CPJ’s Steven Butler: China’s sentencing of Jimmy Lai over Tiananmen Square vigil is ‘despicable’
Taipei, December 13, 2021 — In response to a Hong Kong court’s decision today to sentence Jimmy Lai, founder of the Next Digital media company and the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, to 13 months imprisonment over his alleged connection to a 2020 vigil marking the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, the Committee to Protect…
‘A disturbing sign for press freedom’: A record 293 journalists imprisoned worldwide, the worst in 30 years
There are a record 293 journalists jailed worldwide for doing their job, according to CPJ’s 2021 prison census, the worst number CPJ has recorded since we began keeping track in 1992. Meanwhile, killings of journalists also continue to persist, with 24 documented by CPJ so far this year. The reasons for the relentless climb in…
Jimmy Lai Chee-ying
Hong Kong media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai Chee-ying has been held since December 2, 2020. He has completed a 20-month prison sentence for various charges associated with unauthorized pro-democracy assemblies, and is now serving 5 years and 9 months following a separate conviction on fraud charges while awaiting an additional trial on national security charges, which carries a possible…
Wan Yiu-sing
Hong Kong police arrested Wan Yiu-sing, who hosted a show on the internet radio channel D100 under the name “Giggs,” on February 7, 2021. He is being held in detention while on trial for alleged sedition and money laundering. Wan is an internet radio host and commentator who covers political issues in mainland China and…
Chan Pui-man
Hong Kong journalist Chan Pui-man is awaiting sentencing for conspiring to collude with foreign powers after pleading guilty in return for clemency on another charge. Police arrested Chan, the pro-democracy Apple Daily’s associate publisher, several times in 2021, and she has been held since July 21. Apple Daily, a subsidiary of the media company Next…
Ryan Law Wai-kwong
Hong Kong journalist Ryan Law Wai-kwong is awaiting a sentence for conspiring to collude with foreign powers after pleading guilty in return for clemency on another charge. Police arrested Law, editor-in-chief of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, on June 16, 2021. Apple Daily, a subsidiary of the media company Next Digital Limited, was published from…
Yeung Ching-kee
Hong Kong columnist Yeung Ching-kee is awaiting a sentence for conspiring to collude with foreign powers after pleading guilty in return for clemency on another charge. Hong Kong police arrested Yeung, the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily’s former lead editorial writer, several times in 2021, and he has been held since July 21, 2021. Yeung wrote…
Lam Man-chung
Hong Kong journalist Lam Man-chung is awaiting a sentence for conspiring to collude with foreign powers after pleading guilty in return for clemency on another charge. Hong Kong police arrested Lam, executive editor-in-chief of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily and manager of its English edition, on July 21, 2021. Apple Daily was a subsidiary of…
Number of journalists imprisoned around the world sets new record
China remains the world’s worst jailer of journalists; India and Mexico rank among the deadliest New York December 9, 2021–The number of journalists behind bars reached a record high in 2021, with 293 behind bars as political upheaval and media crackdowns reflect increasing intolerance for independent reporting around the world. At the same time, targeted…
Number of journalists behind bars reaches global high
Editor’s note: Numbers for each prison census are adjusted yearly as CPJ learns of arrests, releases, or deaths in prison. The numbers for CPJ’s 2021 census have been revised from 293 to 302 in accordance with this policy. For the most recent data, see cpj.org/data/imprisoned/ The number of journalists jailed around the world set another record…