April 21, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a press advocacy group in New York released its list of 10 most censored countries.
Eritrea and North Korea are leading the list as the world's most censored countries. The rest of the list includes Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Azerbaijan, Vietnam, Iran, China, Myanmar and Cuba.
Eritreat is Africa's worst jailer of journalists says CPJ with at least 23 journalists currently behind bars. None of these journalists have been tried in court or chaged with a crime.
In all of these countries imprisonment is the most effective form of intimidation and harassment used against journalists. CPJ ranks Eritrea, Ethiopia, Azerbaijan, Vietnam, Iran, China and Myanmar "among the top 10 worst jailers of journalists worldwide," according to it's annual prisone census.
"In Azerbaijan, criminal defamation laws have been extended to social media and carry a six-month prison sentence."
The list of 10 most censored countries is based on CPJ research, as well as the expertise of the organization's staff. Countries are measured with the use of a series of benchmarks, including the absence of privately owned or independent media, blocking of websites, restrictions on electronic recording and dissemination, license requirements to conduct journalism, restrictions on journalists' movements, monitoring of journalists by authorities, jamming of foreign broadcasts, and blocking of foreign correspondents.