Reporters Without Borders, Committee to Protect Journalists: Turkey Leads in Detaining Journalists

Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists released dueling reports, with different totals, on journalists in captivity, but the bottom line was the same: the numbers are on the rise.

According to Reporters Without Borders, there are 348 journalists currently being detained, held hostage, or missing worldwide, up 6% from this time in 2015. Turkey is a major offender, with the number of journalists detained there up 22%, even after quadrupling following the failed coup attempt there, according to the group. More than 100 journalists and "media contributors" are in Turkish jails, with 41 of those having a direct link between their incarceration and their activities as a journalist.

The group says 52 journalists are currently being held hostage, with ISIS holding 21 of those, and is calling for the creation of “Special Representative for the safety of journalists” within the UN (attached to the Secretary General's office)—saying "many UN resolutions on protecting journalists and combatting impunity for crimes against them have yet to produce satisfactory results."