While Sean Spicer’s treatment of journalists he deems unfriendly to Donald Trump’s administration is often criticized and called undemocratic, it is a far cry from treatment journalists receive in these 11 countries without freedom of speech or press.
White House Press Secretary is regularly ridiculed in TV shows like Saturday Night Live. Melissa McCarthy’s impression is on par with Alec Baldwin’s representation of Spicer’s boss, President Trump. Both men have repeatedly shown disdain for the mainstream media, with Trump’s now famous quip “fake news”.
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This state of affairs naturally leaves a lot to be desired and White House press conferences are often marked with clashes and disputes between journalists and Sean Spicer. Still, once a closer look is taken at the state of freedoms of speech and press worldwide, despite his best intentions, Spicer looks at best as a caricature, compared to many of the world’s far more sinister press oppressors.
Lack of freedom of speech and press is often associated with third-world dictatorships and poverty ridden nations and while we have plenty of those on the menu, there are also a few countries that are considered strong economically. Regardless of their economic status, they do have few things in common, like the rampant corruption and lack of transparency in government’s work. For the most part, these regimes don’t shy from censorship in any way they can achieve the media’s cooperation and intimidating journalists is usually their go to method of preventing them from reporting on their dealings. It doesn’t come as a surprise that there’s a huge overlap between this and the list of the Worst Countries for Journalists in 2015. Two years later, not much has changed. If anything, some of the countries have even increased their oppression of the media.
In order to create the list 11 countries without freedom of speech or press, we consulted the people who suffer the most: journalists. Our sources include Reporters without Borders and their annual World Press Freedom Index, as well as the Most Censored Countries list published by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). We combined them in order to create the most accurate listing.
11. Laos
The Lao People’s Revolutionary Party has been in power since the country gain independence from France in 1953. It has gone the usual route for all other communist regimes worldwide when it comes to the media freedoms, complete control of all agencies and quick stomping of any dissenting voices. However, as Internet became more available to the population, it has become a popular platform for the opposition to be heard. The government has introduced a decree that criminalized any critic of “Marxist-Leninist though” and the party itself, which led to several arrests and convictions. Any foreign media wishing to operate in Laos must allow the state censors unlimited access to their materials, a condition few were ready to accept.
10. Yemen
Between the non-discriminatory air strikes of Saudi Arabia and their allies and the Houthi rebels, journalism has become a highly risky profession in Yemen, the next one on the list of countries without freedom of speech or press. The capital Sanaa, under the control of former President Saleh and his Houthi allies, is a scene of constant threats and harassment of those few remaining independent journalists. Abductions of reporters are also a common occurrence, with some 15 journalists and media workers held in captivity by the Houthis. Those who venture close to the front lines risk getting killed by the Saudi air force, which has adopted the practice of shooting first and asking questions later, although some witnesses say that they have dispensed with the whole “asking question” part entirely.
9. Saudi Arabia
The Arab Spring was a wake-up call for many of the Middle East regimes, and Saudi Arabia was one of those who took the warnings seriously. The new laws were passed, allowing courts to hear testimonies against defendants without them or their lawyers present. The General Commission for Audiovisual Media heavily monitors all Internet traffic, a lesson learned from the Egypt’s Tahrir Square protests. Saudi Arabian government didn’t stop at just domestic censorship. It used its influence in Gulf Cooperation Council to force other Gulf states into passing legislation making it illegal for its citizens to criticize other member states’ governments. A simple post on Twitter censors deem inappropriate can land a person in jail, as it was the case with three prominent lawyers who criticized Ministry of Justice in 2014 and got 6 to 8 years in prison.
8. Syria
We are continuing our list of countries without freedom of speech or press with Syria that has never been considered as a champion of the free press and speech, but with the raging civil war, journalism has become one of the deadliest occupations in the country. Out of 79 journalists killed in 2016 while on assignment, 14 of them lost their lives in Syria, same as in 2015. As the civil war continues to ravage the country, the number will probably remain just as high in 2017 as well. The multitude of factions currently fighting in Syria makes it very hard to determine the culprit behinds the killings, let alone prosecuting them.
7. Turkmenistan
President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, who is regularly re-elected with a 98% of the vote, seems determined to keep his post unchallenged for the rest of his life. Father Protector, as he likes to be called, and his regime have effectively cut Turkmenistan off from the world and by intimidation and harassment, closed every news outlet not sympathetic to them. Those few journalists in exile who use the Internet are finding that passing through the government’s firewalls increasingly difficult. The last source of news citizens of Turkmenistan have are satellite dishes and the government is moving to remove those as well.
6. Cuba
The opening up of Cuba that ranks 6th on our list of countries without freedom of speech or press has seen many restrictions on freedom of press and speech lifted, but the government has a hard time completely letting go of censorship. As the country continues its new path, Raul Castro may soon find himself unable to maintain the control of the press even remotely similar to the one his late brother enjoyed. The Internet has provided Cuban journalists with a platform to express their dissent and while the number of their readers is still a small fraction of the population, it continues to grow almost daily, as people gain access to the world wide web.
5. China
China is the prime example that strong economic growth doesn’t prevent a country from landing among the countries without freedom of speech or press. In fact, it can be argued that China has used its economic development as a lid on dissent on various subjects. With 38 journalists in prison, China is by far the worst press jailer in the world. With domestic reporters effectively silenced, Chinese regime only has to worry about the international journalists, who have often been declined a visa, if Beijing censors determine that they are uncooperative.
4. Iran
With 8 journalists behind the bars (a significant improvement from 2014, when there were 30 reporters serving prison sentences), Iran, the number 4 on our list of countries without freedom of speech or press is among the leading nations in the world when it comes to jailing reporters. The Association of Iranian Journalists was closed in 2009 and despite campaign promises, President Hassan Rouhani has yet to reinstitute it. The real power is held by the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has been the supreme leader since 1989.
3. Vietnam
The Central Propaganda Department of Vietnam that ranks third on our list of countries without freedom of speech or press is alpha and omega when it comes to the freedom of speech and press in Vietnam. The department decides what can and cannot be published by the state-owned media in their weekly meetings with editors-in-chief. Private media doesn’t exist in the country, as the ruling Communist Party believes that all news outlets must serve the party. The go-to method of silencing journalists is the anti-state law, which prohibits any actions that abuse the democratic freedoms, which is an umbrella term for any form of dissent.
2. North Korea
The state of the world we live in today is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that there are worst countries for journalists and freedom of the press than North Korea, one of the cruelest and most oppressive regimes in history. Opposition to Kim Jong-un is virtually non-existent and even the slightest hint of dissent will result in a harsh jail term, often served in one of the country’s several gulags. The lack of Internet access has made it almost impossible for the citizens of North Korea to receive any outside news and those who can access it on smuggled smartphones from China risk severe penalties if caught using them.
1. Eritrea
Deciding between North Korea and Eritrea for the first place among the 11 countries without freedom of speech or press almost came down to a coin toss. At the end, the deciding factor was the number of jailed journalists. Eritrea currently has 17 journalists in prison on various charges (in a country with fewer than 6 million inhabitants), while the saving grace for Kim Jong-un’s regime was the lack of data. According to the CPJ’s sources (which can’t be confirmed due to lack of information) at least five journalists have died in prison since 2001. Eritrea’s president Isaias Afewerki, who has been in power since the country’s independence in 1993, has banned all privately owned media from operating and only state-run news outlets are allowed to report on the news.
