May 3rd was World Press Freedom Day. This year, the situation of press freedom is particularly alarming. Journalists and reporters are facing imprisonment, abduction, and death as a result of their work. On World Press Freedom Day, there is very little freedom to speak about in this field. Reports from several relevant organizations indicate that this situation has become increasingly dangerous for journalists and reporters in the past decades.

Joel Simon, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), says: “Unfortunately, we don’t have much to celebrate on this day. If you look at the statistics, this is essentially the worst situation for journalists in the history of CPJ. We are witnessing a record number of imprisoned journalists [around the world].”

This statistic includes the imprisonment of Oustrouski from Vice News in Ukraine and three Al Jazeera reporters in Egypt. And hundreds of other cases (211 cases until December 1, 2013) that have not received enough attention. In honor of World Press Freedom Day, the Committee to Protect Journalists highlighted 10 imprisoned journalists in countries such as Eritrea, China, and Iran who have been in prison for years on charges of “anti-government” (or without any charges).

The Committee to Protect Journalists is not the only organization warning about the increasing danger for journalists in the world. “The House of Freedom” in the 2014 report on media freedom, noted: “Global media freedom has fallen to its lowest level in the past decade.” Reporters Without Borders says the index of journalists and reporters killed in 2013 was “very high”; in addition, there was a 129% increase in the number of journalists abducted. The organization emphasizes in its annual report on the World Press Freedom Index that even in countries that claim to support democracy, there is a trend to use national security as an excuse to limit freedom of information. One should not think that the United States is a shining beacon for media freedom. Compared to last year, the US has fallen 14 places and dropped from 32nd to 46th place. Reporters Without Borders writes about the US: “Whistleblowers are enemies.”

Simon says, currently, among the most dangerous countries for journalists, Syria (with 28 journalists killed in 2013 and two so far this year), Ukraine (several journalists have been abducted and attacked in recent conflicts, and one was killed earlier this year), and Pakistan (a country close to a complete record of impunity for the murder of journalists) can be mentioned. Simon points out that there has been some progress, as Pakistan recently tried six men who were responsible for the murder of a journalist in 2011. In Colombia, the level of violence against media outlets has significantly decreased. However, these improvements have only taken place in countries that are willing to cooperate.

Simon adds: “Governments that recognize this issue, it is their problem, we can work with them and we are witnessing progress during this event. But there are many countries in the world that refuse to cooperate, do not consider this issue as important and do not respect journalists’ work.”

The purpose of World Press Freedom Day is to remind everyone how important a truly free and independent media is, so that we can see how it behaves and support members of the media who are currently being tortured and harassed for their work. By coincidence, this year’s World Press Freedom Day coincided with the trial date of three Al Jazeera journalists in Egypt who have been imprisoned since December. Simon hoped that this day would also be the day of their freedom.

Simon said about this: “If they are not freed on this day, it will be a great shame.”

The judge congratulated them on World Press Freedom Day and opposed their request for bail, sending them back to prison.