A Nigerian, Saint Mienpamo Onitsha is among the 320 journalists imprisoned last year in connection with their work globally according to the Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) annual prison census.
Mienpamo publisher of Naija Live TV online platform is one of the 67 jailed in Africa as of December 1, 2023.
He was arrested on October 10, 2023, and charged with cybercrime and defamation about a report that he wrote alleging that there was tension in the Niger Delta after a man had been killed by security guards outside government offices in the capital, Abuja.
In a press statement by CPJ, the top three jailers of journalists—China (44 behind bars), Myanmar (43), and Belarus (28) in 2023 held more than a third (35.8%) of those incarcerated on the day of the census. Russia (22) and Vietnam (19) make up the top five jailers of journalists.
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“Our research shows how entrenched authoritarianism is global, with governments emboldened to stamp out critical reporting and prevent public accountability. Meanwhile, Israel’s standing in CPJ’s 2023 prison census is evidence that a fundamental democratic norm—press freedom—is fraying as Israel exploits draconian methods to silence Palestinian journalists. This practice must stop,” said Jodie Ginsberg, CPJ’s chief executive officer.
In a world where journalists are routinely vilified by political leaders, the majority of the journalists listed in the census according to CPJ face anti-state charges, such as false news and terrorism in retaliation for their critical coverage.
“More than 60 journalists around the world were being held without having any charge disclosed. Prolonged pretrial detentions and cruel treatment are common, while some governments, such as Russia and Ethiopia, have even persecuted journalists across borders. In Vietnam, Egypt, and other countries, even after their release, journalists continue to face travel bans, other movement restrictions, and measures that effectively curtail their freedom.
“Across the world, we have reached a critical moment. We need to see an end to the weaponization of laws that silence reporting and ensure journalists are free to report. During a banner election year, with billions headed to the polls across the world, anything less is a disservice to democracy and harms us all,” said Ginsberg.
In sub-Saharan Africa, the number of journalists jailed on December 1 rose to 47 from 31 in 2022, with Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Cameroon ranking as the three worst jailers in the region. Those held in Eritrea include some of the longest-known cases of journalists imprisoned around the world, none of whom have ever been charged. Ethiopia, which forced the return of a journalist exiled in Djibouti to face terrorism charges, held eight journalists as of December 1, as press freedom challenges linger despite a 2022 peace agreement that ended two years of civil war.
