Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reported this Wednesday (14), 533 journalists were arrested around the world in 2022; this is a new annual record in the organization’s numbers. There are 40 more professionals than the previous year, which is a record.
Another detail is that so many female reporters have never been arrested in 12 months: 78 detainees, a 30% increase compared to 2021.
More than half of jailed media workers are in five countries: China (110), Myanmar (62), Iran (47), Vietnam (39) and Belarus (31), not just Iranians rank high. The 5th of last year is a reflection of the news of more women’s rights protests that started in September.
“Dictator and authoritarian regimes are rapidly filling their prisons with journalists. This new record in the number of detained journalists confirms the imperious and urgent need to resist these unscrupulous governments and show our active solidarity with all who support the ideal of freedom, independence and pluralism of information,” said RSF general secretary Christophe Deloire in a note. .
Another negative aspect of the report is that the deaths of journalists increased by 18.8 percent to 57. The document states, “The war that broke out in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 is one of the reasons for the increase. 8 journalists were killed in the first six months of the war.”
But what is most impressive is that six out of 10 reporters who died were working in countries that were labeled “peaceful”.
Mexico remains the highest in this regard with 11 murders, followed by Haiti (6) and Brazil (3).
According to the RSF, America is “the most dangerous region for journalists: almost half (47.4%) of those killed this year were killed in this part of the world”.
source: Noticias
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.