The Committee to Protect Journalists has joined the
October 30 Coalition
of human rights organizations in issuing a joint statement marking the International Day of Political Prisoners on October 30. The statement underscores the need for sustained international attention to individual political prisoners, for efforts to secure their release, and for accountability for abuses.
More than 300 journalists were
imprisoned
worldwide as of December 1, 2025, according to CPJ’s
latest annual prison census
, the fifth consecutive year the count has topped that mark. These persistently high numbers reflect rising authoritarianism and a growing number of armed conflicts worldwide.
China has been the world’s worst jailer of journalists for three consecutive years, holding at least 50 in 2025. Myanmar, with 30 held, rose from third place in 2024 to second; Israel, with 29 imprisoned, fell from second to third. Azerbaijan, which imprisoned 24, entered the top 10 for the first time since 2018, nearly doubling its prisoner count from the prior year. The numbers imprisoned in Russia, Belarus, Egypt, and Eritrea were consistent with those of the past five years.
Israel, the only country on the worst-jailers list that is traditionally
considered
a democracy, began rapidly imprisoning Palestinian journalists following the start of the Israel-Gaza war in October 2023. Many are imprisoned on
undisclosed charges
or held without charge in arbitrary detention, in contravention of international law. While Israeli citizens enjoy a broad array of civil rights and freedoms, legal experts identify a
radically different standard of justice
for Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Israel has
arrested
more than 110 Palestinian journalists over the course of the war.
Journalists are often held in cruel and life-threatening conditions that one freed Palestinian prisoner
likened
to “a cemetery of the living.” Many imprisoned journalists endure these dangers for ye
… [more]
