From CPJ we have very disheartening news, they report in their annual prison census, freelancers mostly online journalists and bloggers make up 45% of all journalists currently in prison.  China, Iran, Cuba, Eritrea and Burma re the top five jailers of journalism practitioners in world, with China holding the ignominious first position for the 11th year running.

They say in part…

The number of online journalists in prison continued a decade-long rise, CPJ’s census found. At least 68 bloggers, Web-based reporters, and online editors are imprisoned, constituting half of all journalists now in jail. Print reporters, editors, and photographers make up the next largest professional category, with 51 cases in 2009. Television and radio journalists and documentary filmmakers constitute the rest.

Here at CPB we have also tried our best to make know the importance of blogging and how it has come to affect how governments try to control withhold information from their citizens, the fact that more and more bloggers are being arrested is one we totally condemn, couple this with the fact that most have very little or no institutional support adds to an already precarious situation.

One not so pleasant example is China where of the 24 officially in prison at the moment, 22 are freelancers with almost all of the having been arrested and imprisoned because of blogging or publishing online.

We will strive to continue reporting, researching and writing on threats to online freedoms because at the end of the day, some bloggers can only rely on us to raise awareness on their plight.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (no relation) has released its list of 10 Worst Countries to Be a Blogger (via Frontline Club’s blog).

1. Burma
2. Iran
3. Syria
4. Cuba
5. Saudi Arabia
6. Vietnam
7. Tunisia
8. China
9. Turkmenistan
10. Egypt

We’d probably have a slightly different list, and certainly in a slightly different order. Egypt is arrest happy, and they love torture and rape in their jail. Iran is working diligently to pass China in overall repression and specifically against bloggers. No other country is working to enact a law that would make killing bloggers legal. Still, CPJ’s list is worth reading.