[ad_1]
MANILA, Philippines – More reporters were killed this year in countries considered “at peace,” including three in the Philippines who were shot and killed by unidentified men on motorcycles, highlighting the continuing dangers facing the media amid a pandemic.
According to Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontieres, or RSF) annual summary report, there were 50 cases of journalists who were killed in the line of duty this year, slightly fewer than the 53 cases in 2019.
However, RSF noted that the figures were still “very similar … although fewer journalists worked [in] the field this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “
Of every 10 journalists killed in 2020, seven were in countries that were not at war, confirming a trend that began four years ago: fewer and fewer journalists are killed in war zones.
7 out of 10
“Now it is the countries considered ‘at peace’ that are proving to be the deadliest for journalists,” RSF said. “In 2020, nearly seven out of 10 murdered journalists lost their lives in countries ‘in peace’, while in 2016, it was only four out of 10.”
RSF’s annual raid reflects those who died between January 1 and December 15.
It distinguishes between “journalists who were deliberately attacked because of their work and those who were killed while reporting on the ground without having been specifically targeted,” according to its methodology page.
In the Philippines, Original Energy FM 93.7’s Rex Pepino, Balangibog radio host Jobert Bercasio, and Northern Watch commentator Virgilio Maganes were shot and killed by unknown persons on motorcycles on May 20, September 14, and November 20, respectively.
Guard dog
RSF noted that the 2016 creation of President Duterte’s Presidential Task Force on Media Safety did little to curb the number of journalists killed. Another global journalist watchdog, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), had placed the Philippines among the 7 deadliest countries in its annual Impunity Index released last week.
“Mr. Duterte and your government claimed to have made progress in the fight against impunity, but in reality they have fallen short by failing to prosecute the masterminds of the killings and undermining the press with hostile rhetoric,” said Jennifer Dunham, Director CPJ editorial The RSF report noted that many of the murdered reporters around the world were working on sensitive issues – four had been investigating organized criminal groups, while ten were investigating cases of local corruption or misuse of public funds.
Meanwhile, three had been working on environmental issues such as illegal mining or land grabbing.
Dangerous
Rising civil unrest and extreme violence in the protests have also proven dangerous for the media this year, RSF added, with seven killed while covering protests in Iraq, Nigeria and Colombia.
At the end of the year, another 387 journalists were still in detention due to their work, RSF said.
Most of the arrests occurred during the first four months of the pandemic, in countries that tried to curb information about how authorities were dealing with COVID-19.
“This is practically the same as a year ago and means that the number of journalists in detention around the world is still at a historically high level,” he added.
This year there was also a 35 percent increase in the number of women journalists arbitrarily detained.
Read next
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer and more than 70 other titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download from 4am and share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
For comments, complaints or inquiries, please contact us.
[ad_2]
