Internet fuels rise in number of jailed journalists: 1 in 3 are Web-based [fs]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: CPJ: Internet fuels rise in number of jailed journalists
Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 10:26:34 -0500
From: CPJ_Asia <[email protected]>


NEWS


Committee to Protect Journalists


330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001 USA     Phone: (212) 465=E2=80=911=
004=20
  Fax: (212) 465=E2=80=919568     Web: www.cpj.org     E-Mail: media@cpj.=
org

Contact:   Abi Wright

Telephone:  (212) 465-1004 ext. 105

http://www.cpj.org <http://www.cpj.org/>



e-mail: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>





Internet fuels rise in number of jailed journalists

More held without charge or due process, CPJ census also finds



New York, December 7, 2006=E2=80=94The number of journalists jailed world=
wide=20
for their work increased for the second consecutive year, and one in=20
three is now an Internet blogger, online editor, or Web-based reporter,=20
according to a new analysis by the Committee to Protect Journalists.



CPJ's annual worldwide census found 134 journalists imprisoned on=20
December 1, an increase of nine from the 2005 tally. China, Cuba,=20
Eritrea, and Ethiopia are the top four jailers among the 24 nations who=20
imprison journalists. Detailed accounts of each imprisoned journalist=20
<http://www.cpj.org/attacks06/pages06/imprison_06.html> are posted on=20
CPJ=E2=80=99s Web site.



Print reporters, editors, and photographers continue to make up the=20
largest professional category, with 67 cases in 2006, but Internet=20
journalists are a growing segment of the census and now constitute the=20
second largest category, with 49 cases. The number of imprisoned=20
journalists whose work appeared primarily on the Web, via e-mail, or in=20
another electronic form has increased each year since CPJ recorded the=20
first jailed Internet writer in its 1997 census. The 2006 figure is the=20
highest number of Internet journalists CPJ has ever tallied in its=20
annual survey. The roster of jailed Internet journalists includes=20
China=E2=80=99s =E2=80=9Ccitizen=E2=80=9D reporters, the independent Cuba=
n writers who file=20
reports for overseas Web sites,=20
<http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/2006/DA_fall_06/prisoner/watson.html>  and =

the U.S. video blogger Joshua Wolf who refused to hand over footage to a =

grand jury.



=E2=80=9CWe=E2=80=99re at a crucial juncture in the fight for press freed=
om because=20
authoritarian states have made the Internet a major front in their=20
effort to control information,=E2=80=9D CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon=
 said.=20
=E2=80=9CChina is challenging the notion that the Internet is impossible =
to=20
control or censor, and if it succeeds there will be far-ranging=20
implications, not only for the medium but for press freedom all over the =

world.=E2=80=9D



Over all, =E2=80=9Cantistate=E2=80=9D allegations such as subversion, div=
ulging state=20
secrets, and acting against the interests of the state are the most=20
common charges used to imprison journalists worldwide. Eighty-four=20
journalists are jailed under these charges, many by the Chinese, Cuban,=20
and Ethiopian governments.



But CPJ also found an increasing number of journalists held without any=20
charge or trial at all. Twenty imprisoned journalists, or 15 percent,=20
have been denied even the most basic elements of due process, CPJ found. =

Eritrea, which accounts for more than half of these cases, keeps=20
journalists in secret locations and withholds basic information about=20
their well-being. The United States has imprisoned two journalists=20
without charge or trial: Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein,=20
<http://www.cpj.org/protests/06ltrs/americas/usa07nov06pl.html>  now=20
held for eight months in Iraq without due process; and Al-Jazeera=20
cameraman Sami al-Haj,=20
<http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/2006/DA_fall_06/prisoner/prisoner.html>=20
jailed five years and now held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.



=E2=80=9CIn Cuba and in China, journalists are often jailed after summary=
 trials=20
and held in miserable conditions far from their families. But the=20
cruelty and injustice of imprisonment is compounded where there is zero=20
due process and journalists slip into oblivion. In Eritrea, the worst=20
abuser in this regard, there is no check on authority and it is unclear=20
whether some jailed journalists are even alive,=E2=80=9D Simon added.



