Only one Indian scribe jailed in 2016, says report

Only one Indian journalist was jailed in 2016 among the 259 scribes jailed worldwide in 2016.

A record 259 scribes were imprisoned worldwide in the last year, revealed an annual list compiled by a non-profit that works to defend press freedoms

As per a report by the Commitee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), only one Indian journalist was imprisoned in 2016.

The Chhattisgarh police arrested freelance journalist Santosh Yadav for his reportage on alleged human rights abuses in the state.

The reports, the CPJ's annual prison census, show a record number of journalists jailed this past year. As many as 259 journalists were imprisoned around the world in 2016, with 81 of them being imprisoned in Turkey, said the report.

The report, which has been keeping track of scribes being imprisoned since 1990, claimed that the highest number in recent past was in 2012, when 232 journalists were jailed. This year some 20 women were arrested.

China, which has topped the list for the past two years, came second in 2016. Iran was also among the top five on the list. Compared to the 81 arrests in Turkey, China imprisoned some 38 journalists this year.

Three-fourths of the 259 names on the list face charges of anti-state activity, said reports.

The list is considerably higher than that of 2015 when 199 journalists were put behind the bars globally.

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