Last year, the number of journalists killed jumped by 50% worldwide compared to 2021, according to a report published Tuesday by the Committee to Protect Journalists.
At least 67 journalists were killed, and at least 41 were killed in direct connection with their work, said the organization. Per the CPJ, it is currently investigating 26 deaths.
Furthermore, the committee said 2022 was the deadliest year for journalists since 2018, when 88 were killed. Since the CPJ began recording journalist deaths in 1992, 2,186 have been reported and the deadliest year was 2007 with 113 deaths.
Five employees murdered by a gunman in a 2018 attack on the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Md., are on the list. The fatal stabling of Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German was the first journalist killing in the U.S. reported since the massacre.
German was “killed by a local official who had lost a reelection bid after German’s reporting about alleged mismanagement in his office,” said the CPJ. “The official was arrested shortly after the attack and is currently facing murder charges.”
During 2022, “the rise was driven by a high number of journalist deaths covering the Ukraine war and a sharp rise in killings in Latin America,” the committee said. There were 15 deaths reported in Ukraine, 13 in Mexico, and seven in Haiti – the highest numbers the CPJ has recorded in those countries.
All of the Ukrainian journalist deaths reported occurred after “Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country on Feb. 24,” said the CPJ, which “confirmed that 13 of those were killed while engaged in newsgathering and reporting.”
Since French cameraman Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff was killed in late May, the organization has not found any work-related journalist deaths in Ukraine.
“However, the situation on the ground remains perilous: members of the press are frequently injured by shelling while covering the conflict, and some report that they have been targeted by Russian forces,” it said.
In Mexico and Haiti reporters have been the targets of “brutal murders,” and three journalists in Mexico “were murdered in retaliation for their reporting on crime and politics, and had received threats prior to their deaths.”
Although there are several laws and entities that deal specifically with journalist protection in Mexico, these measures often fall short, the CPJ said. For example, Maria Guadalupe Lourdes Maldonado López, a veteran broadcast journalist who was shot dead in her car in Tijuana, Mexico, last January was enrolled in Baja California state protection program at the time.
Overall, Latin America was the deadliest region to practice journalism in 2022, the CPJ said. At least 12 journalists were killed in direct relation to their work there, and 18 deaths are still under investigation.
Throughout the world, “local reporters covering politics, crime, and corruption are frequent targets,” of violence. Of the journalists murdered in retaliation for their work in 2022, 18 were locals covering “sensitive topics such as politics, crime, or corruption in their home countries.”
With just a few more days left in the first month of 2023, no journalist killings have been reported yet. Still, CJP data shows that 363 are in prison worldwide and 64 are missing.
Related
Related
