This comes amid its months-long war with militant group, Hamas.
Israel has emerged for the first time as one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists, with 17 recorded behind bars as of December 1, 2023, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) annual prison census.
This comes amid its months-long war with militant group, Hamas.
According to CPJ, this is the highest number of Palestinian journalists in detention since CPJ began documenting arrests in 1992 and the first time that Israel has ranked in sixth place on the census.
The ranking comes as more than 80 journalists have been killed since the Israel-Gaza war began on October 7.
Globally, 320 journalists were imprisoned in connection with their work on December 1, 2023, the second highest recorded since CPJ started recording this data. The previous record was set in 2022 when more than 360 appeared in CPJ’s database.
According to the report, in 2023, the top three jailers of journalists—China (44 behind bars), Myanmar (43), and Belarus (28)—held more than a third (35.8%) of those incarcerated on the day of the census. Russia (22) and Vietnam (19) rounded out the top five jailers of journalists.
“Our research shows how entrenched authoritarianism is globally, with governments emboldened to stamp out critical reporting and prevent public accountability. Meanwhile, Israel’s standing in CPJ’s 2023 prison census is evidence that a fundamental democratic norm—press freedom—is fraying as Israel exploits draconian methods to silence Palestinian journalists. This practice must stop,” said Jodie Ginsberg, CPJ’s chief executive officer.
Israel’s unprecedented ranking was driven by its practice of administrative detention in the occupied West Bank, a type of incarceration that allows a military commander to detain someone without charge—and extend their detention an unlimited number of times—on grounds of preventing them from committing a future offense. Administrative detention has peaked amid the ongoing conflict, with thousands of Palestinians in detention.
In a world where journalists are routinely vilified by political leaders, the majority of the journalists listed in the census face anti-state charges, such as false news and terrorism in retaliation for their critical coverage.
More than 60 journalists around the world were being held without having any charge disclosed.
Prolonged pretrial detentions and cruel treatment are common, while some governments, such as Russia and Ethiopia, have even persecuted journalists across borders. In Vietnam, Egypt, and other countries, even after their release, journalists continue to face travel bans, other movement restrictions, and measures that effectively curtail their freedom.