoners on furlough—prisoners who do not know when or if they will be summoned back to jail to finish serving out their terms. Authorities also continued to make new arrests and to condemn minority and reformist journalists to lengthy prison sentences despite the election in June of a new president, Hassan Rouhani.
Thirty-two reporters, editors, and bloggers were imprisoned in China, the same number as in 2012. Although journalists including CPJ’s 2005 International Press Freedom Award winner, Shi Tao, were released during the year, a fresh crackdown on Internet criticism, especially allegations of corruption, led to several new arrests beginning in August.
The list of top 10 worst jailers of journalists was rounded out by Eritrea, Vietnam, Syria, Azerbaijan, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Uzbekistan."
"Turkey, Iran, and China accounted for more than half of all journalists imprisoned around the world in 2013, the Committee to Protect Journalists has found. In its annual census, CPJ identified 211 journalists jailed for their work, the second worst year on record after 2012, when 232 journalists were behind bars.
Intolerant governments in Ankara, Tehran, and Beijing used mostly anti-state charges to silence a combined 107 critical reporters, bloggers, and editors. Turkey and Iran retained their distinctions as the worst and second worst jailers for two years in a row, despite each having released some prisoners during 2013. The number detained by China held steady. (Read detailed accounts of each imprisoned journalist here.)
Journalists in Turkish jails declined to 40 from 49 the previous year, as some were freed pending trial. Others benefited from new legislation that allowed defendants in lengthy pre-trial detentions to be released for time served. Additional journalists were freed after CPJ had completed its census on December 1. Still, authorities are holding dozens of Kurdish journalists on terror-related charges and others for allegedly participating in anti-government plots. Broadly worded anti-terror and penal code statutes allow Turkish authorities to conflate the coverage of banned groups with membership, according to CPJ research.
In Iran, the number of jailed journalists fell to 35 from 45, as some sentences expired and the government kept up its policy of releasing some prisoners on furlough—prisoners who do not know when or if they will be summoned back to jail to finish serving out their terms. Authorities also continued to make new arrests and to condemn minority and reformist journalists to lengthy prison sentences despite the election in June of a new president, Hassan Rouhani.
Thirty-two reporters, editors, and bloggers were imprisoned in China, the same number as in 2012. Although journalists including CPJ’s 2005 International Press Freedom Award winner, Shi Tao, were released during the year, a fresh crackdown on Internet criticism, especially allegations of corruption, led to several new arrests beginning in August.
The list of top 10 worst jailers of journalists was rounded out by Eritrea, Vietnam, Syria, Azerbaijan, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Uzbekistan."
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