Europe: 108 journalists in prison at the turn of the year

In 2023, Russia became the country that imprisons most journalists in Europe (40); Belarus was the second worst offender, with 32. In Azerbaijan, the number of journalists detained almost quadrupled.

This statement was originally published on europeanjournalists.org on 1 January 2024.

108 journalists spent New Year’s Eve in prison, according to a count by organisations affiliated to the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the Council of Europe’s Platform for the Protection of Journalism.

While the overall number of journalists detained in Europe has fallen slightly compared to last year (108 instead of 124), repression has increased considerably in certain countries, such as Azerbaijan, where the number of journalists detained has almost quadrupled, as well as in Russia, which this year has become the country that imprisons the most journalists in Europe (40 in total, in Russia and occupied Ukraine).

The EFJ and its affiliates once again call on national governments to take the necessary measures to guarantee press freedom in Europe and to ensure the safety of journalists. Legal standards exist and so do good practices. But very few states implement them.

“There are almost as many journalists imprisoned in Europe as in China and Iran combined,” said EFJ President Maja Sever. “The recent wave of arrests of independent journalists in Azerbaijan is designed to intimidate all journalists working in the country. It is worrying to see Western European countries such as the United Kingdom adopting the same practices. We demand the immediate release of journalists imprisoned just for doing their job!”

In particular, the EFJ calls on the member states of the Council of Europe to implement without delay the Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation 2016/4 on the Protection of Journalism and the Safety of Journalists. The adoption of national plans related to this Recommendation is now a priority.

Here is the list of 108 journalists detained in Europe:

32 in Belarus