1,668 journalists killed in last 20 years - Reporters Without Borders report

Baku/30.12.22/Turan: On New Year's Eve, Reporters Without Borders, an international press rights organization, published a report on journalists killed over the past 20 years around the world. In two decades, 1668 journalists were killed in the world for their activities. That's about 80 journalists a year. The death toll peaked in 2012 and 2013, when 144 and 142 journalists were killed, respectively, in connection with the war in Syria.

In the outgoing year, the number of journalists killed was 58, the highest figure in the last four years, and 13.7% higher than in 2021, when 51 journalists were killed. Over the past two decades, 80% of media deaths have occurred in 15 countries. The two countries with the most deaths are Iraq and Syria, where 578 journalists have been killed over the past 20 years. Followed by Afghanistan, Yemen and Palestine.

Russia remains the deadliest country in Europe, with the highest number of journalists killed in the past 20 years. Since Vladimir Putin came to power, Russia has witnessed systematic attacks on press freedom. Suffice it to recall the high-profile murder of Anna Politkovskaya on October 7, 2006.

In the war in Ukraine in 2022, 8 journalists have already been killed.

France was ranked fourth in the list of European countries due to the attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris in 2015.

Countries where there are no wars are not always safe for reporters. Thus, over the past two decades, more journalists have been killed in these countries than in the “war zones”. This is because they were investigating organized crime and corruption.

47.4% of journalists were killed in 2022 in Latin America. Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Honduras are among the 15 most dangerous countries in the world.

Asia also has many countries on this tragic list, including the Philippines, where more than 100 journalists have been killed since early 2003, Pakistan with 93 journalists, and India with 58.

Over the past 20 years, 81 female journalists have been killed. 52 of them were killed for investigating women's rights, the report says. --02D--