Almost Half Of Journalists In Jail Are Online Reporters

http://www.rferl.org/content/Almost_Half_Of_Journalists_In_Jail_Are_Online_Reporters/1357762.html


Imprisoned Azerbaijani journalist Eynulla Fatullayev in a Baku court in October 2007
December 09, 2008

In its annual survey of journalists in prison, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has found that almost half of all media workers in jail are bloggers, web reporters, or online editors.


The CPJ says the findings reflect the rising influence of online reporting and commentary.



The CPJ says it found 125 journalists behind bars as of December 1, a decrease of two from 2007. Fifty-six of those are online journalists.



"The future of journalism is online," says CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon, "and we are now in a battle with the enemies of press freedom who are using imprisonment to define the limits of public discourse."



China is the world's worst jailer of journalists, with 28 in prison, followed by Cuba (21), Burma (14), Eritrea (13), and Uzbekistan (6).



Other countries in RFE/RL's broadcast area that are imprisoning journalists are Azerbaijan (5), Iran (5), Russia (2), Armenia (1), Afghanistan (1), Iraq-in U.S. custody (1), and Iraq-in custody in the Kurdistan region (1).



You can read detailed accounts of each imprisoned journalist on the CPJ's website.