A deadly year for journalists
As the year 2022 approaches the end, it has turned out to be a dangerous year for working journalists across the world with casualties as high as 115 in 29 countries. Since 1 January Ukraine has lost 34 media persons followed by Mexico (17), said the annual report of Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), the Geneva-global media safety and rights body. Other countries losing scribes include Haiti (8 casualties), Pakistan (6), Philippines (5), Colombia, India (4 each), Bangladesh, Israel/Palestine, Honduras, Yemen (3 each), Brazil, Chad, Ecuador, Myanmar, Somalia, Syria, United States of America (2 each), Central African Republic, Chile, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guatemala, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Paraguay, Russia, Sweden, Turkey, Vietnam (1 each).
The number of journalists killed in 2022 has increased by 45% compared to last year. It is the highest number of casualties since 2018 with a brutal deterioration in Europe due to the war in Ukraine. It remains very difficult to establish the exact circumstances of the deaths of journalists and PEC has counted 34 victims (including eight foreign journalists) since the beginning of the Russian invasion on 24 February. At least 8 journalists were clearly killed in the line of duty, 12 others on Russian shelling attacks and at least 14 as fighters in the Ukrainian army. By region, Latin America is ahead with 39 journalists killed, followed by Europe with 37 victims, then Asia 30, Africa 7 and North America 2.
Earlier, while marking the last international day to end impunity for crimes against journalists on 2 November, PEC observed that a slow progress is made over the crisis, but it’s still insufficient and more needs to be done to fight impunity on the ground. PEC president Blaise Lempen also welcomes the global campaign for the adoption of an international convention dedicated to the protection of media professionals, formally launched at 51st session of the UNHRC in Geneva. The convention highlights existing weaknesses and loopholes in international humanitarian and human rights law and the lack of effective enforcement mechanisms.
Last year 79 media persons were killed in 29 countries where Afghanistan topped the list (12) followed by Mexico (10), Pakistan (7), India (6), Philippines, Yemen (4 each), Democratic Republic of Congo 3, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Burkina-Faso, Colombia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Myanmar, Nigeria, Somalia, Turkey (2 each), Ecuador, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Haiti, Netherlands, Syria, USA (1 each). The year 2020 witnessed the killing of 92 media persons in 31 countries where India topped the list (15) followed by Mexico (12), Pakistan (8), Afghanistan (7), Iraq, Honduras (5 each), Philippines, Syria (4 each), Nigeria, Venezuela (3 each), Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Liberia, Somalia (2 each), Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Cameroon, Ecuador, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Mozambique, Paraguay, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Turkey (1 each).
Along with Mexico (where journalists are usually targeted by the criminal gangs in a climate of violence and impunity), Pakistan and India continue to be dangerous countries for the media professionals in the recent past. This year Pakistan has lost journalists Sadaf Naeem, Arshad Sharif, Muhammad Younis, Iftikhar Ahmed, Hasnain Shah, Murtaza Shar and Athar Mateen in different incidents. Mentionable is that Naeem, a Pak television reporter and mother of two children, was crushed to death as she fell from a truck during the political march led by former Prime Minister Imran Khan. On the other hand, broadcast journalist Sharif, who remained critical to Pak military agencies, was mistakenly shot dead by Kenya’s police personnel in Nairobi.
India witnessed the murder of journalists Rohit Kumar Biswal, Sudhir Saini, Juned Khan Pathan and Subhash Kumar Mahato. Three journalists (Hashibur Rahaman Rubel, Mohiuddin Sarker Nayeem and Abdul Bari) were killed in India’s eastern neighbour Bangladesh, where Myanmar lost photojournalist Aye Kyaw and reporter Pu Tui Dim to the relentless military atrocities. As a positive note, there was no casualty among journalists (even though many journalists fled the country) in Afghanistan during 2022 instead of 12 in 2021. Similarly, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Maldives have not reported any incident of journo-murder this year.
One can only hope that the new year will bring safer days for journalists around the world.
By Nava Thakuria
