Iran was a major topic of discussion as about 700 journalists attended a UNESCO conference in Tunisia called New Voices – media freedom helping to transform societies.

“Since 2009, the Iranian regime has arrested more than 290 journalists, handing them jail terms ranging from six months to six years,” Iranian journalist and women’s rights activist Asieh Amini told the conference.

Zamaneh’s correspondent reports that the conference, which began on May 3 on World Press Freedom Day, was attended by close to 700 journalists, bloggers and civil activists from Tunisia and 88 other countries.

Zamaneh Executive Director Arjen de Wolff praised the conference, saying: “Participating in such a conference is very reassuring as it becomes clear that a strong resolve has taken shape for people in Iran, Arab countries and other places to attain freedom of speech. A strong movement has begun to take the media out of the state’s control and place it in the hands of the people.”

Iran remained one of the top focuses of the conference, as Asieh Amini honoured the struggles of Iranian journalists, 30 of whom are currently behind bars, and shared images of the experiences of Iranian journalists and civil activists.

A presentation by Algerian journalist Omar Balouchi touched on the threat that the Islamist movement poses to free speech, noting that the recent developments in the Arab countries have not yet spelled an end to control of the media by authorities.

Other major topics of discussion included the importance of new media, journalistic innovations and the importance of transparency in reporting.

“Iran uses imprisonment of journalists to quash critical news coverage,” Mahoney said. “Reformist publications are often banned and their staff sent to prison. Satellite broadcasts and millions of websites are blocked. Sophisticated techniques are used to detect interference with anticensorship software.”

Iran was not among the worst media censors when the CPJ last published its list in 2006 but has since risen to become the world’s fourth-worst censor, behind only Eritrea, North Korea, and Syria.

In Uzbekistan, where the regime of longtime leader Islam Karimov has maintained a stranglehold on the press, the CPJ says all independent media outlets have been effectively eliminated.

Mahoney also notes that five reporters are currently serving prolonged prison terms in the country, which ranks sixth on the CPJ list.

These include Muhammad Bekjannov and Yusuf Ruzimuradov of the “Erk” opposition newspaper, who were imprisoned in 1999 and have now been jailed longer than any other reporters worldwide.

“No independent media outlets are based in Uzbekistan,” Mahoney says. “Access to some outside websites and even key words are blocked. Five reporters are serving extended prison terms. Foreign journalists are excluded.”

Delivering The Death Blow

CPJ’s censorship list ranks countries according to website access, journalists’ freedom of movement, and the presence of privately owned media.

In Belarus — 10th place on the CPJ list — the controversial 2010 reelection of authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka was seen as delivering the death blow to what remained of the country’s free press.

Mahoney says even before the elections and the massive public protests that followed, Lukashenka’s regime had routinely subjected journalists to criminal prosecution and failed to investigate the suspicious deaths of at least three journalists.

These include Aleh Byabenin, the founder of the outspoken Charter 97 website, who was found hanged at his family’s dacha in 2010.

“The government of Belarus has raided newsrooms, confiscated equipment, imprisoned journalists, and banned reporters from traveling,” Mahoney says. “The remnants of its independent press operate underground. Independent websites are blocked and access to the Internet requires identification.”

Other countries on the CPJ’s top 10 censorship list include Equatorial Guinea, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, and Cuba. Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and China were listed among the runners-up.

The CPJ report comes one day after a second watchdog group, Freedom House, gave a grim assessment of the state of the media worldwide, saying the percentage of people with access to a free press had fallen to its lowest level in nearly 20 years.

In a separate statement, the Iraq-based Journalism Freedoms Observatory said pressure on Iraqi journalists was on the rise, with a marked increase in the number of arbitrary arrests and violence targeting reporters.