Source – GNA.
A report by the New York based Committee to Protect Journalists, CPJ, indicates that at least 293 media workers were jailed globally in 2021 for their work and 24 journalists killed because of their coverage.
According to the GNA, the CPJ’s 2021 Prison Census found that 18 others died in circumstances too murky to determine whether they were specific targets. For the sixth consecutive year, the CPJ has recorded at least 250 incarcerations. The report said reasons for the rise in cases differ between countries, citing growing intolerance of independent reporting as a major factor.
It said emboldened autocrats are increasingly ignoring due process and flouting international norms to keep themselves in power. The report said China remains “the world’s worst jailer of journalists” for the third year in a row, with 50 behind bars. Myanmar came second with 26 jailed media workers after the crackdown that followed its February 1 military Coup. Egypt had 25, Vietnam (23), and Belarus (19).
The CPJ found that a number of journalists have been arrested in Ethiopia since the start of the civil war between the Federal Government Forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front a year ago.
The CPJ Report comes on the back of global concerns about the safety of journalists globally, following a continuous rise in murder of journalists in the line of duty. Reacting to the CPJ’s Report in an interview with the GNA, President of the Ghana Journalists Association, Affail Monney, said it reinforces the need for Civil Society and the public to add their voice to the threat facing journalists and support efforts to promote press freedom.
He urged journalists to stand firm, eschew fear and persist in their duty to hold duty bearers accountable in spite of the intimidations.
Ghana dropped three places in the 2020 World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders.
Ghana ranked 30 in 2020 after coming 27 in 2019.
