Eritrea tops world's most censored countries list, reportBy ARGAW ASHINE | Wednesday, May 2   2012 at  11:00

Eritrea is the world's most censored country, a new analysis by watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists has found, beating out both North Korea and Syria.

Equatorial Guinea also makes it on the list of the world's ten most censored countries in the report released ahead of the World Press Freedom Day to be marked on Thursday.

Dictatorial control over news coverage achieved through a combination of propaganda, brute force, and sophisticated technology define the countries that made the ranking.

Eritrea, North Korea, and Syria top the list, underscoring that domestic restrictions on information have broad implications for global geopolitical stability.

"In the name of stability or development, these regimes suppress independent reporting, amplify propaganda, and use technology to control rather than empower their own citizens,” said CPJ Executive Director, Joel Simon.

High price

"Journalists are seen as a threat and often pay a high price for their reporting. But because the Internet and trade have made information global, domestic censorship affects people everywhere," Mr Simon added.

CPJ’s report details how censorship works in each nation and highlights some trends among them, including disputed legitimacy of leadership and lagging economic development.

In Eritrea, only state media is allowed to operate under government direction and the international press has been shut out, according to CPJ's report.

Journalists are conscripted to their work, and those suspected of leaking information out of the country are locked up without trial.

In Equatorial Guinea the government tightly controls all national information while security agents closely shadow foreign agents.

North Korea’s official news agency produces all content for local media, while foreign reporters have limited access and are always under surveillance.

Syria has imposed a blackout on independent news coverage for more than a year, unleashing a range of physical and electronic attacks while disabling means of communication.

Benchmarks

The list of top 10 nations is rounded out by Iran, Equatorial Guinea, Uzbekistan, Burma, Saudi Arabia, Cuba and Belarus.

The new rankings update a list published in 2006 and were determined according to 15 benchmarks assessed by CPJ experts.

These include the blocking of websites, restrictions on electronic recording and dissemination, the absence of privately owned or independent media, restrictions on journalist movements, jamming of foreign broadcasts, and blocking of foreign correspondents, among others.

All countries on the list met at least 10 benchmarks.

CPJ also considered Azerbaijan, Ethiopia, China, Sudan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam -- all heavily censored nations that call for scrutiny.