One in twenty journalists worldwide who have been imprisoned for long periods comes from occupied Crimea. These are the conclusions reached by the human rights organisation ‘Crimean Process’, having cross-referenced data from the Committee to Protect Journalists with its own observations. The human rights defenders used these figures to draft an appeal to the new UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, recommending that he pay greater attention to the plight of journalists who have been imprisoned.

The organisation noted that the criminalisation of information that contradicts the authorities’ official position has already led to an expansion of the relevant judicial practice in many totalitarian and authoritarian countries. This, in turn, will contribute to an increase in the number of journalists imprisoned. In addition, ‘The Crimean Process’ cited examples in its statement of pressure being exerted on Crimean journalists in Russian prisons – they face disciplinary persecution, ill-treatment, violations of their religious rights, and are systematically deprived of even the most basic standards of medical care.

‘Once sentences have been handed down, there is virtually no public attention – let alone from international institutions – paid to the fate of those persecuted for expressing their opinions. For example, not long ago, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression ignored an appeal from ‘Reporters Without Borders’ regarding the mistreatment of the Crimean journalist Iryna Danylovych. Today we submitted recommendations that the UN Special Rapporteur should pay greater attention to the issue of journalists in prison, in particular by ensuring a mandatory response to reports of violations of their rights in prisons,” the “Crimean Process” team said.

The recommendations relate to the development of strategic priorities for the UN Special Rapporteur’s mandate for 2026–2029. As part of the consultation process, human rights defenders also called for the launch of “a substantive dialogue on the creation of an International List of persons involved in enforced disappearances, unlawful prosecution and ill-treatment of journalists in places of detention”.

It should be noted that, according to data presented in the report “The Most Urgent Threats to Press Freedom in 2026”, the Committee to Protect Journalists states that 330 media workers are currently being held in places of detention worldwide. According to ‘The Crimean Process’, 17 Crimean journalists are being held in Russian prisons. Comparing the figures, Crimean journalists account for 5.15 per cent of all imprisoned journalists worldwide.