UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was appalled by the findings of a new report by an international watchdog that the number of imprisoned journalists hit a new high this year, United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a press briefing on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that a record 274 journalists worldwide had been jailed for their work in 2020. China, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Belarus and Ethiopia top the list of countries that jailed the largest number of journalists.
"We have seen the report by the CPJ, and I can tell you that the Secretary-General is appalled by the rising number of attacks against journalists and media workers around the world," Dujarric said.
Guterres urged governments to immediately release media workers detained for doing their job and reiterated his call to address the widespread impunity in such crimes, Dujarric said.
"Journalists and media workers are crucial to helping us make informed decisions as the world fights the pandemic... [that] can make the difference between life and death," he added. (/Sputnik)
( With inputs from ANI )
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