‘Cruel Conditions’ – CPJ Lists Israel as ‘A Top Jailer’ of Journalists since 2023
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Israel jailed 29 journalists as of December 1, accounting for 9 percent of the world’s imprisoned journalists in 2025.
More than 300 journalists remain imprisoned globally for the fifth consecutive year, with Israel ranking as the third-worst jailer of media workers, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) annual census.
“These record-setting numbers reflect growing authoritarianism and escalating numbers of armed conflicts worldwide. Often, journalists are held under cruel and life-threatening conditions – a ‘cemetery of the living,’ as one freed Palestinian prisoner described it,” the CPJ said.
As of December 1, Israel jailed 29 journalists in 2025, accounting for 9 percent of the world’s imprisoned journalists.
Violation of International Law
“Israel, the only country on the worst jailers’ list that is traditionally considered a democracy, began imprisoning Palestinian journalists rapidly following the start of the Israel-Gaza war in October 2023,” the CPJ said, adding that journalists are often “imprisoned on undisclosed charges or held without charge in arbitrary detention – in contravention of international law.”
The committee stressed that while Israeli citizens “enjoy some civil rights and freedoms, legal experts identify a radically different standard of justice for Palestinians in its occupied territory.”
Israel arrested “more than 90 journalists during the course of the war,” it added.
China topped the list as the world’s worst jailer for the third straight year with 50 journalists imprisoned, representing 15% of the global total. Myanmar rose to second place with 30 journalists held, up from third in 2024.
Claims of Torture, Sexual Assault
“Persecuting journalists is a means of silencing them. That has profound implications for us as individuals and for society as a whole,” CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg, said.
The CJP has also analyzed “hundreds of cases” of jailed journalists since 1992 to find reports of mistreatment while in custody. The committee categorizes “mistreatment” as reports of torture, beatings, or injuries by authorities; forced confessions; denials of food, medical care, or access to lawyers and family; sexual assaults; threats of sexual assault or death; and religious discrimination.
Close to 40 claims of mistreatment were reported in Israel, with more than 20 claims of beatings or torture. The CJP says it is currently investigating reports of torture in Israeli detention centers that “could substantially raise these numbers.”
Case of Farah Abu Ayyash
The report highlighted the case of 24-year-old Palestinian journalist Farah Abu Ayyash, who was arrested twice in 2025. The latest detention occurred on August 6, when Israeli occupation forces arrested the broadcast journalist in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron (al-Khalil).
Out of 29 Palestinian prisoners jailed by Israel, Ayash is one of 27 held under arbitrary detention, meaning no charges have been formally filed, the report stated. Her attorney told CPJ that Israeli police accused her of having “contact with a foreign agent,” without elaborating. Her father told CPJ her detention has been extended twice, and the family is unable to communicate with her, the report added.
Solitary Confinement
Describing West Jerusalem’s Al-Moskobiya prison as a “horror movie,” Ayash has testified to her attorney about many abuses at the hands of Israeli prison authorities.
These included military dogs having attacked her as she was arrested, and later being tied to “a leaking water pipe that soaked her throughout the night.”
Ayash spent 55 days in solitary confinement and suffered from medical neglect, routine beatings, and verbal abuse. She was also jailed in Ayalon prison in the central city of Ramla, where she said she was “held in a cell infested with vermin.” Other Palestinian prisoners have claimed similar abuses, CPJ data shows, the report stated.
Legal Challenge
CPJ said it has challenged the legality of Israel’s use of administrative detention to hold journalists without charge via the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
The report noted that in September 2024, the group ruled in favor of CPJ’s submission, finding that Israel’s detention of three Palestinian journalists because of their work, their “peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of opinion and expression,” and their use of administrative detention was discriminatory, arbitrary, and in violation of international law.
“Despite being given an opportunity, Israel refused to engage with the working group, which has urged Israel to end its use of administrative detention, release detained journalists, and provide appropriate remedies, including compensation for unlawful detention,” the report stated.
260 Journalists Killed
According to Palestinian figures, Israel has killed 260 journalists since its genocidal war on Gaza began in October 2023. In the latest incident on January 21, an Israeli strike killed three journalists in Gaza.
According to the annual Killed List released by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) on December 31, Israel killed a total of 128 journalists and media workers, including 10 women, in 2025. The IFJ said Palestinian journalists “have paid the highest price” during Israel’s military campaign.
Five Detainees Released
On Wednesday evening, the occupation forces released five detainees from Gaza who were arrested in the past two years, including a blind prisoner.
The Prisoners Information Office confirmed that they were transferred to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah for treatment, accompanied by Red Cross crews, QNN reported.
The office published the names of the prisoners: Ashraf Mustafa Mohammed Halawa, 39; Adam Musa Mohammed Abu Al-Atta, 38; Sami Jamil Mohammed Al-Mutawaq, 42; Ali Khuzaa Rajab Halas, 34; and Atef Sameh Issa Al-Dabs, 59, who is blind.
According to Palestinian prisoner organizations, 9,300 Palestinians are being held in Israeli prisons, the majority of whom are administrative detainees, held without charge or trial, the report stated.
(PC, Anadolu, QNN)