News

Do world leaders at Paris march really care about press freedoms?

Around a million people are marching in a unity rally in Paris after 17 people were killed in terror attacks last week at satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket.

Joining them are around 50 world leaders, but how much do some of those attending really care about the freedom of the press within their own countries?

Nine of those countries being represented today are in the final third of the World Press Freedom Index, compiled annually by Reporters Without Borders.

Here they are with their ranking, out of 180, on the index in parentheses:

Algeria (121)

Represented by foreign Ramtane Lamamra

Mali (122)

Represented by president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita

Ukraine (127)

Represented by president Petro Porochenko

Tunisia (133)

Represented by prime minister Mehdi Jomaa

Palestinian Authority (138)

Represented by president Mahmoud Abbas

Jordan (141)

Represented by King Abdullah II and Queen Rania

Russia (148)

Represented by foreign minister Sergei Lavrov

Turkey (154)

Represented by prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu

Bahrain (163)

Represented by foreign minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed Al Khalifa and Prince Abdullah Bin Hamad al-Khalifa

With thanks to student and blogger Daniel Wickham

More: [7 quotes on why you shouldn't blame all Muslims for Charlie Hebdo]2

More: [China - the world's biggest prison for journalists]3

The Conversation (0)