50 journalists killed in 2020, says watchdog
Fifty journalists and media staff were killed regarding the their work in 2020, almost all in countries that aren't at war, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said Tuesday.
The figure shows an increase in the targeting of reporters investigating organised crime, corruption or environmental issues, the watchdog said.
It highlighted murders in Mexico, India and Pakistan.
Eighty-four percent of these killed this year were "deliberately targeted" because of their work, RSF said in its gross annual report, in comparison to 63 percent in 2019.
"For several years right now, Reporters Without Borders possesses observed that investigative journalists are actually found in the crosshairs of claims, or cartels," explained Pauline Ades-Mevel, RSF editor-in-chief.
Mexico was the deadliest region, with eight killed. "Links between medicine traffickers and politicians continue to be, and journalists who dare to cover these or related problems continue being the targets of barbaric murders," said the survey.
None of the Mexico killings had yet been punished, added RSF, which has compiled annual info on violence against journalists around the globe since 1995.
Five journalists were killed on war-torn Afghanistan, it said, noting an increase in targeted attacks in media personnel in recent months even while peace talks between your authorities and Taliban are ongoing.
RSF also highlighted the case of Iranian opposition physique Ruhollah Zam, who ran a popular social mass media channel that rallied regime opponents, and who was simply executed in December.
His execution "confirms Iran's record as a country that has officially put the most journalists to death during the past half-century," it said.
Ades-Mevel said RSF had also noted the "growing" tendency of violence against mass media personnel covering protests, notably in america following killing of George Floyd, and in France against a good controversial new security regulation.
The full 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 season due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the first the main article, published this month, RSF said it had been concerned that measures imposed by governments to struggle the pandemic had contributed to a "significant peak in violations of press freedom".
It listed 387 jailed journalists, which it called "a historically lot".
Fourteen of those had been arrested regarding the their insurance policy coverage of the coronavirus crisis, it said.
On Mon Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, who dispatched dispatches from Wuhan during the chaotic initial stages of the outbreak, was jailed for four years for "picking quarrels and provoking problems".
Chinese authorities have punished 8 virus whistleblowers so far as they curb criticism of the government's response to the outbreak. -- AFP
