CPJ Report Lists '10 Most Censored Countries'
May 02, 2006
A reader of the independent Belarusian newspaper "Nasha Niva," which struggles to survive in an increasingly repressive environment (Bymedia.net)
The other countries that make up the 10 most censored states are, in order, are Burma, Turkmenistan, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Eritrea, Cuba, Uzbekistan, Syria, and Belarus.
The CPJ issued its report, called the "10 Most Censored Countries," to mark World Press Freedom Day, which falls on May 3.
The CPJ's executive director, Ann Cooper, says those living in these 10 countries are virtually isolated from the rest of the world by authoritarian rulers who "muzzle the media and keep a chokehold on information through restrictive laws, fear, and intimidation."
Cooper says that by any international standard, the practices of these governments are unacceptable.
She calls state-sponsored censorship one of the most urgent threats facing journalists worldwide.