LAHORE (Staff Report) – Practice freedom of expression still remains a crime in many countries as Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has identified as many as 199 journalists worldwide who are spending time behind bars due to their work.
The number of imprisoned journalists was recorded 221 in 2014 however it declined to 199 due to release of around two dozens as result of global struggle.
According to 2015 report, China remained the worst country for practitioners of freedom of expression by jailing 49 journalists while Egypt is second in list where 23 journalists have been placed behind bars. Iran remained third with 17 journalists in jails.
Over all as many as 28 countries have journalists in jails, out of which 10 have only one journalist behind bars due to his work.
Turkey emerged as leading country to jail journalists for the first time where 14 people are currently under detention, meanwhile the number journalist prisoners rose in India, Bangladesh, Iran and Saudi Arabia as well.
Out of total 199 journalists 109 worked for online news agencies while 85 were associated with print media. Freelance journalists make 28% of the total number of jailed journalists.
