According to the report of The Committee to Protect Journalists, Turkey in 2019 is the second country in the number of imprisoned journalists.
China ranks first. According to the report, more than half of the currently imprisoned journalists are in China, Turkey and Egypt.
According to the 2019 report of the New York-based Committee for the Protection of Journalists, 250 journalists are imprisoned worldwide for their professional activities. In the report, the countries with the highest number of journalists in prison in China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the Egypt were specified. These countries are followed by Eritrea, Vietnam and Iran.
No improvement despite the decrease in number
Prepared by CPJ’s editor-in-chief Elana Beiser in the 2019 report, the number of journalists in prison in Turkey was recorded as 47. Last year, the number of journalists in prison was recorded as 68. Reduction of the number of journalists in prison was the first time in four years that Turkey wasn’t the country that imprisoned the highest number of journalists. However the current situation of media didn’t improve.
The report stated that the Erdoğan’s government has shut down more than 100 news institutions and that most of its employees have been charged with terrorism and independent journalism and criticism is being destroyed were stressed. Besides most of the institutions that were shut down or changed hands were emptied, many journalists were forced to liveabroad, were unemployed or self-censored. In the report, many journalists that are not in prison are on trial in Turkey or waiting for a decision and are in danger of arrest.
Turkey is competing with China
Since the early 90’s that Commitee to protect journalists began to keep record of imprisoned journalists, “now Turkey is competing with China on being the country that imprison the journalists most” were stated.
In 2019, there were 48 journalists in China prisons. Last year, this number was determined to be 47. The report, many Uyghur journalists in Xinjiang were arrested. According to the report, 26 journalists are in prison in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The report found that 98 percent of journalists in prison reported about their country and wrote about political, human rights and corruption issues. According to the report, 8% of women in prison are female journalists, and more than half of them are internet journalists. The report stated that the pressure of the authoritarian regimes on the independent media is increasing and that most of the journalists imprisoned are facing anti-state accusations or accused of producing false news.