170 journalists released The military released some individual journalists, reasoning that imprisonment, violence, and the threat of further detention served the purpose of ensuring that they would either self-censor in the future or stop practicing journalism altogether. The military had released 170 of the 221 detained journalists by the end of the period under review (77%). Each released journalist had spent an average of 205 days deprived of their liberty. The following table outlines when journalists were detained, convicted, and released. Detentions, Releases and Convictions by Time Period42 Detained Convicted Released 2021 156 22 102 2022 48 43 28 2023 16 13 27 2024 11 10 22 2025 12 2 RELEASED WITHOUT CONVICTION Most of the 170 journalists who were released from detention were let out without being convicted (71%). It was unclear why the military released some journalists without first convicting them in sham courts. Some civil society observers queried whether it was the result of poorly-resourced prisons or incapable courts, or if the military wanted to improve its public image domestically and internationally.43 However, the average period of detention for journalists who were not convicted was still 84 days.44 The military may have considered this a sufficiently long deprivation of liberty coupled with rampant torture and other forms of mistreatment, to ensure most journalists would self-censor in the future. 42 These figures represent the number of instances, rather than the number of journalists. Some journalists have been detained, convicted, and released multiple times. 43 Key informant interviews with three civil society leaders carried out on 30 September 2023. 44 Half were let out within a week of being detained (52%), and almost all were released within a year (97%) with a minority kept for up to two years before being released (3%). 15