PRESS FREEDOM (IPI REPORT)

Key Findings of report:

• Curbs by Government: illiberal-minded governments across the world are increasingly clamping down on press freedom by enacting new laws and, in many cases, deliberately erode the credibility of independent media. E.g. In Bangladesh, journalists can face up to life imprisonment for violating the country’s new Digital Security Act.
  
  
• Killings: On the other hand, as many as 55 journalists around the world have been killed since May 2018. Besides killings, in the past year journalists have faced an increasing number of physical attacks while carrying out their work.
  
  
• Arrest: Some 70 cases of arrests of journalists globally were reported in the first quarter of this year. With 139 journalists in prison and many more sentenced to jail terms, Turkey remains the world’s top jailer of journalists.
  
  
• The United States criminal indictment against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has raised concerns around broader implications for press freedom.