You might think being a blogger, or publishing a new media publication will be free from worries, but what if you do it from another country? A recent report from the New York Based, Center for Protection of Journalists says you might be placing yourself at risk from governments. Especially if you come into their crossfire.
China and other authoritarian countries trying to control information on the Web have driven a record increase in the number of journalists jailed, with a third either bloggers or Web-based editors or reporters, a free press group said.
While you’d think the US would be from any allegations the report goes on to state that the United States was not free of guilt:
Overall, the most common charges used to jail journalists were subversion, divulging state secrets and acting against the interests of the state. In total, 84 journalists were imprisoned under these charges, many in China, Cuba and Ethiopia. The group also found an increasing number of journalists jailed without any charge or trial at all.
The United States was also criticized in the CPJ annual report for imprisoning two journalists without charge in the country’s war on terrorism. The journalists included freelance photographer Bilal Hussein and Al-Jazeera cameraman Sami al-Haj.
Source: Information Week
Originally posted on December 12, 2006 @ 4:01 am