(ANSA) - NEW YORK, DECEMBER 16 - 2020 was a forgetting year for press freedom, with a record number of journalists jailed worldwide (34 of which for publishing 'fake news').
The report drawn up every 12 months by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reveals that as of December 1, 274 journalists ended up in prison for their work.
However, this figure does not include those who were arrested and released.
For the second consecutive year, the black flag goes to China, with 47 members of the media behind bars, followed by Turkey with 37. In Egypt, however, 27 journalists are jailed, and 24 in Saudi Arabia.
Fifteen are in prison in Iran, where Ruhollah Zam was executed on 12 December after facing 17 counts including espionage and spreading false news abroad.
The dossier states that the incarceration of media members increased this year "as governments cracked down on coronavirus coverage or tried to suppress news of political unrest."
UN secretary general Antonio Guterres defined himself as "dismayed" by the results of the report.
In a statement, the UN Headquarters leader "again urged the governments to immediately release journalists detained just for practicing their profession", reiterating "his previous requests for concerted efforts to counter widespread impunity for such crimes".
"In our daily life - he added - journalists and media operators are fundamental in helping us make informed decisions.
As the world fights the Covid-19 pandemic, those decisions are even more crucial and can make the difference between life and death" .
(HANDLE).