Deadly Pattern

Israeli military fire has killed 20 journalists in 22 years. No one has been held accountable.

A mural of Al-Jazeera Arabic journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed by an Israeli soldier in the West Bank town of Jenin, is seen on a wall in Gaza City on May 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

The May 11, 2022, killing of Al-Jazeera Arabic correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh is part of a deadly, decades-long pattern, according to a new special report by the Committee to Protect Journalists. Over 22 years, CPJ has documented at least 20 journalist killings by members of the Israel Defense Forces. Despite numerous IDF probes, no one has ever been charged or held responsible for these deaths. The impunity in these cases has severely undermined the freedom of the press, leaving the rights of journalists in precarity and undermining coverage of the region, according to the report.

“The killing of Shireen Abu Akleh and the failure of the army’s investigative process to hold anyone responsible is not a one-off event,” says CPJ Director of Special Projects Robert Mahoney.

MORE ABOUT “DEADLY PATTERN”

How Israel probes journalist killings
A deadly reporting field for Palestinian journalists
Faces of killed journalists | Interactive map
CPJ’s recommendations to Israel, the United States, and the international community
Watch CPJ’s Tel Aviv report launch | Download a PDF
Read CPJ’s press release | Mahoney’s column in Israeli newspaper Haaretz | Global media coverage of the report

In Marcos Jr.’s Philippines, milder tone belies harsh media reality

Ferdinand Marcos Jr., shown here at a campaign rally in Quezon City, Philippines, on April 13, 2022, has not displayed overt antagonism toward the media since winning the presidency in May 2022. However, local journalists say he has not yet taken substantive actions to undo the damage wrought to press freedom under the Duterte administration. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) — Ferdinand Marcos Jr. campaigns at a rally in Quezon City, Philippines, ahead of winning the presidency in May 2022. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

As Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wraps up his first year in office, Filipino journalists, editors, and activists told CPJ there has been a discernible change in tone toward the press under his presidency. Marcos Jr. has so far has demurred from the overt antagonism toward the media seen and felt under his populist, tough-talking predecessor, report CPJ’s Shawn W. Crispin and Beh Lih Yi after a recent visit to the country.

However, those who spoke to CPJ say that change in form has not yet been accompanied by substantive actions to undo the damage wrought to press freedom under the Duterte administration or advance legal reforms to prevent a renewed government assault against independent journalists and media groups.

The ongoing court cases against independent news outlet Rappler and its Nobel-winning co-founder Maria Ressa are high-profile cases in point.

**Turkish elections bring hopes and harassment**
In Turkey, authorities beat, detained, and charged dozens of journalists in the run-up to the country’s presidential and parliamentary elections.

Ahead of the country’s May 14 vote, which led to a May 28 runoff between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, journalists told CPJ about their cautious hopes for improvement in the country’s harsh press freedom environment if Kılıçdaroğlu prevails.

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Journalists Attacked

Martinez Zogo

MURDERED

Martinez Zogo, the managing director of the privately owned Cameroonian radio broadcaster Amplitude FM, was found dead on January 22, 2023.

Five days earlier, unidentified attackers had abducted Zogo from his car in Yaoundé, the capital. The attackers chased Zogo, who had recently reported on alleged public embezzlement involving a prominent businessman, to the gate of the local gendarmerie office near the journalist’s home, where he had sought help.

Authorities have arrested several people in connection with the murder, including the businessman Zogo had reported on and prominent members of Cameroon’s security forces.

Learn more about Zogo