Southasia a safer place for journalists?

Southasia seems to be a much safer place for journalists. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), only three journalists were jailed in the region in 2013 out of 211 worldwide. As of December 23 2013, Turkey remains the world's leading jailer of journalists and has imprisoned 40 this year alone. Indeed, more than half of the total number of journalists incarcerated in 2013 were incarcerated in Turkey (40), Iran (35) and China (32). Looking closely at South Asia, authorities in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have reportedly jailed only one journalist each. 

However, imprisonment is not the only barometer to measure the difficult conditions that journalists have to work under. The number of journalists killed around the world while doing their job in the year 2013 is recorded as 59, down from 74 last year. Pakistan, which is ranked third on the list for journalists killed, saw a decrease in such killings, from seven in 2012 to five in 2013, according to another CPJ report.