Imprisonment of journalists worldwide reached a record high in 2012,
driven in part by the widespread use of charges of terrorism and other
anti-state offenses against critical reporters and editors, the
Committee to Protect Journalists has found. In its annual census of
imprisoned journalists, CPJ identified 232 individuals behind bars on
December 1, an increase of 53 over its 2011 tally.
With six journalists in prison, Ethiopia was the eighth-worst jailer
in the world. The authorities broadened the scope of the country’s
anti-terror law in 2009, criminalizing the coverage of any group the
government deems to be terrorist, a list that includes opposition
political parties. Among those jailed is Eskinder Nega, an award-winning
blogger whose critical commentary on the government’s extensive use of
anti-terror laws led to his own conviction on terrorism charges.
“Basically, they are criminalizing journalism,” said Martin Schibbye,
a Swedish freelance journalist who was jailed along with a colleague,
Johan Persson, for more than 14 months in Ethiopia. The two were
convicted of terrorism charges because they had traveled with a
separatist group as part of research for a story. “In our profession,
you need to talk to both sides to get the story. They have criminalized
talking to one side of the conflict. Just meeting with a member of an
organization or coThe imprisonment of journalists hit a record high in
2012, driven by the growing use of anti-terrorism charges to silence
critical voices.
This video, a centerpiece of CPJ’s new Free the Press
campaign, details the plight of imprisoned journalists worldwide and
describes how international advocacy can make a difference in winning
the freedom of jailed reporters, editors, photojournalists, and
bloggers.mmunicating with an e-mail” is conflated with terrorism.
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