Many media remained imprisoned at Christmas

This is a decrease of seven from the 2006 count, according to a recent annual census conducted by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

“The drop is due in large part to the release this year of 15 Ethiopian journalists who were either acquitted or pardoned of anti-state charges stemming from a broad government crackdown on the press,” the New York-based organisation said on its website.

China continues to be the world's top jailer of the media, while Cuba, Africa's Eritrea, Iran and Azerbaijan round out the top five jailers among the 24 countries that imprison journalists, the CPJ said, adding that one in six journalists are held without any publicly disclosed charge, many for months or years and some in secret locations.

'Antistate' activities

And the imprisonment charges range from spreading “false” news, violating censorship laws, religious ethnic insult, defamation, retaliatory charges, unknown charges, and “antistate” activities.

“Imprisoning journalists on the basis of assertions alone should not be confused with a legal process. This is nothing less than state-sponsored abduction, and we believe that journalists should not be imprisoned for doing their jobs,” CPJ executive director Joel Simon was quoted as saying.

The CPJ found that print and online journalists make up the bulk of the census, followed by TV journalists, radio and documentary filmmakers.

“The rise of internet journalism and its risks are evident in China, where 18 of the 29 journalists worked online.”

Danger zones

Meanwhile, 13 African countries have been listed in the ‘red zone' by Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) as countries where independent press is in difficult situation.

Eritrea, in the horn of Africa, is the only country to be listed in the ‘black zone', where RSF said the media is in a very serious difficult situation.

The 13 countries in the Red Zone are: Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Rwanda, Burundi, Gambia, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti.