Number of journalists jailed worldwide hits new record; China, Myanmar & Iran at the top

On Wednesday, the reporters without border revealed how journalists suffered immensely throughout the year. In the 2022 Round-up, the organisation claimed that around 533 journalists are currently detained, just because they were doing their jobs. While China topped the list, the brutal and violent Iran protest crackdown by the Iranian administration has managed to put the country at the number 3 spot. 

According to the annual round-up report, China detained around 110 journalists, Myanmar 62 and the Islamic Republic of Iran arrested around 47 journalists. The recent figures made Iran the “world’s third biggest jailer of journalists” with few months since the commencement of the protests. The deplorable figures in Iran have pushed the total to 533 which is 13.4% higher than last year's figures. The saga of arresting Journalists amidst the anti-government protests in Iran started after the Iranian forces detained, Nilufar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi. The two journalists were responsible for drawing public attention to the death of Mahsa Amini in Iranian police custody.

The anti-hijab and anti-government protests in Iran which erupted after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini have taken the whole country by storm. It was one of the biggest demonstrations that Iran has witnessed since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, which led to the establishment of the current regime. What made the matter even worse was how Iran’s protest crackdown turned violent to a great extent. While there were hundreds who lost their lives in the protests, it was the journalists who were the major targets of the Iranian administration. 

78 detained journalists were women

The 2022 report by Reporters Without Borders also gave some other depressing figures as well. Out of 533 journalists detained 78 journalists who are currently held are women, a 30% increase compared to 2021. According to the report, at least 57 journalists lost their lives in 2022. The Russia-Ukraine war contributed significantly to the figures regarding the death of scribes. 

The figure of Iran becomes a matter of concern since more journalists are currently detained than at any other point in the past 20 years. According to the report out of the 47 journalists, 34 were arrested during the Iran protests. Speaking about the deplorable conditions of Journalists around the world, Christophe Deloire the RSF Secretary-General said, “Dictatorial and authoritarian regimes are filling their prisons faster than ever by jailing journalists. This new record in the number of detained journalists confirms the pressing and urgent need to resist these unscrupulous governments and to extend our active solidarity to all those who embody the ideal of journalistic freedom, independence, and pluralism”.