News Center- As of December 1, 2023, a total of 45 journalists were killed in connection with their work, the lowest since 2002, despite the war in the Middle East, according to the annual round-up compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

“In Gaza, at least 13 journalists have been killed because of their work as journalists since the war began between Israel and Hamas, a total that rises to 56 if we include all journalists killed in the Gaza Strip, whether or not in the line of their work,” RSF said.

“Among civilians in Gaza, journalists are paying a heavy price. We’ve noted that the number of journalists killed in connection with their work is very high: at least 13 in such a tiny territory. We have filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to establish the facts and to what point journalists were knowingly targeted. On a global scale, it seems that the number of journalists killed in the course of their work or in connection with their work is in sharp decline, over a long period of time. The reasons? Security measures at news organisations, training and allocation of protective equipment, caution, the effects of the fight against impunity and actions by inter-governmental organisations. The work of NGOs is undoubtedly also having an effect,” said Christophe Deloire, RSF Secretary-General.

‘521 journalists are currently detained’

According to RSF, the number of journalists detained worldwide fell in 2023, compared to the previous year. “Worldwide, 521 journalists are currently detained on arbitrary grounds linked to their profession (down 8.4% from 2022). One of the techniques of persecuting journalists in Iran and Türkiye is actually to imprison them repeatedly. In 2023, a total of 43 Turkish journalists and 58 Iranian journalists spent time in prison.”

‘54 journalists are being held hostage worldwide’

RSF also gave information about the number of journalists being held hostage worldwide. “Of the seven abducted this year, two are still being held by their captors. They are the Malian journalists Saleck Ag Jiddou and Moustapha Koné, who were taken hostage in northern Mali on 7 November, just seven months after the French journalist Olivier Dubois was finally freed by his captors in the same region of Mali. The other media hostages are located in just four countries: Syria (38), Iraq (9), Yemen (4) and Mexico (1).”