In record year, China, Israel, and Myanmar are world’s leading jailers of journalists - Committee to Protect Journalists 1/24/25, 10:29 AM Bangladesh held four journalists seen as supporters of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, ousted in August following mass protests that ended her 15-year rule. Dozens of journalists whose reporting was considered favorable toward Hasina’s government were subsequently targeted in criminal investigations. India had three journalists in custody, two of them Kashmiris arrested in 2023 against a backdrop of increased incarceration of journalists in the Muslim-majority region after the 2019 repeal of its special autonomy status. "e Taliban held two journalists in Afghanistan, and the Philippines continued to detain Frenchie Mae Cumpio on charges that could see her jailed for life. Middle East and North Africa A total of 108 journalists were imprisoned in the Middle East and North Africa, almost half as a result of the Israel-Gaza war. Egypt, frequently one of the top 10 jailers globally, placed as the world’s sixth-worst with 17 imprisoned journalists. Seven were detained in 2024 as the country’s economic crisis sparked a new wave of journalist arrests. At least two – cartoonist Ashraf Omar and economic commentator Abdel Khaleq Farouk – had criticized the government’s economic policies. Iran, also routinely one of the world’s worst jailers of journalists, held 16 behind bars. Seven were taken into custody in 2024, a year that also saw newsroom raids and the sentencing of Shirin Saeedi to #ve years in prison for “assembly and collusion against national security” after participating in journalism workshops in South Africa and Lebanon. A total of 108 journalists were imprisoned in the Middle East and North Africa, almost half as a result of the Israel-Gaza war. Saudi Arabia, notorious for the 2018 murder and dismemberment of "e Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in its Turkish consulate in Istanbul, had 10 journalists in its jails. Authorities continued to show little tolerance for dissent, arresting Palestinian podcaster Hatem al-Najjar following a social media campaign over decade-old tweets perceived as critical of Saudi Arabia. Tunisia, once vaunted for its transition to democracy after its 2011 uprising launched the Arab Spring, imprisoned its highest-ever number of journalists. Four of the #ve in custody were detained in 2024; all face charges under Decree 54 on cybercrime, introduced in 2022 after President Kais Saied suspended parliament and introduced a constitution that gave him almost unchecked power. CPJ recorded #ve journalists as jailed in Syria on its 2024 census date. Blogger Tal al-Mallohi, was freed after the December 8 ousting of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, but the other four remain missing. Iraq held three journalists in 2024. "ese included Sherwan Amin Sherwani, who was due to be released in September 2023, but remained incarcerated after Kurdish authorities sentenced him in July 2023 to another four years – reduced to two years on appeal – for allegedly falsifying documents. Qaraman Shukri also remained in prison in spite of being eligible for release under a special pardon issued by Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani in July 2024. https://cpj.org/thematic-reports/in-record-year-china-israel-and-myanmar-are-worlds-leading-jailers-of-journalists/ Page 15 of 27