Belarus world’s third largest prison for journalists – RSF

December 14, Pozirk. In 2023, Belarus ranked in the top three countries by the number of imprisoned journalists, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in its annual report.

On December 1, 521 media workers were held behind bars in the world, 48 fewer than a year ago. China leads the ranking with 121, followed by Myanmar with 68, and Belarus with 39 (seven more than in 2022). 

Belarus also ranks second after China as the country with the highest number of imprisoned female journalists, with 10 and 14, respectively.

Since the start of 2023, 45 journalists were killed while doing their work, including 13 in the Middle East, the report noted.

A total of 54 journalists were being held hostage, over half of them in Syria (38). The RSF also recorded 84 journalists as missing, with more than half of them in Latin America. A third went missing in Mexico but almost all disappearances but one occurred before 2023.

The RSF has been compiling its annual report on abuses against journalists since 1995. It covers professional journalists and other media workers whose arrests, abductions, disappearances or deaths are a direct result of their journalistic work.