4. Eritrea
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 28 journalists were imprisoned in Eritrea at the end of 2012, which makes the country among the most hostile to reporters on a per capita basis. Nine have been in prison since 2001. Often no charges are made public, though in some cases it is believed that the crime is planning to join other independent reporters who have fled the country.
In an extraordinary twist, the minister of information, Ali Abdu, had reportedly fled Eritrea at the end of 2012 while on a trip in Europe. Ali's family, including his father and teenage daughter, have since been arrested by Eritrean authorities. Going into exile is no guarantee of escaping the reach of the Eritrean state. For example, a diaspora journalist running a website in neighboring Sudan, adoulis.com, was arrested in 2011 less than a week after an official visit to Sudan by the Eritrean president, Isaias Afwerki.
The government requires all Internet service providers to use government-controlled Internet infrastructure. Many websites managed by Eritreans abroad are blocked, as is YouTube.
PETER BUSOMOKE/AFP/Getty Images
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