Over the past decade, a journalist has been killed every four days on average. Each year since 2016, more journalists have been killed outside of conflict zones than in countries currently experiencing armed conflict.
Impunity for crimes against journalists continues to prevail, with nine of ten killings remaining unpunished.
While the purpose of the media is to serve the public and to encourage political participation in a democratic society, the field has long been painted in a negative light or even prosecuted, especially by oppressive governments.
Critical voices in countries like Russia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan are often silenced through government abuse of the court system.
Allegations of tax evasion, extortion, fraud, drug charges, and similar violations are used as instruments to stifle journalists who investigate public interest topics, particularly corruption.
Allegations of terrorism and propaganda are used as tools to virtually eliminate media freedom and the freedom of speech, particularly those voices representing or covering marginalized communities.
Mexico has long been one of the world’s most dangerous countries to be a journalist. The string of continuous killings of media-persons highlight the culture of impunity that pervades in the country and the urgent need for support from civil society. The increased number of killings has left many wondering what has changed — how to explain the epidemic of violence against reporters, editors and photographers.
Independent media outlets have now virtually disappeared inside Afghanistan and print editions of banished media organizations have ceased to exist, forcing many reporters to flee the country despite Taliban promises to respect human rights and freedom of the press. Women journalists inside Afghanistan have been specifically targeted, and quickly pushed out of the profession en masse.
Freedom of media and speech is imperative to a free and democratic society, but high-level threats facing journalists in Pakistan have made it extremely challenging to report impartially.
Pakistani journalists have long faced serious obstacles to their work, including harassment, intimidation, assault, arbitrary arrest and detention, abduction, and death. As these threats have escalated, Pakistani authorities have also increasingly pressured editors and media owners to shut down critical voices.
According to CPJ stats, complete impunity exists in 95 percent of the cases of murdered journalists.
Egypt is ranked as one of the countries putting the most journalists in jail—even as the current constitution says press is completely free. The reality is that the government regularly shuts down media outlets critical of the country’s leadership, blocks more than 500 websites (foreign and domestic) from its citizens’ browsers, and threatens public media with sanctions if they don’t avoid controversy.
In a major report, the journalism advocacy group detailed the worsening treatment of journalists and tightening of control over information in China, adding to an environment in which freely accessing information has become a crime and to provide information an even greater crime. No matter the topic, those who refuse to comply with the official narrative are accused of harming national unity.
While killings are the most extreme form of media censorship, journalists are also subjected to countless threats – ranging from kidnapping, torture and other physical attacks to harassment, particularly in the digital sphere. Threats of violence and attacks against journalists in particular create a climate of fear for media professionals, impeding the free circulation of information, opinions and ideas for all citizens. Women journalists are particularly impacted by threats and attacks, notably by those made online.
Ending impunity for crimes against journalists is one of the most pressing issues to guarantee freedom of expression and access to information for all citizens which is possible by vigorous investigation of all threats of violence against journalists. Strict action against the culprits will send a powerful message that society will not tolerate attacks against journalists and against the right to freedom of expression for all.
Additionally, its high time to pass and implement a ‘Media Shield Law’.
In today’s digital world, where many reporters write only for online publications and many citizen journalists break legitimate, important stories, these laws should be expanded to cover not just professional print journalists but anyone who commits acts of journalism.