The number of journalists jailed globally has hit record numbers due a sharp increase in media professionals imprisoned by Turkey, according to two independent reports published by press freedom watchdogs on Tuesday.
An annual report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which has been published since 1990, found that the number of journalists imprisoned worldwide hit a record high of 259 this year after Turkey jailed at least 81 journalists.
CPJ said that Turkey held more journalists simultaneously behind bars this year than any other country on record.
According to CPJ, all 81 journalists held in Turkey face anti-state charges related to their work. The organization noted that dozens of other journalists were also imprisoned in the country, however, CPJ could not confirm that their arrests were directly related to their work.
China, which had topped the list of countries jailing journalists in the past two years, dropped to second place this year holding 38 journalists behind bars.
Egypt, Eritrea and Ethiopia were also among the top five jailers of journalists, which together accounted for two-thirds of imprisoned journalists worldwide.
The warning from the New York-based CPJ coincided with the publication of a report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which also found that the number of journalists imprisoned in Turkey has risen dramatically over the past 12 months.
According to RSF's records, at least 100 journalists and media contributors are currently being held in Turkish jails - a 22 per cent rise since this time last year.
The organization said the increase was due to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's authoritarian response to a failed military coup in Turkey in July, which has resulted in raids on media outlets with the aim of silencing government critics.
RSF has been able to directly link the arrests to the victims' journalistic activities in 41 of the cases, and said it was continuing to investigate the others.
Erdogan has the power to rule by decree under a current state of emergency put in place after the failed coup attempt.
Hundreds of journalists have been taken to court on charges of "insulting the president" or "terrorism", RSF said, with some being jailed without any charges brought against them.
"At the gateway to Europe, an all-out witch-hunt has jailed dozens of journalists and has turned Turkey into the world's biggest prison for the media profession," said Christophe Deloire, secretary general of RSF.
"In the space of a year, the Erdogan regime has crushed all media pluralism while the European Union has said virtually nothing."
Other countries with high numbers of journalists in jail include China, Iran and Egypt, according to the RSF report.
A total of 348 journalists are currently being detained worldwide, it says - a rise of 6 per cent since last year.