For the eighth consecutive year, China is the world's leading jailer of=20
journalists, with 31 imprisoned. About three-quarters of the cases in=20
China were brought under vague =E2=80=9Cantistate=E2=80=9D laws; 19 cases=
 involve=20
Internet journalists. China=E2=80=99s list includes Shi Tao, an internati=
onally=20
recognized journalist <http://www.cpj.org/awards05/shi_tao.html>=20
serving a 10-year sentence for posting notes online detailing propaganda =

department instructions on how to cover the anniversary of the Tiananmen =

Square crackdown. The government declared the instructions a =E2=80=9Csta=
te secret.=E2=80=9D



Cuba ranked second, with 24 reporters, writers, and editors behind bars, =

most of them jailed in the country's massive March 2003 crackdown on=20
dissidents and the independent press. Nearly all of those on Cuba=E2=80=99=
s list=20
had filed news and commentary to overseas Web sites. These journalists=20
used phone lines and faxes, not computers, to transmit their reports;=20
once posted, their articles were seen across the world but almost never=20
in Cuba, where the government heavily restricts Internet access.



Eritrea is the leader among African countries, with 23 journalists in=20
prison. These prisoners are being held incommunicado, and their=20
well-being is a growing source of concern. A non-bylined report,=20
circulated on several Web sites in August and deemed by CPJ sources to=20
be generally credible, claimed that three of the journalists may have=20
died. CPJ and other international organizations have urgently sought=20
information from Asmara,=20
<http://www.cpj.org/news/2006/africa/eritrea15sept06na.html> but the=20
government has refused to provide basic facts about the journalists=E2=80=
=99=20
whereabouts, their health, or whether they are still alive.



Neighboring Ethiopia has imprisoned 18 journalists, most of whom are=20
being tried for treason after being swept up by authorities in a=20
November 2005 crackdown on dissent. A CPJ investigation in April=20
<http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/2006/DA_spring_06/ethiopia/ethiopia_DA_spri=
ng_06.html>=20
found no basis for the government=E2=80=99s treason charges. Burma, which=
 is=20
holding seven journalists, is fifth among nations, followed by=20
Uzbekistan, which is holding five journalists. The United States,=20
Azerbaijan, and Burundi are seventh on the list of nations, each having=20
jailed three journalists.



Here are other trends and details that emerged in CPJ's analysis:



*	In about 10 percent of cases, governments used a variety of charges=20
unrelated to journalism to retaliate against critical writers, editors,=20
and photojournalists. Such charges ranged from property damage and=20
regulatory violations to drug possession and association with=20
extremists. In the cases included in this census, CPJ has determined=20
that the charges were most likely lodged in reprisal for the=20
journalist=E2=80=99s work.



*	Spreading ethnic or religious =E2=80=9Chatred=E2=80=9D was the next mos=
t common charge=20
used to imprison journalists worldwide. Such charges were lodged in=20
about four percent of cases.



*	Criminal defamation charges were filed in about three percent of=20
cases, a slight decline from the rate recorded in recent years. A=20
growing number of nations, particularly in Western Europe, have moved to =

decriminalize defamation and insult.



*	Violations of censorship rules account for another three percent of=20
cases. Burma, for example, jailed two journalists in March for violating =

prohibitions on photographing or filming the country=E2=80=99s new capita=
l,=20
Pyinmana.



*	The longest-serving journalists in CPJ's census were Chen Renjie and=20
Lin Youping, who were jailed in China in July 1983 for publishing a=20
pamphlet titled Ziyou Bao (Freedom Report). Codefendant Chen Biling was=20
later executed.



CPJ believes that journalists should not be imprisoned for doing their=20
jobs. The organization has sent letters expressing its serious concerns=20
to each country that has imprisoned a journalist. In addition, CPJ sent=20
requests during the year to Eritrean and U.S. officials seeking details=20
in the cases in which journalists were held without publicly disclosed=20
charges.


CPJ's list is a snapshot of those incarcerated at midnight on December=20
1, 2006. It does not include the many journalists imprisoned and=20
released throughout the year; accounts of those cases can be found at=20
www.cpj.org <http://www.cpj.org/> . Journalists remain on CPJ=E2=80=99s l=
ist=20
until the organization determines with reasonable certainty that they=20
have been released or have died in custody.

Journalists who either disappear or are abducted by nonstate entities,=20
including criminal gangs, rebels, or militant groups, are not included=20
on the imprisoned list. Their cases are classified as "missing" or=20
"abducted." Details of these cases are also available on CPJ's Web site. =

<http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/missing_list.html>



CPJ is a New York=E2=80=93based, independent, nonprofit organization that=
 works=20
to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit=20
www.cpj.org <http://www.cpj.org/> .




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