In record year, China, Israel, and Myanmar are world’s leading jailers of journalists - Committee to Protect Journalists 1/24/25, 10:29 AM Serbian authorities detained Andrey Gnyot upon his arrival in the country on October 30, 2023, based on an Interpol arrest warrant issued by the Belarusian Interpol Bureau. He has been detained in the central prison in the capital, Belgrade, ever since, where his health has deteriorated signi"cantly. (Photo: courtesy of Andrey Gnyot) With 31 journalists in jail on December 1, 2024, Belarus is the worst jailer in Europe and Central Asia for the second consecutive year. Despite several waves of presidential pardons by Aleksandr Lukashenko, which included three members of the press, Belarusian journalists are continually harassed, detained, and sentenced to years in prison, most often over their work for media outlets that authorities have labeled as “extremist.” With 31 journalists in jail on December 1, 2024, Belarus is the worst jailer in Europe and Central Asia for the second consecutive year. "e Belarusian government continued to retaliate against journalists who covered protests calling for Lukashenko’s resignation after his disputed 2020 election. Five journalists detained in connection with those demonstrations are serving sentences of 10 years or longer. "ose held in 2024 include former video reporter Yauhen Nikalayevich, who left Belarus and stopped practicing journalism in 2020. Nikalayevich was arrested when he returned to the country in 2024 and is serving an 18-month sentence for “organizing or participating in gross violations of public order.” Belarus also continued to harass journalists beyond its borders, initiating criminal proceedings against several exiled journalists, and searching the Belarusian homes of others who have left the country. Belarusian #lmmaker and journalist Andrey Gnyot spent a year in detention in Serbia while Belarusian authorities tried to extradite him on tax charges. #5 Russia https://cpj.org/thematic-reports/in-record-year-china-israel-and-myanmar-are-worlds-leading-jailers-of-journalists/ Page 12 of 27