Iran Named the 'Third Largest Prison' for Journalists in 2015

Reporters Without Borders named Iran the third largest prison in the world for journalists in 2015, with 18 journalists imprisoned, following China with 23 and Egypt with 22. The organization's announcement, published on Tuesday, December 15, refers to a recent wave of journalist arrests in Iran, accompanied by allegations such as 'espionage' and 'affiliation with foreign networks.' This wave, which followed claims by Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, regarding U.S. attempts to infiltrate Iran, led to the arrests of Eisa Saharkhiz, Ehsan Mazandarani, Saman Safarzadeh, and Afrin Chitsaz last November. This situation has caused Iran to swap ranks with Eritrea in the list of the world's largest prisons for journalists, with Eritrea now in fourth place with 15 imprisoned journalists. Following Eritrea, Turkey ranks fifth with 9 imprisoned journalists. Reporters Without Borders states that with less than two weeks left in 2015, 153 journalists, 161 citizen journalists, and 14 media workers are imprisoned worldwide, although the number of imprisoned journalists has decreased by 14% compared to the previous year. The organization's announcement identifies Syria as the most dangerous country for journalists, where 26 reporters have been taken hostage this year alone. Following Syria, Yemen with 13 hostage journalists, Iraq with 10, and Libya with 5 are next. Currently, 54 journalists, along with three citizen journalists and four media workers, are hostages worldwide, with the group known as 'Islamic State' responsible for 18 kidnappings and the Houthis for 9, making them the main kidnappers. Reporters Without Borders also states that in 2015, the number of journalists who were kidnapped was 79, which is a decrease of about 35% compared to the previous year. 70% of the kidnappings of journalists occurred in war zones. For the past twenty years, Reporters Without Borders has published statistics on violence against journalists worldwide at the end of each year, based on data collected throughout the year.