Haiti, Israel most likely to let journalists’ murders go unpunished, CPJ 2024 impunity index shows
An overwhelming lack of justice for murdered journalists is a major threat to press freedom. More than a decade after the United Nations declared an International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists – and more than 30 years after CPJ began documenting these killings – nearly 80% remain unsolved. A CPJ report. Two…
No justice for journalists targeted by Israel despite strong evidence of war crime
A year on, there is still no accountability following the October 13, 2023, targeted Israeli attack that killed Issam Abdallah and injured six journalists in southern Lebanon Less than a week into the Israel-Gaza war, at 6:02 p.m. on October 13, 2023, the Israeli military fired two tank shells 37 seconds apart into south Lebanon….
On Edge: What the US election could mean for journalists and global press freedom
Journalists are bracing for the outcome of the 2024 U.S. presidential election. CPJ’s research ahead of the November vote finds that the hostile media climate fostered during Donald Trump’s presidency has continued to fester, with members of the press confronting challenges – including violence, lawsuits, online harassment, and police attacks – that could shape the…
Forced to flee: Exiled journalists face unsafe passage and transnational repression
By Lucy Westcott/CPJ Emergencies Director Threats, repression, conflict, and unrest: across the world, these and other factors are pushing journalists into exile in record numbers. In a striking development, exiled or soon-to-be exiled journalists now make up more than half of the people CPJ assists. Between January and June 2024, CPJ provided financial support to…
Israel-Gaza war brings 2023 journalist killings to devastating high
By Kathy Jones More than three quarters of the 99 journalists and media workers killed worldwide in 2023 died in the Israel-Gaza war, the majority of them Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza. The conflict claimed the lives of more journalists in three months than have ever been killed in a single country over…
2023 prison census: Jailed journalist numbers near record high; Israel imprisonments spike
By Arlene Getz/CPJ Editorial Director Worst Jailers | New Developments | Regional Repression | Census Methodology Israel emerged as one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists following the October 7 start of the Israel-Gaza war, the Committee to Protect Journalists’ 2023 prison census has found. Israel ranked sixth – tied with Iran – behind…
Haiti joins list of countries where killers of journalists most likely to go unpunished
By Arlene Getz/CPJ Editorial Director The persistent lack of justice for murdered reporters is a major threat to press freedom. Ten years after the United Nations declared an international day to end impunity for crimes against journalists – and more than 30 years after CPJ began documenting these killings – almost 80% of their killings…
Ecuador on edge: Political paralysis and spiking crime pose new threats to press freedom
In Ecuador, political turmoil and a deepening security crisis are putting reporters and press freedom at increasing risk. President Guillermo Lasso, who dissolved the country’s National Assembly in May as it took steps to impeach him, has proved ineffective at stemming the rise in violent crime and journalists are watching uneasily as the party of…
Deadly Pattern: 20 journalists died by Israeli military fire in 22 years. No one has been held accountable.
The May 11, 2022, killing of Al-Jazeera Arabic correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh is part of a deadly, decades-long pattern. 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…
Fragile Progress: The struggle for press freedom in the European Union
By Jean-Paul Marthoz and Tom Gibson The European Union is facing numerous challenges as it seeks new ways to uphold its commitment to press freedom. This special report – a follow-up to the Committee to Protect Journalists’ 2015 report “Balancing Act: Press freedom at risk as EU struggles to match action with values” – examines…