In the 2007 and 2008 Reporters Without Borders Annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index Eritrea ranked last at number 169,[54][55] unseating the previous record holder North Korea which had been last every other year of the survey. Reporters Without Borders claims that in Eritrea, private newspapers have been shut down and generally exorcised from the country by the President Isaias Afewerki. Also, any journalists who criticize the president or his regime are immediately put into prison; among the many reporters and writers who have been jailed, four have died in detention.[54]
Although Eritrea is new at the very bottom of the list in 2007, its positions by year are as follows:
Year Rank
2002 132 of 139[56]
2003 162 of 166[57]
2004 163 of 167[58]
2005 166 of 167[59]
2006 166 of 168[60]
2007 169 of 169[54]
2008 169 of 169[55]