Over the course of the last 20 years, approximately 1700 journalists have been assassinated worldwide, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF) statistics. This equals an annual average of greater than 80. The two decades between 2003 and 2022, according to the Paris-based media rights activists, were “particularly dangerous decades for those in service of the freedom to inform.”
“Behind the figures, there are the faces, personalities, talent and commitment of those who have paid with their lives for their information gathering, their search for the truth and their passion for journalism,” RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said.
Iraq and Syria are responsible for “a combined total of 578 journalists killed in the past 20 years
RSF said that Iraq and Syria were the most dangerous countries to work as a journalist. These two nations are responsible for “a combined total of 578 journalists killed in the past 20 years, or more than a third of the overall total,” the report claims. Mexico (125 fatalities), the Philippines (107), Pakistan (93), Afghanistan (81), and Somalia were the next five countries after Iraq and Syria (78).
RSF claimed that the “darkest years” were 2012 and 2013. In 2012, there were 144 murders, and in 2013, 142. They have been “insignificant degree” attributed to the Syrian conflict in the report. Following this peak, there was “a slow decline, followed by historically low figures from 2019 onwards.”
Deaths surged once more in 2022, in part as a result of the conflict in Ukraine
However, deaths surged once more in 2022, in part as a result of the conflict in Ukraine. 58 journalists have died while performing their professions so far this year, up from 51 in 2021. Since Russia’s invasion in February, eight journalists have died in Ukraine. Comparatively, over the previous 19 years, there had been a total of 12 media fatalities there.
After Russia itself, where 25 journalists have been slain in the past 20 years, Ukraine is currently the most dangerous place in Europe for the media. “As RSF has consistently observed since (President) Vladimir Putin entered office, Russia has experienced systemic attacks on press freedom, including fatal ones. The prominent murder of Anna Politkovskaya on October 7, 2006, is among them, according to the rights organization.