Turkey named as worst country for jailing journalists – again

More journalists have been jailed in Turkey than in any other country for the second consecutive year, followed closely by Iran and China, according to a media watchdog.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in its annual prison census that the three countries accounted for more than half of the 211 journalists behind bars on 1 December.

The rest of the top 10 worst were Eritrea, Syria, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Egypt, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.

CPJ’s Joel Simon said: “Jailing journalists for their work is the hallmark of an intolerant repressive society.”

He said it was “frankly shocking” to see Turkey in the top spot for the second year and to see the number of journalists behind bars rise in countries such as Egypt and Vietnam.

AP