How CPJ helps jailed journalists
CPJ’s 2024 imprisoned journalists’ data illustrates how arbitrary prison sentences handed down in connection with journalistic work can become a years-long nightmare. Globally, incarcerated journalists routinely face harsh conditions—including lack of access to medical care, food, hygiene products, and water—along with loss of vital emotional support because long, often expensive journeys make it difficult for family members or legal representatives to visit them. To help meet the crucial needs of these journalists, CPJ regularly provides prison support grants, one of many forms of financial support accessible through CPJ’s journalist assistance program.
As part of CPJ’s holistic support for imprisoned journalists, prison support grants can be used alongside ongoing advocacy on behalf of journalists behind bars, and reporting and documentation of their case or trial. In 2024, CPJ supported 58 journalists with prison support, making up just over 10% of all individual financial grants journalists received from CPJ that year. That is the highest percentage CPJ has provided in prison support grants since 2020, and the largest-ever number of prison support grants in a single year, reflecting both the near record number of imprisoned journalists globally, and the scale of their needs behind bars.
In 2024, prison support was holistically combined with legal support, medical support, and trauma support. A prison sentence can cause or exacerbate a journalist’s mental health or medical issues, which CPJ’s grants can help alleviate. Legal fees are often covered alongside a grant for prison support so journalists can appropriately fight cases against them. And highlighting the unjustly long prison sentences some journalists receive, CPJ has provided multiple prison support grants to individual journalists over several years.
In 2024, the country that had the greatest need for CPJ’s prison support grants was Belarus. One of the world’s worst jailers of journalists, Belarus held 31 in prison as of December 1, 2024, according to CPJ’s prison data. During the year, CPJ for the first time helped almost the entire population of imprisoned journalists in a single country by providing a prison support grant to nearly every imprisoned Belarusian journalist through a partnership with the Belarusian Journalists Association (BAJ). In total, 23 journalists received grants, which not only covered basic necessities such as medication and food in prison but also allowed families to send care packages to their loved ones. Crucially, these grants fostered a feeling of solidarity, according to BAJ. That made the journalists feel less alone as they fight for their freedom. Imprisoned journalists who also received prison support grants in other countries mirrored the world’s top jailers of journalists in 2024, including Myanmar, Azerbaijan, Cameroon, and Iran.
Although not every journalist included in CPJ’s prison census received financial assistance from CPJ—some do not require it, while for others it may be too dangerous to receive foreign money—CPJ’s prison support grants underscore the complex and often appalling conditions many journalists endure in incarceration.
CPJ also helped journalists once they were released from prison, supporting 15 journalists with post-prison support grants in 2024. These grants can help journalists put their lives back together and adjust to their newfound freedom.