A bad year for journalists all over
The Committee to Protect Journalists' (CPJ) report that reveals that more journalists have been jailed this year by government all over the world in nearly three decades, is certainly ominous news for press freedom and what media represents, which is the voice of the people. A total of 259 journalists have been jailed globally, in 2016, compared with 199 at the same time last year. Turkey tops the list with at least 81 journalists imprisoned facing anti-state charges. China and Egypt follow, taking second and third place as countries incarcerating the most number of journalists. While Bangladesh is nowhere near these countries in terms of arresting and jailing journalists, there has been in recent times, a rise in attempts to choke voices of dissent, mainly those of the media.
Under the guise of sedition, defamation, and making statements that are offensive to certain groups, journalists have been repeatedly harassed, with cases filed against them and the fear of arrest constantly looming over their heads.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Even more worrying is the number of unsolved murders of journalists over the last decades by militant and other criminal groups which shows a kind of apathy in trying to carry out proper investigations that would lead to convictions. This gives the impression of impunity to attackers that can only embolden them further .
The disturbing trend of trying to throttle the voices of the press all over the world indicates the growing authoritarianism of governments that are intolerant of any kind of criticism of their rule. When voices of dissent are silenced through direct or indirect intimidation, democracy will suffer as will the ordinary citizen whose interests are prioritised by journalists. What governments across the world are forgetting is that freedom of the press is a fundamental prerequisite of a modern, civilised world because of the watchdog role the media plays. By trying to put fetters on the media's neck, states will ultimately be harming rather than protecting themselves.