According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 361 journalists are imprisoned across the globe as of December 2024, with the largest number detained in China. The top three countries on CPJ’s list are China, Israel and Myanmar, currently having 50, 43, and 35 reporters detained, respectively. China has held the top spot since 2022.
The CPJ report noted that China’s “pervasive censorship” has made it difficult to determine the exact number of imprisoned journalists, and highlighted the increasing number of cases in Hong Kong, especially the continued imprisonment of media tycoon Jimmy Lai since December 2020. The committee also said that Israel is a country with a multi-party democracy. Before the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023, it rarely appeared on the annual list. All reporters detained in Israel are Palestinians.
Asia remains the region with the largest number of imprisoned journalists. In addition to China and Myanmar, which have the highest numbers of imprisoned journalists, Vietnam has 16, Afghanistan has 2, Bangladesh has 4, India has 3, and the Philippines has 1.
Source: CNA, January 17, 2025
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/aopl/202501170125.aspx