(Paris) About fifty journalists and media workers
were killed in connection with their work in 2020; said Reporters Without
Borders (RSF) on Tuesday. However; the organization highlighted that the
majority of killings were in countries that are not at war. The figure shows an
increase in the targeting of reporters investigating organized crime;
corruption; or environmental issues; the watchdog said. It highlighted murders
in Mexico; India; and Pakistan. 84% of those killed this year were ‘deliberately
targeted’ for their work; RSF said in its annual report; compared to 63 percent
in 2019. ‘For several years now; Reporters Without Borders has noted that
investigative journalists are really in the crosshairs of states; or cartels;’
said Pauline Ades-Mevel; RSF editor-in-chief. Mexico was the deadliest country;
with eight killed. ‘Links between drug traffickers and politicians remain; and
journalists who dare to cover these or related issues continue to be the
targets of barbaric murders;’ said the report. None of the Mexico killings had
yet been punished; added RSF; which has compiled annual data on violence
against journalists around the globe since 1995. Five journalists were killed
in war-torn Afghanistan; it said, noting an increase in targeted attacks on
media workers in recent months even as peace talks between the government and
Taliban are ongoing. RSF also highlighted the case of Iranian opposition figure
Ruhollah Zam; who ran a popular social media channel that rallied regime
opponents, and who was executed in December. His execution ‘confirms Iran's
record as a country that has officially put the most journalists to death in
the past half-century;’ it said.
Covid-19 whistleblowers
Ades-Mevel
said RSF had also noted the ‘developing’ trend of violence against media
workers covering protests, notably in the United States following the killing
of George Floyd, and in France against a controversial new security law. The
total number of journalists killed in 2020 was lower than the 53 reported in
2019; although RSF said fewer journalists worked in the field this year because
of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the first part of the report; published this month;
RSF said it was concerned that measures imposed by governments to fight the
pandemic had contributed to a ‘significant peak in violations of press freedom’.
It listed 387 jailed journalists; which it called ‘a historically high number’.
Fourteen of those had been arrested in connection with their coverage of the
coronavirus crisis; it said. On Monday Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan;
who sent dispatches from Wuhan during the chaotic initial stages of the
outbreak; was jailed for four years for ‘picking quarrels and provoking trouble’.
Chinese authorities have punished eight virus whistleblowers so far as they
curb criticism of the government's response to the outbreak.
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