Over 300 journalists behind bars for fifth straight year: Committee to Protect Journalists

The number of journalists imprisoned worldwide for their work was 330 in the final month of 2025, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Wednesday (January 21, 2026), the fifth consecutive year the count has exceeded 300.

China held 50 prisoners as of December 1, followed by Myanmar with 30 and then Israel, which detained 29 Palestinian journalists, the press freedom watchdog said in its annual report.

Next was Russia with 27 prisoners, of which five were Ukrainian, then Belarus with 25 and Azerbaijan with 24, the CPJ said.

It is the third highest total recorded by the CPJ since its census began in 1992 and just short of the record 384 journalists in prison for their work at the end of 2024.

“These record-setting numbers reflect growing authoritarianism and escalating numbers of armed conflicts worldwide,” the CPJ said in its report.

The New York-based NGO said that almost half of the imprisoned journalists had not been convicted of a crime. Of those who had been, more than a third were serving prison sentences of over five years.

Nearly a third of the detained journalists had experienced “mistreatment,” the CPJ said, including 20% with claims of torture or beatings. Since 1992, Iran has had the greatest incidence of torture and beatings, followed by Israel and Egypt.

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In 2025, Asia remained the region with the highest number of imprisoned journalists at 110. Beyond China and Myanmar, Vietnam held at least 16, Bangladesh four, India three, and the Philippines one.

The United States detained Salvadoran journalist Mario Guevara in June after he covered a protest against President Donald Trump, but he was deported over his immigration status before the December 1 CPJ census was taken.