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Reporters without Borders: 71 journalists killed, over 2,000 attacked or threatened in 2013

19 December 2013
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Over 70 journalists were killed in 2013 in various countries of the world, while 178 were imprisoned and over 2,000 threatened or attacked, according to the final round-up of Reporters without Borders. The report says that the number of deaths fell slightly, by 20%, compared with 2012.

Data show that the most killings of journalists occurred in Syria (10), the Philippines and India (8 in each). Besides the journalists employed in recognized media outlets, 36 activists or bloggers were killed. Syria was, yet again, the most dangerous place for them, gathering 35 deaths.
Nearly 40% of killings occurred in conflict zones, and the overwhelming majority of victims were men (96%). The most victims worked for print media (37%), followed by radio and television reporters (one third each).

Reporters without Borders also informed about 178 imprisoned journalists: 30 in China, 28 in Eritrea, and 27 in Turkey. At the same time, other 826 journalists were taken into custody or arrested preventively, which is comparable to the previous year.

In addition, 87 media professionals were kidnapped – a number more than twice greater than in 2012. Also, almost 80 journalists fled their country of residence because they were no longer safe there.

On the day when Reporters without Borders issued the round-up, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) publicized a similar research, mentioning that 2013 was the second worst year for freedom of the press over the past decade.

Source of photo: www.rsf.org