Reporters without Borders (RSF) said almost half of the almost 400 journalists imprisoned worldwide are in just three countries: China, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

“The governments have increased pressure on people working in the media,’’ RSF board spokesman Michael Rediske said ahead of the publication of the company’s annual report on press freedom in Berlin on Tuesday.

According to RSF, there are 120 media professionals in prison in China alone.

Over 40 per cent of them are citizen journalists who, in spite of tightened censorship, have tried to disseminate independent information via social networks.

Most of the prisoners added in 2019 belonged to the Muslim Uighur minority.

RSF noted that no fewer than 49 journalists and other media professionals have been killed worldwide for their work since the beginning of the year.

It added that well over half of them are from five countries: Syria, Mexico, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Somalia.

“Significantly fewer media workers died in armed conflicts than in previous years,’’ RSF reported.

According to Rediske, a country at peace like Mexico is just as dangerous for journalists today as civil war-torn Syria.

There were 86 fatalities in the same period in 2018.

The organisation considers the period from the beginning of the year to Dec.