Amid the months-long war, Israel has emerged as the world’s leading jailer of journalists for the first time ever, holding 17 journalists as of December 1, 2023, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists’ annual census of journalists in prison.
The number of Palestinian journalists in prison is the highest since CPJ began documenting journalist detentions in 1992, and it is the first time Israel has been ranked sixth on the census. The ranking comes as more than 80 journalists have been killed since the start of the Israel-Gaza war on October 7.
Worldwide, 320 journalists were behind bars as of December 1, 2023, in connection with their work, the second-highest number since CPJ began keeping this record. The previous record was in 2022, when CPJ’s database had 360 journalists in prison. In 2023, the three countries that jailed the most journalists—China (44 journalists in prison), Myanmar (43), and Belarus (28)—were responsible for more than a third (35.8 percent) of the number of journalists imprisoned on the day of the census. Russia (22) and Vietnam (19) were fourth and fifth.
“Our research shows how deeply entrenched authoritarian regimes are around the world, with governments intent on stifling critical reporting and preventing public accountability,” said CPJ executive director Jody Ginsburg. “At the same time, Israel’s prominence on CPJ’s 2023 census of journalists in prison is evidence that a fundamental norm of democracy—press freedom—is being undermined as Israel uses draconian tactics to silence Palestinian journalists. This practice must stop.”
Israel’s unprecedented designation is driven by its practice of administrative detention in the occupied West Bank, a form of detention that allows military commanders to hold individuals without charge—and extend their detention indefinitely—on the grounds that they will commit future offenses. Administrative detention has reached its peak amid the ongoing conflict, with thousands of Palestinians in detention. In a world where political leaders routinely vilify and defame journalists, most of the journalists included in the census face anti-state charges, such as spreading false news or engaging in terrorism, in retaliation for critical reporting. More than 60 journalists worldwide are held without charge, and prolonged detention in harsh conditions is common, while some governments, such as Russia and Ethiopia, have persecuted journalists outside their own borders. In Vietnam, Egypt, and elsewhere, journalists continue to face travel bans and other restrictions on their movements even after their release, as well as other measures to curtail their freedom.
“We have reached a critical moment around the world,” said Jody Ginsburg. “The use of laws as a weapon to silence reporting must end, and journalists must be able to report freely. In this election year, when billions of people will go to the polls, anything less than that freedom undermines democracy and harms us all.”
Asia remained the region with the highest number of journalists imprisoned, according to the 2023 Prisoners of Journalists census. In addition to the countries that jail the most journalists—China, Myanmar, and Vietnam—journalists are also imprisoned in India, Afghanistan, and the Philippines. India’s April 2024 elections are expected to test press freedom in the country, where terrorism charges against journalists, draconian legislation, and routine raids on newsrooms are commonplace.
China has pervasive censorship and has been among the world’s worst jailers of journalists for years, making it difficult to determine how many journalists are in prison. However, China continues to enforce its censorship regime and has made arrests in Hong Kong, following the enactment of a draconian national security law during pro-democracy protests. Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, was held for 1,100 days before his current trial on charges of collusion with foreign powers.
In Europe and Central Asia, Belarus and Russia—allies in the war on Ukraine—hold a disproportionate number of journalists in prison. Belarusian authorities have been increasingly detaining journalists for their work since 2020, following mass protests over the disputed re-election of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. More than 70 percent of journalists detained in Belarus face anti-state charges, and more than half are serving prison sentences of five years or more.
Russian authorities have become adept at jailing foreign journalists, holding 12 of the 17 non-local journalists in prison worldwide. Two journalists, Ivan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, are US citizens and are being held in pretrial detention in Russia. Russia is also repressing beyond its borders, including a wave of arrest warrants issued against Russian journalists living in other countries.
In sub-Saharan Africa, the number of journalists imprisoned on 1 December rose to 47, up from 31 in 2022, with Eritrea, Ethiopia and Cameroon taking the top three spots in terms of the number of journalists imprisoned in the region.