Over 1,800 journalists, media workers killed worldwide since 1995, data shows

ISTANBUL

More than 1,800 journalists and media workers have been killed worldwide in the past 27 years, with a majority falling prey to war, conflict, terrorist groups and organized crime gangs.

Some 1,814 journalists were killed between 1995 and 2022, according to data compiled from various sources by Anadolu Agency ahead of the Remembrance Day for Killed Journalists in Turkiye on Wednesday.

The day is observed in Turkiye in memory of Ottoman journalist Hasan Fehmi Bey, who was murdered by unidentified assailants in Istanbul on April 6, 1909.

Between 2012-2021, 905 journalists or media workers were killed in the line of duty – almost two deaths every week, the data showed.

More than 50% of all journalists and media staff killed since 1995 died in war and conflict zones or areas where terrorist groups or organized crime gangs were active, according to the data.

At least 18 journalists, including six foreign journalists, have been killed in Ukraine since Russia started the war on Feb. 24, according to the Ukrainian Culture and Information Policy Ministry.

With rampant organized crime, Mexico ranks as the most dangerous country for journalists and media workers, with 143 journalists, including 11 women, killed between 2000-2021.

According to the 2021 Global Impunity Index report by the Committee to Protect Journalists, Somalia was the world’s worst country for unsolved killings of journalists, followed by Syria, Iraq, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Mexico, Philippines, Brazil, Pakistan, Russia, Bangladesh and India.

* Writing by Zehra Nur Duz.