Belarus world’s fifth largest prison for journalists – International Federation of Journalists

December 10, BPN. Belarus ranks fifth in the world in the number of jailed journalists, says a recent report by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

“Political repression has reared its ugly head during 2022 from China to Belarus, and from Egypt to Hong Kong, Iran, Myanmar, Turkey and Russia in a bid to silence media and crush protests for freedom,” the IFJ said.

Journalists have been among the first victims of the crackdowns with at least 375 media workers currently behind bars, the report noted.

China and Hong Kong top the list with 84 jailed journalists, followed by Myanmar (64), Turkey (51), Iran (34), Belarus (33), Egypt (23), Russia and occupied Crimea (29), Saudi Arabia (11), Yemen (10), and Syria (9).

“These figures make for grim reading and cast serious doubts on the political will on the part of governments to address such grave threats to media freedom,” said IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger.

“The number of journalists being held for simply doing their job makes a mockery of the lofty declarations on human rights and media freedom made by too many governments and trumpeted at international conferences,” he said.

The situation with freedom of speech and expression in Belarus continues to be one of the worst in Europe, according to Barys Harecki, deputy head of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ).