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550 journalists in prisons around the world

Reporters Without Borders' report on the number of journalists detained, killed, held hostage and missing around the world in 2024 revealed that 2024 witnessed a worrying increase in the rate of attacks on journalists, especially in conflict zones.

He said: There are currently 550 journalists in prisons around the world, which represents an increase of 7.2% compared to the 2023 tally. The report added: The world has witnessed - since 2020 - the highest number of journalists killed because of their coverage of events in conflict zones, whether in Middle Eastern countries such as Iraq and Sudan, for example, or in other countries such as Myanmar and Ukraine.

During 2024, the Gaza Strip was the scene of the deaths of about a third of the world’s journalists who were killed while carrying out their media activities, according to the information available to Reporters Without Borders so far, as they were killed by the Israeli army.

He said : Palestine remains the most dangerous country in the world for journalists, as the death toll in this country remains higher than any other country over the past five years. The report showed an increase in the number of detained journalists, and the increase in the number of detained journalists during 2024 (7.2 %) is attributed to the wave of new arrests recorded, specifically in Russia (+8) and Israel (+17) .

The Committee to Protect Journalists considered that the Sudanese press "has regressed to the dark ages," according to the reports received by the committee from journalists in Sudan, and described the situation of journalists as dangerous. The Committee to Protect Journalists revealed that 23 newspapers have completely stopped working after their headquarters in Khartoum and Omdurman were destroyed or invaded by airstrikes, considering that this "means the end of print journalism in Sudan." The committee considered that the continuation of the war opens the door to an escalation of violence against journalists to an unprecedented level, and that the war will force them, like the rest of the Sudanese, to leave the country to escape the violence. Israel has been the country that has detained the largest number of journalists since October 2023, which coincided with the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip, making it the third largest prison for journalists in the world. Nearly half of the world’s detained journalists are concentrated in four of the world’s largest prisons: China (whose authorities are holding at least 124 media professionals, including 11 in Hong Kong), Myanmar (61), Israel (41), and Belarus (40). The International Federation of Journalists also counted 520 imprisoned journalists around the world in 2024, a sharp increase compared to 2023 (427 journalists) and 2022 (375 journalists).

"With 135 journalists behind bars, China - including Hong Kong - remains the world's largest prison for media professionals," the union said in its report.