Over 60 journalists and media workers were killed in 2022. This is the highest number since 2018, when 88 were killed. More journalists were killed in Latin America and the Caribbean that any other part of the world. This is including the war in Ukraine. This is according to press watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
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And as the first month of the year comes to a close, 2023 has seen its first journalist killed – in Cameroon.
Martinez Zogo was the editor-in-chief at the radio broadcaster Amplitude FM. He was abducted and killed after reporting on alleged public embezzlement. The investigation involved a ‘prominent businessman’ said the CPJ.
In a report by the CPJ, 67 journalists and media workers were killed in 2022, nearly double the figure in 2021 (45).
At least 41 journalists and media workers were killed in direct connection with their work
The CPJ says the motive for the other 26 deaths are still being investigated.
More journalists killed in Latin America…
Nearly half of these killings took place in Latin America and the Caribbean. At least 30 journalists were killed, including longtime Guardian contributor, Dom Phillips.
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Phillips was murdered in June 2022 while documenting Indigenous efforts to protect the Brazilian part of the Amazon rainforest. His alleged killers have yet to be brought to trial, despite police naming the alleged mastermind behind the crime.
Globally, the murdered journalists covered a range of topics including corruption, crime, environmental patters and politics.
Here is a breakdown CPJ numbers:
- Latin America and the Caribbean (30)
- Eastern Europe (15)
- South Eastern Asia (6)
- Sub-saharan Africa (6)
- Western Asia (4)
- Southern Asia (4)
- Northern America (1)
- Central Asia (1)
Six journalists were killed in Africa – in Somalia, Kenya, Chad and the Central African Republic.
The journalists killed in 2022 were Narcisse Oredje (Chad), Evariste Djaï-Loramadji (Chad), Arshad Sharif (Kenya), Ahmed Mohamed Shukur (Somalia), Mohamed Isse Hassan (Somalia) and Jean Saint-Clair Maka Gbossokotto (Central African Republic).
In Haiti, seven journalists were killed. Where political and humanitarian crises have erupted, following the assassination of its president in July 2021. To date, it does not have a single democratically elected government official.
A most notable death is that of Shireen Abu Akhleh. Akhleh was shot while reporting on an Israeli military raid in the West-Bank. The CPJ said:
The Israeli government to date has failed to pursue a transparent investigation or take steps to bring those responsible to justice
Over 70 journalists were harassed or attacked in Peru, alone. This follows an outbreak of deadly political unrest. A photographer from the Spanish news agency, EFE, was shot in the leg with pellets after being threatened.
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