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CHINA, CUBA, ERITREA ARE WORLD'S LEADING JAILERS OF JOURNALISTS

One hundred and twenty-five journalists and writers around the world are behind bars, with two-thirds of them detained in China, Cuba, Eritrea and Ethiopia, according to a new analysis by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

The global tally is three higher than the 122 imprisoned journalists CPJ found in its 2004 study.

The analysis also shows that the United States is the sixth leading jailer of journalists, just behind Uzbekistan.

Five journalists are being held in detention centres in Iraq (http://www.cpj.org/attacks05/pages05/imprison_05.html#iraq) and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba (http://www.cpj.org/attacks05/pages05/imprison_05.html#us).

Anti-state allegations, including leaking state secrets and subversion, are the most common charges used to jail journalists worldwide, especially in China and Cuba, says CPJ. The second most common charge is criminal defamation, with nine journalists and writers currently in jail under such charges.

The CPJ analysis reveals that individuals who use the Internet to publish or disseminate information account for almost one-third of cases involving jailed journalists. Forty-one are currently behind bars.

CPJ's tally includes journalists jailed as of 1 December 2005. It does not count journalists who either disappear or are abducted by non-state actors, including criminal gangs, rebels or militant groups. Those cases are classified as "missing" or "abducted."

Read the CPJ analysis here:
http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/2005/imprisoned_05/imprisoned_05.html