45 journalists killed in 2021 in connection with their work
A total of 45 journalists were killed in 2021 in connection with their work. The sombre tally reflects the continued risks of doing journalism and reaffirms journalist safety as a global challenge, International Press Institute (IPI) said calling on authorities to end impunity for these crimes and to ensure the protection of journalists, who must be able to do their work freely and safely.
Of these 45 journalists, 40 were men and five were women. A total of 28 were targeted due to their work, while three were killed while covering conflict, two lost their lives covering civil unrest, and one journalist was killed while on assignment. Eleven cases are still under investigation.
IPI says analysis shows an alarmingly insufficient response from authorities to the killings, leading to high level of impunity for crimes against journalists.
”In only six of the 28 cases have local police reportedly arrested suspects. However, even this figure must be interpreted with caution, given that state investigations into journalist killings – insofar as they occur at all – are often deeply flawed and in some cases result in further miscarriages of justice, including arrests of innocent suspects.”
IPI says he last few years have seen an overall decrease in the number of killings of journalists. For reference, 102 killings were registered in 2011, while 2016 saw 120. As IPI’s statistics include journalists who are killed while covering conflict or on assignment, this decrease can partly be explained by the waning of several violent conflicts around the world. For example, the conflict in Syria led to 12 killed journalists in 2016; this year IPI did not register any case in the country
Asia and the Pacific was the deadliest region for journalists in 2021, with 18 killings, most of which occurred in India (6) and Afghanistan (6). Ten killings occurred in the Americas, which led the list in 2020. Seven journalists were killed in Mexico, one in Colombia, one in Guatemala, and one in Haiti.
Six journalists were killed in Europe: two in Azerbaijan, one in Georgia, one in Turkey, one in the Netherlands (listed as Under Investigation), and one in Greece.
Two journalists were killed in the MENA region, both in Yemen, while nine journalists were killed in Sub-Saharan Africa, most of whom in the Democratic Republic of Congo (3), followed by Burkina Faso and Somalia (both 2).
Like last year, more journalists were killed in Mexico (7) in 2021 than any other country in the world. All seven cases were targeted killings. According to IPI’s analysis, journalists researching local politics and organized crime, including drug trafficking, are especially at risk. Most of the targeted journalists were examining these or related topics.
“Another explanation for the high number of killed journalists is the level of impunity. According to ARTICLE 19 Mexico, in only one of these seven cases have suspects have been arrested.”
After Mexico, Afghanistan and India are the two next-deadliest countries, with six killings each. In Afghanistan, most killings occurred in relation to the violent conflict as a result of the Taliban’s takeover of the country this summer. Not included in the list are two journalists who died at the airport from a bomb explosion while trying to escape the country.
”Importantly, journalists were also murdered in countries with relatively high levels of press freedom, which arguably shows the global nature of the risks of doing journalism. For example, high-risk crime journalist Peter R. De Vries was shot on an Amsterdam city street in broad daylight on July 6, 2021, despite the fact that the Netherlands is considered one of the countries with the highest degree of press freedom in the world. The De Vries case is currently classified as Under Investigation on IPI’s Death Watch.”
”In Greece, crime reporter Giorgos Karaivaz was shot outside his home in Athens. As of December 2021, no suspects have been publicly identified and no arrests have been made, while public information about the status of the investigation remains scarce.”
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