Murders of journalists more than double worldwide

[Judi Lynn]

Journalists protest the murder of their colleague Maria Helena Ferral at Lerdo square in Xalapa, Veracruz state, Mexico, on April 1, 2020. (AFP/Hector Quintanar)

NEW YORK

The number of journalists murdered in retaliation for their work more than doubled in 2020, as criminal gangs and militant groups targeted reporters working in violent but democratic nations.

Globally, at least 30 journalists were killed in 2020; 21 of those were singled out for murder in retaliation for their work, a jump from the previous year’s 10 murders, while others were killed in combat or crossfire or on another assignment that turned dangerous. One media worker was also killed. Mexico, Afghanistan, and the Philippines had the most retaliatory killings.

CPJ is still investigating the deaths of 15 other journalists worldwide to determine whether journalism was the motive. The numbers reflect the period from January 1 to December 15, 2020, and the total killings compare with 26 journalists killed with a confirmed motive in all of 2019. Last year’s number was the lowest total killings in CPJ’s records since 2000.

While murders rose in 2020, the number of combat-related deaths—three—dropped to the lowest level since 2000, as the intensity of conflicts in the Middle East abated and the COVID-19 pandemic dominated media attention and made it difficult for journalists to travel. All three of the journalists were killed documenting the continuing conflict near Idlib in northern Syria, and perished in airstrikes by suspected Russian forces allied with the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

In Mexico, at least four journalists were targeted for murder in 2020, and one more was gunned down while reporting from a crime scene; CPJ is investigating the motive in at least four other journalist deaths. Mexico has long been the most dangerous country in the Western hemisphere for the press, which operates amid a complex web of criminal, drug-trafficking gangs and entrenched official corruption.

More:
https://cpj.org/reports/2020/12/murders-journalists-more-than-doubled-killed/

[Demovictory9]

1. Tragedy