Publication Date: December 2021
Publisher: Reporters Without Borders
Link: https://rsf.org/sites/default/files/rsfroundup_2021.pdf

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has never logged such a high number of detained journalists.

As of 1 December 2021, a total of 488 journalists were in prison because of their work – a 20% increase in one year. This exceptional surge in arbitrary detention is mostly attributable to three countries whose governments are indifferent to their citizens’ yearning for democracy. The magnitude of these figures is also indicative of an increasingly relentless crackdown on independent media.

RSF had never previously registered such a high number of detained female journalists: 60 are currently in prison because of their work.

RSF logged a total of 46 journalists and media workers killed in connection with their work in 2021 (from 1 January to 1 December). This is the lowest figure in nearly 20 years.

The 2021 round-up figures compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) include professional journalists, non-professional journalists and media workers.

Tags: Safety of journalists

The content of this article can be used according to the terms of Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) . To do so use the the wording "this article was originally published on the Resource Centre on Media Freedom in Europe" including a direct active link to the original article page.