According to a survey, at least 370 men and women are in jail around the world for their work in journalism – some of them simply reported about Corona . This emerges from the annual balance sheet of the freedom of the press published by the organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Monday.

More than half of these detainees is distributed over just five countries: China, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Vietnam and Syria. 54 According to the information, journalists are currently considered kidnapped, 4 are 2020 disappeared.

arrests also because of corona reporting more than 130 Media workers in all parts of the world have been arbitrarily arrested since spring for reporting on the Corona crisis, according to Reporters Without Borders, “many only for hours or a few days, others for weeks. Currently at least 14 of them are in prison “. Governments in all parts of the world tried “to suppress independent reporting on the corona crisis and its consequences”. There have been more than 370 mostly shorter arrests in Belarus since the controversial presidential election.

Danger to freedom of the press “The very high number of journalists in prison worldwide throws a glaring light on the current dangers to freedom of the press” said the organization’s board spokeswoman, Katja Gloger. “Far too many governments react to protests, grievances or a crisis like the Covid – 19 – Pandemic with reprisals against the bearers of the bad news. Behind each and every one of these cases stands the fate of a person who is threatened with criminal trials, long imprisonment and often mistreatment because he has not bowed to censorship and repression. ”

As of December 1st, this year there were only two fewer media workers in prison than at the same time 2019, when this number increased significantly for the third time in a row and with 389 had reached a peak. Alone the numbers of journalists in prison in China (117 prisoners), Saudi Arabia (34), Egypt (30), Vietnam (27) and Syria (27) add up to 61 percent of all Cases worldwide.

Share of women increased 42 of the media workers currently in prison worldwide (11 Percent) are women. That is 35 percent more than a year ago. A particularly large number of female journalists (4 each) are in prison in Belarus and Iran.

As of December 1, five journalists were threatened with their execution Death Penalties: Four of them are in the hands of rebels in Yemen, blogger Ruhollah Sam left the judiciary in Iran on Saturday (12. December) execute.

(tiw)