Reporters Without Borders (RSF) announced that in total, 348 journalists are in prison across the world. This number represents an increase of 6 % compared to last year, and is the highest amount the organization has recorded in its history.

RSF noted that the environment of oppression in Turkey after the coup attempt influenced the global data and increased the total number of jailed journalists. In its report, RSF stated that more than 100 journalists are in prison in Turkey and 41 of these people are jailed solely because of their work. In this sense, Turkey has become the country with the highest number of professional journalists in prison.

RSF stated that the majority of jailed journalists are in Turkey, China, Syria, Egypt and Iran, and 187 of the 348 journalists are professionals, 146 are blog writers and ‘citizen journalists,’ and 15 are other media employees.

'TURKEY IS IN THE SAME LEAGUE WITH THE ENEMIES OF PRESS FREEDOM'

RSF Executive Council Spokesperson Britta Hilpert said "The witch hunt against journalists in Turkey has escalated to unprecedented levels. Turkey is still an EU candidate, but is in the same league with the enemies of press freedom such as China, Syria and Iran. This show Turkish officials’ approach towards the freedom of the press."

Hilpert noted that currently, 52 journalists are kidnapped across the world – primarily Syria, Yemen and Iraq – and 21 of these journalists are held by ISIS. RSF stated that China is the country with the highest amount of journalists imprisoned solely for their work, and 103 journalists including 81 blog writers and ‘citizen journalists’ are in jail across China.

In its report, RSF also criticizes Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Egypt, Iran and Syria.

CPJ: TURKEY IS THE WORST

The CPJ (Committee To Protect Journalists) announced in their 2016 report that “Turkey is the worst among countries that jail journalists”. The report makes striking statements on press freedom in Turkey and says “Since the CPJ started conducting global studies in 1990, Turkey and China jailing many journalists have contributed to the number rising to the maximum and the record of 1996 with 185 people being broken.”

The report emphasizes that the first three countries that have a record number of journalists jailed are Turkey, China and Eritrea and states that “In all three countries, the ambiguous laws on crimes against the state are utilized to silence oppositional views. In 2016, the crimes against state most used against journalists were terrorism, treason and coup attempts. According to the CPJ count, many journalists around the world are imprisoned on such charges.” Cuba, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Singapore, Tunisia, Venesuela, Zambia and Montenegro that weren’t on the list last year are included in this year’s report.

The report touches on the situation in Turkey and states: “In Turkey, as a result of the unprecedented atmosphere of pressure including the shutting down of over 100 media institutions, at least 81 journalists are imprisoned for crimes against the state. The 259 imprisoned journalists around the world are the highest on record since 1990.