Wednesday 02 May 2007 02:01
The worst backsliders in freedom of the press over the past five years
include countries that have turned from being relatively open into
repressive and those where press conditions have worsened, the Committee
to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says in a survey released Wednesday.
Ethiopia, Gambia, Russia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cuba,
Pakistan, Egypt, Azerbaijan, Morocco and Thailand were cited by CPJ for
government censorship, judicial harassment, criminal libel prosecutions,
imprisonment of journalists and threats against the press.
In Russia, 11 journalists were murdered in the five-year period, the
study said.
The survey was published on the eve of the UN annual World Press Freedom
Day on Thursday.
"The behaviour of all of these countries is deeply troubling, but the
rapid retreats in nations where the media have thrived demonstrate just
how easily the fundamental right to press freedom can be taken away,"
said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon.
Simon said the three sub-Saharan countries are where press freedom has
deteriorated the most over the past five years.
Ethiopia has launched a massive crackdown on the private press by
closing newspapers and jailing editors. The survey said Ethiopia banned
eight newspapers in 2006, expelled two foreign reporters and blocked
critical Web sites. The imprisonment of journalists forced dozens of
others to go into exile.
Gambia, Congo, Russia and Cuba have become the "worst backsliders," the
survey says.
In Russia, the survey says all three national television channels are
now under state control.
In Cuba, 29 journalists were imprisoned in a massive crackdown in 2003.
Four foreign reporters were expelled for covering an opposition meeting
in 2005 and another 10 were barred entry to cover Fidel Castro's illness
in 2006.
Cuba and Ethiopia have become the world's leading jailers of
journalists, the survey says.
Thailand and Morocco were once leading in press freedom, but the
condition has sharply declined. Morocco is now tied with Tunisia "for
the dubious distinction of sentencing the most journalists to prison in
the Arab world. "
In Thailand, the military junta under Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont
nationalized the country's only private television station and ordered
radio to broadcast only military-prepared news.
In Egypt, government agents assaulted reporters covering demonstrations
and some top editors disappeared. An Egyptian human rights group said 85
criminal cases were lodged against journalists between 2004 and 2006.
In Azerbaijan, an editor named Elmar Huseynov was slain in 2005 and
criminal defamation cases rose from one to 14 in the past five years.
Two top journalists were kidnapped last year while imprisonments
increased from none to five. dpa tn pr
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