Jailing journalists has become a ‘new normal,’ says advocacy group
|(CNN)In China, award-winning photojournalist Lu Guang was reportedly taken away by authorities in a region where an estimated 1 million Muslim Uyghurs are being held in state-controlled “re-education camps.” In Turkey, Austrian journalist Max Zirngast was arrested, joining dozens of reporters currently imprisoned in the country. In Myanmar, two Reuters journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, were jailed while investigating a massacre of Rohingya Muslims.
These detentions represent just a few examples of a sustained crackdown on press freedoms around the world, which has seen at least 250 journalists jailed annually over the past three years, according to report released Thursday by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
The non-profit group found that least 251 journalists were jailed in 2018 — with 70% facing anti-state charges, such as belonging to or aiding groups deemed terrorist organizations.