Syria ranks at bottom in World Press Freedom Index
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Reporters Without Borders (RSF) released on Friday the 2024 World Press Freedom Index that reveals a concerning decline in press freedom in Syria, with the country’s ranking dropping eight places in the political indicator.
The 2024 World Press Freedom Index highlights how political authorities in Syria are undermining the very principles they should be upholding.
Last year, Vietnam, China, and North Korea were at the bottom of the Index in Asia. However, this year, their positions have been taken by three countries whose political scores have drastically declined. Afghanistan’s political ranking has dropped by 44, while Syria’s has gone down by eight, and Eritrea’s by nine.
Both Syria and Eritrea now rank at the bottom in terms of both political and overall rankings. These two countries have become lawless areas for the media, with a significant number of journalists being detained, missing, or held hostage, according to the report.
In Syria, journalists face severe restrictions and are denied access to vast regions of the country. The government treats the media as a means to propagate Baathist ideology, suppressing any form of pluralism. As a result, many journalists have been forced into self-imposed exile.
The situation in Syria is part of a larger trend in the Middle East and North Africa region, where nearly half of the countries are classified as having a “very serious” situation concerning press freedom.
According the report, press freedom around the world is being threatened by political authorities, the very people who should be its guarantors.