NEW YORK (Reuters) - China, Cuba, Eritrea and Ethiopia jail more journalists than any other country, but the United States has risen to sixth place because of detentions in Iraq, a journalism watchdog group said on Tuesday.
The top four countries accounted for two-thirds of the 125 imprisoned editors, writers and photojournalists as of December 1, according to the report by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.
Fifth was the central Asian state of Uzbekistan, with six jailed reporters, followed by the United States which crept up the list due to journalists it is holding in Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Tied in sixth place was Myanmar.
The number of journalists held by the United States rose from one last year to five this year.
"We're disturbed to see the number of jailed journalists rise, and we're particularly troubled that the list of the worst abusers now includes Ethiopia and the United States," CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper said.
"Journalists covering conflict, unrest, corruption, and human rights abuses face a growing risk of incarceration in many countries, where governments seek to disguise their repressive acts as legitimate legal processes."
Three of the four journalists currently detained by U.S. forces in Iraq worked for Reuters, while the fourth is an employee of CBS News who has been detained since April despite an Iraqi court saying his case does not justify prosecution.
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