2023-12-08 12:56:01
BRUSSELS (AP) — An organization that represents journalists around the world expressed deep concern on Friday about the number of media professionals killed while working in 2023. More reporters died in the war between Israel and Hamas than in no other conflict in more than 30 years.
In its annual count, the International Federation of Journalists said 94 reporters have died so far this year and nearly 400 more have been jailed.
The death toll represents a sharp increase from the 67 recorded in the same period in 2022 — including 12 deaths in Ukraine — and doubles the 47 in all of 2021.
The group called for greater protection for media workers and that their attackers not go unpunished.
“The need for a new global standard for the protection of journalists and its effective implementation on an international scale has never been greater,” said IFJ President Dominique Pradalié.
According to the group, 68 reporters have died covering the war between Israel and Hamas since the insurgent group attacked southern Israel on October 7, more than one a day, representing 72% of all deaths in the sector this year. anus. The vast majority were Palestinian professionals in the Gaza Strip, where Israeli forces continue their offensive.
“The war in Gaza has been deadlier for reporters than any other conflict since the IFJ began recording deaths of journalists on duty in 1990,” the group explained, adding that the deaths have been “on a scale and a pace (…) unprecedented.”
Ukraine “continues to be a dangerous country for journalists” almost two years after Russia’s invasion, the IFJ added. Three reporters or media workers have died there so far this year.
The group also mourned the deaths of reporters in Afghanistan, the Philippines, India, China and Bangladesh.
The IFJ expressed its concern that crimes against media workers are not punished and urged governments to “shed all the light on these murders and put in place measures to guarantee the safety of journalists.”
In North and South America, the number of deceased reporters experienced a notable decrease, from 29 last year to just seven in 2023. Three Mexicans, a Paraguayan, a Guatemalan, a Colombian and an American were murdered while investigating armed groups or cases of embezzlement of public funds.
In Africa, the IFJ “regrets four particularly shocking murders”, including two in Cameroon, one in Sudan and one in Lesotho, “which have not been fully investigated to date.”
In total, 393 media workers were in prison this year, he added. Most are in China and Hong Kong — 80 — plus another 54 in Myanmar, 41 in Turkey, 40 in Russia and occupied Crimea, 35 in Belarus and 23 in Egypt.
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