Iran was among the world\u2019s top jailers of journalists this year, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in its annual report published on Tuesday, behind China, Russia and Myanmar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following the top three, RSF listed the next biggest jailers in order as Belarus, Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Iran, Egypt, Israel and Saudi Arabia. 21 journalists are currently imprisoned in Iran, it added, and one remains missing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is where impunity for these crimes leads us,\u201d RSF Director General Thibaut Bruttin said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe failure of international organizations that are no longer able to ensure journalists\u2019 right to protection in armed conflicts is the consequence of a global decline in the courage of governments, which should be implementing protective public policies,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The report dedicates separate sections to journalists working in war zones, including Russia, Ukraine, Sudan and Syria, warning that these environments have become increasingly deadly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAbout 43% of the journalists slain in the past 12 months were killed in Gaza by Israeli armed forces. In Ukraine, the Russian army continues to target foreign and Ukrainian reporters. Sudan has also emerged as an exceptionally deadly war zone for news professionals,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Exiled journalists<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n RSF also places Iran among the top 10 countries whose journalists receive its assistance while in exile. The list includes Afghanistan, Russia, Sudan, Iran, Belarus, Myanmar, El Salvador and Kyrgyzstan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOut of over 40 media outlets supported by the RSF Assistance Office over the last 12 months, 19 were Afghanistan, Russia, Sudan, Iran, Belarus, Myanmar, El Salvador and Kyrgyzstan newsrooms that continued to produce journalism in exile,\u201d the report noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More than half of the journalists who applied for RSF emergency assistance in 2025 had been forced into exile, coming from 44 countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c2025 will be remembered as the year press freedom died in plain sight,\u201d the report concludes, urging targeted sanctions on officials and entities responsible for the surveillance and detention of journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Following widespread protests that began in September 2022 in Iran, repression of the press intensified and shows no sign of easing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The crackdown coincides with<\/a> increased pressure after the outbreak of war between Iran and Israel in June, which over 700 people have been arrested on allegations of collaboration with Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n