Committee to Protect Journalists: 10 countries where press freedom is backsliding

CPJ recently released "Backsliders: The 10 Countries where Press Freedom has most deteriorated" in honor of World Press Freedom Day on May 3. The report identifies the top locales where press freedom has deteriorated the most during the past five years. The Sub-Saharan African countries of Ethiopia, Gambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo lead the pack, notes CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. Offenses include jailing journalists, shuttering the private press and increasing criminal defamation prosecutions.

“Democracy’s foothold in Africa is shallow when it comes to press freedom,” Simon said. “These three African nations, as diverse as they are, have won praise at times for their transition to democracy—but they are actually moving in reverse on press issues. Journalists in Ethiopia, Gambia, and DRC are being jailed, attacked, and censored, a picture far worse than what we saw only a few years ago.”

The top 10 are:

1. Ethiopia
2. Gambia
3. Russia
4. Democratic Republic of Congo
5. Cuba
6. Pakistan
7. Egypt
8. Azerbaijan
9. Morocco
10. Thailand

To learn more about these countries and view the report, visit: http://www.cpj.org/backsliders/index.html