The CPJ’s 2023 Prison Census ranks Eritrea, Ethiopia AND Cameroon as worst jailers of journalists in sub-Saharan Africa, with Zambian journalist Thomas Zgambo featuring in census for being in detention by December 1
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)’s latest prison census has revealed that 47 journalists were detained across 12 countries in sub-Saharan Africa on December 1, 2023 in connection with their work, from 31 recorded in 2022.
In Zambia, journalist Thomas Zgambo was recorded among the 47 as he was still in police detention at 12:01 a.m of December 1, 2023 and released later that day on bail.
Globally, 320 journalists were recorded to be detention in connection with their work.
The CPJ’s prison census is a snapshot of journalists incarcerated at 12:01 a.m. local time on December 1 each year.
In sub-Saharan Africa, the number of journalists jailed on December 1 rose to 47 from 31 in 2022.
Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Cameroon ranked as the three worst jailers of journalists in the region.
Eritrea has some of the longest-known cases of journalists imprisoned around the world, none of whom have ever been charged, according to CPJ.
Meanwhile, Ethiopia, which forced the return of a journalist exiled in Djibouti to face terrorism charges, held eight journalists as of December 1.
This is despite a 2022 peace agreement that ended two years of civil war.
In the Middle East and North Africa, Iran’s numbers saw a sharp decline from its 2022 designation as the worst jailer of journalists following its clampdown on coverage of nationwide women-led protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, the prison census report states.
It adds that many of the 62 journalists listed on the 2022 census have since been released on bail to await charges or sentencing, underscoring Iran’s continued repression of the media.
The report said Egypt, routinely among the world’s worst jailers, was tied with Turkey for the eighth-highest number of jailed journalists globally with13 in the 2023 census.
It revealed that Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Iraqi Kurdistan have all expanded the use of false news, terrorism, and anti-state charges against journalists in recent years.
In Zambia, Zgambo of online publication Zambian Whistleblower, was arrested on November 28, 2023.
He was charged with seditious practices, in connection to his reporting criticizing the government and was released on bail on December 1, 2023, according to a profile on the journalist compiled by CPJ.
He could face up to seven years in jail if found guilty by the courts.
The global press freedom body has since called on Zambian authorities to drop any pending criminal proceedings against him.
Zgambo has told CPJ that his detention was a form of “persecution” meant to silence him.
Zgambo told CPJ that the police confiscated his two mobile phones and laptop. The devices are still in police custody.
He was released on December 1, 2023 on a K50,000 bail, according to documents he published on Facebook.
Zgambo’s lawyer, Jonas Zimba, told CPJ that the journalist was released after Zimba wrote to the police threatening to take them to court for detaining his client for longer than necessary over a bailable offense.
Zgambo was previously charged with sedition in 2013 after documents about the then-President Michael Sata were found in his home. Zgambo told CPJ that he was released on police bond but never received a date to appear in court.
Globally, the press freedom situation remains depressing as 320 journalists were imprisoned last year, according to the prison census.
The report has disclosed that the number in question is the second highest since the committee started recording the prison census.
It also stated that the previous record was set in 2022, when more than 360 appeared in CPJ’s database.
It added that last year, the top three jailers of journalists were China with 44 behind bars, Myanmar with 43, and Belarus with 28.
The report explained that the countries in question held more than a third (35.8%) of those incarcerated on the day of the census.
“Russia (22) and Vietnam (19) rounded out the top five jailers of journalists,” read the report.
The report revealed that Israel emerged for the first time as one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists, with 17 recorded behind bars as of December 1, 2023.
“This is the highest number of Palestinian journalists in detention since CPJ began documenting arrests in 1992 and the first time that Israel has ranked in sixth place on the census. The ranking comes as more than 80 journalists have been killed since the Israel-Gaza war began on October 7,” read the statement.
And CPJ’s chief executive officer Jodie Ginsberg said this shows how entrenched authoritarianism is globally, with governments emboldened to stamp out critical reporting and prevent public accountability.
Ginsberg called for an end to such a practice.
“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,” she said.
The report states that Israel’s unprecedented ranking was driven by its practice of administrative detention in the occupied West Bank, a type of incarceration that allows a military commander to detain someone without charge, and extend their detention an unlimited number of times, on grounds of preventing them from committing a future offense.
The report disclosed that majority of journalists listed in the census face anti-state charges, such as false news and terrorism in retaliation for their critical coverage.
It said more than 60 journalists around the world were being held without having any charge disclosed.
Ginsberg said “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.”
