SOUTH-EAST ASIA (dpa): Sixty-seven journalists have been killed in the course of their duties over the past 12 months, most of them victims of war or at the hands of criminal networks, the rights organisation Reporters without Borders (RSF) said on Tuesday.
The figures for the period from early December 2024 to early December this year are similar to those recorded in the previous 12 months.
The Gaza Strip remained the most dangerous region, with 29 reporters killed, followed by Mexico, where nine journalists lost their lives.
"Every dead journalist and every detained reporter represents a warning to us in Germany that whoever attacks journalists is depriving all of us of the right to gain information without obstruction," RSF head in Germany Anja Osterhaus said.
She said that governments worldwide need to take action. "When journalists who report critically must fear for their freedom or even their lives, democracy itself is at risk globally," she added.
The report states that 503 journalists are currently imprisoned across 62 countries, slightly fewer than in the previous period. China tops the list with 121, followed by Russia with 48 and Myanmar with 47.
Russia holds the largest number of foreign journalists in detention, including 26 Ukrainians, followed by Israel with 20 Palestinians. Additionally, 135 media workers are reported missing, some for over 30 years.
Journalists have disappeared in 137 countries, with the majority occurring in the Middle East and Latin America.
Syria has been particularly hard hit, with many reporters disappearing during the rule of Bashar al-Assad. The same is true for journalists abducted by extremist groups, who are listed as missing by RSF. Mexico ranks as the second-worst country for cases of missing journalists. - dpa
