67 journalists killed worldwide in 2022

67 journalists and media staff were killed while 375 of them are currently in prison around the world, revealed a new report released on Friday. The number of casualties increased from last year when 47 scribes lost their lives while doing their work around the world.

The Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists also tallied that 375 journalists are currently imprisoned for their work, with the highest number in China including Hong Kong, in Myanmar, and in Turkey. As per the report, 365 journalists were behind bars last year.

Russia’s war in Ukraine, chaos in Haiti — where police opened fire on reporters protesting against the killing of a radio journalist and police detention of another journalist, and violence by criminal groups in Mexico were some of the reasons for a sharp spike in the number of journalists killed during their work.

With the number of media workers killed on the rise, the IFJ and other media rights groups have called on governments to take more concrete action to protect journalists and free journalism.

“The failure to act will only embolden those who seek to suppress the free flow of information and undermine the ability of people to hold their leaders to account, including in ensuring that those with power and influence do not stand in the way of open and inclusive societies,” IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said in a statement.

As per the report, more media workers were killed while covering the war in Ukraine — 12 in total — than in any other country this year, the IFJ report stated. Of the slain journalists, most were Ukrainians but also included other nationalities too such as American documentary filmmaker Brent Renaud. Many deaths occurred in the first chaotic weeks of the war, though threats to journalists continue as the fighting drags on.

Agencies