KARACHI: The largest democracy in the world, India, has been ranked among the deadliest and the world’s worst countries for press freedom. Globally, India had the highest number of journalist killings in 2021 as four journalists were murdered in direct retaliation for their work, and another journalist was killed while covering a protest.
Some 57 journalists were killed in India; of them, 28 journalists were brutally murdered since 1992, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). The report said that the number of journalists behind bars reached a record high in 2021, with 293 behind bars as political upheaval and media crackdowns reflect increasing intolerance for independent reporting worldwide. At the same time, 24 targeted killings of journalists were documented by the CPJ in 2021.
Mexico; however, remained the Western hemisphere’s deadliest country for journalists, with three murdered for their reporting and the motives for six other killings under investigation.
“This is the sixth year in a row that CPJ has documented record number of journalists imprisoned around the world. The number reflects two inextricable challenges - governments are determined to control and manage information, and they are increasingly brazen in their efforts to do so,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon.
“Imprisoning journalists for reporting the news is the hallmark of an authoritarian regime. It’s distressing to see many countries on the list year after year, but it is especially horrifying that Myanmar and Ethiopia have so brutally slammed the door on press freedom.”
The CPJ stated that globally, anti-state charges remain the most common, but this year it also documented at least 17 jailed journalists charged with cybercrimes, which in some cases can result in criminal prosecution for anything published or distributed online.
In Europe, Belarus, which infamously diverted a commercial flight from to arrest journalist Raman Pratasevich, now has 19 journalists behind bars – the country’s highest since CPJ started keeping data on imprisoned journalists in 1992.
In Latin America, which historically has had fewer numbers in prison, journalists were jailed in Cuba (3), Nicaragua (2), and Brazil (1), and threats to press freedom intensified across the region. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, a partner of CPJ, recorded 56 arrests and detentions of journalists across the U.S. during 2021, with the vast majority occurring during protests.
No signal of an improved climate for press freedom, but diversification of censorship, with authorities using tools like surveillance and internet shutdowns along with prisoner releases under conditions that deny the very notion of freedom.
Nearly 80% of journalists were murdered this year worldwide. In democratic and authoritarian regimes alike, the cycle of impunity remains, sending a chilling message that perpetrators will not be held accountable.
The committee further stated that this week the Summit for Democracy, a new foreign policy centrepiece of the United States, includes participation by at least seven countries on CPJ’s prison census, several of which also have a record of impunity, including Brazil, India, Iraq, and the Philippines, where authorities continue to retaliate against independent journalists.
Despite the grim picture painted by the report, CPJ advocacy contributed to the early release of at least 100 imprisoned journalists worldwide in 2021. Recently, as part of A Safer World for The Truth, CPJ and partners launched a People’s Tribunal to address impunity in journalist killings.
The tribunal, a form of grassroots justice, relies on investigations and high-quality legal analysis involving specific cases to provide a framework for justice and accountability.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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