These journalists have been harassed, threatened, locked up and tortured for doing their jobs
Jailed Azerbaijani reporter Khadija Ismailyova will today be awarded the Unesco/ Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.
On World Press Freedom Day, Amnesty International is shining a light on nine cases of journalists from across the world being harassed, threatened, locked up and tortured as part of efforts to muzzle free expression.
Anna Neistat, Amnesty International’s senior director for research, said: “Journalists worldwide are subject to arbitrary arrest, imprisonment, torture and other forms of abuse. They are jailed, or even killed, simply for asking questions that make the authorities uneasy, or for taking a view that does not toe the party line.
“The specific cases monitored by Amnesty International are among hundreds worldwide that need to be investigated transparently so that perpetrators are brought to account and so that journalists can work without fear of reprisal.”
Ismayilova exposed corruption in Azerbaijan, including among the president's family, and is currently serving seven-and-a-half years in prison as a results of a crackdown on free expression.
She was subjected to personal threats, harassment and blackmail, before being detained in December 2014 and then convicted in September 2015.
The plights of journalists from Egypt, Cameroon, China, Burundi, Mexico, Angola, Thailand and Turkey are also highlighted.