Belarus is among the world’s top five countries for imprisoned journalists
Prison
Belarus ranks fourth in the world for the number of imprisoned journalists, according to the human rights organization Reporters Without Borders. As of December 1, a total of 503 journalists were behind bars in 47 countries.
The top three are China (121 journalists imprisoned), Russia (48), and Myanmar (47). Belarus occupies fourth place (33), followed by Vietnam (28), Azerbaijan (25), and Iran (21).
Russia is also listed as the country with the highest number of imprisoned foreign journalists. According to Reporters Without Borders, Russia is holding 26 Ukrainian journalists in detention. Israel ranks second, with 20 Palestinian journalists behind bars.
The organization also reports that over the past year, 67 journalists were killed while carrying out their professional duties. Fifty-three of them were victims of wars or criminal groups. The most dangerous region for journalists is Gaza, where 29 people were killed. It is followed by Mexico (9). Other high-risk areas include Ukraine, which continues to defend itself against Russian aggression, as well as Sudan and Syria.
