The number of journalists and media staff who died in work-related incidents in 2018 rose to 94, up from last year’s total of 82, according to figures from the International Federation of Journalists.
The data shows that 84 journalists, cameramen, fixers and technicians died in targeted killings, bomb attacks and cross-fire incidents while 10 other media staff members – drivers, protection officers and a sales assistant – also lost their lives. Six of the 94 victims were women.
Among those killed was Washington Post columnist and Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, who is understood to have been killed in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on 2nd October. The list also includes five journalists and media personnel from the Capital Gazette, a daily newspaper published in Annapollis, Maryland, who were gunned down by an individual who had reportedly lost a defamation case against the newspaper.
Afghanistan topped the list of countries with the highest number of media killings with 16 followed by Mexico with 11, Yemen with nine, Syria with eight and India with seven. Others on the list include Pakistan, Somalia and the US – all with five deaths, the Philippines, Ecuador, and Brazil – with three deaths each, and Colombia, Palestine and Guatemala – with two deaths each.
Anthony Bellanger, IFJ general secretary, said the list was a “sad reminder that the safety of journalists will remain elusive as long as countries boasting institutions which should be enforcing the law but have been paralysed by corruption and incompetence in the face of unrelenting assault on journalism”.
“As such, they stand as a damning indictment of the authorities for their failure to uphold the journalists’ right to their physical safety and to guarantee an informed public discourse in a democracy.”
