Research

Sardasht Osman, a 23-year-old journalist, wrote about corruption within the Kurdish Regional Government, accusing President Barzani’s family. His satirical article led to his tragic death in 2009. Sardasht Osman was a courageous and talented 23-year-old citizen journalist, who wrote about corruption and political mismanagement within the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in a period of political upheaval. On 13 December 2009, Sardasht wrote a satirical article accusing the family of President Barzani of corruption and nepotism, a ‘red line’ in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). The article, titled: ‘I Am in Love with Barzani’s Daughter’,...

Regina Martínez Pérez was a prolific journalist from the state of Veracruz in Mexico, one of the most dangerous countries for journalists. Since 2006, Veracruz has seen a particularly high rate of journalist murders, and on 28 April 2012, Regina Martínez Pérez was brutally murdered in her home in the city of Xalapa.   saferworldforthetruth.com/investigations/the-murder-of-regina-martinez-perez-an-opportunity-for-justice   PDF - ASWFTT_report01_march15_digital-v2

Zubair Mujahid was a journalist from Mirpurkhas in Pakistan whose stories exposed corruption and human rights abuses. His stories and columns were published in the Daily Jang, an Urdu language newspaper based in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest urban center.   saferworldforthetruth.com/investigations/breaking-the-silence-an-investigation-into-the-murder-of-zubair-mujahid   PDF - ASWFTT_report02_7june2021

Elisabeth Blanche Olofio’s reporting exposed local corruption and human rights abuses in the Central African Republic, providing her community with crucial information on the ongoing rebel advance at the time.   saferworldforthetruth.com/investigations/telling-the-story-remembering-elisabeth-blanche-olofio   PDF - ASWFTT_report03_ENG_final-v2

Pedro Palma was editor-in-chief of the local weekly newspaper, Panorama Regional, which frequently reported on corruption in the municipal government of Miguel Pereira in Brazil. Because of his work, he was shot in front of his house on 13 February 2014. As of yet, no-one has been prosecuted for his murder.   saferworldforthetruth.com/investigations/the-case-for-transparency-opportunities-for-justice-in-the-case-of-pedro-palma-and-beyond   PDF - ASWFTT_report_30march_ENG

The murder of Gerry Ortega is indicative of structural problems concerning the safety of journalists in the Philippines; while the hitmen are often arrested, the powerful masterminds behind the killings of journalists often evade justice.   saferworldforthetruth.com/investigations/the-murder-of-gerry-ortega-justice-delayed-justice-denied   PDF - ASWFTT_report04_ENG_final

Sokratis Giolias was a former radio journalist and TV editor who started his new blog Troktiko in 2007. It soon became one of the most popular news sources in Greece. On 19 July 2010, two assailants in police uniforms shot and killed Giolias in front of his house. After thirteen years, no one has been arrested for the murder.   saferworldforthetruth.com/investigations/impunity-in-europe-uninvestigated-murder-of-greek-journalist-sokratis-giolias   PDF - SWFTT_rapport_engels_print  

According to the annual round-up compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the number of journalists killed worldwide in connection with their work (45 as of 1 December 2023) is the lowest since 2002, despite the war in the Middle East. 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. Worldwide, 521 journalists are currently detained on...

Two weeks after French journalist Olivier Dubois was released after being held hostage for 711 days in Mali, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is publishing a report about the growing threats to journalism in Africa’s Sahel region.   “What it’s like to be a journalist in the Sahel” – RSF report on threats to journalism in this African region | RSF   PDF - What it is like to be a journalist in the Sahel_EN

The newly released UNESCO World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development: Global Report 2021/2022 analyses the state of media freedom, pluralism, independence, and safety of journalists over the past five years. The Report sounds the alarm on the worrying decline of press freedom levels around the world: data and original analysis confirms that 85 percent of the world’s population experienced a decline in press freedom in their country over the past five years.   World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development: Global Report 2021/2022 | World Trends in Freedom of Expression...

2021 - The International Federation of Journalists today published the report on journalists and media staff killed in work-related incidents around the world during 2020. The annual report, in its 30th edition, details the circumstances of the 65 killings which occurred during targeted attacks, bomb attacks and crossfire incidents in 16 countries.   IFJ Killed Journalists Report - 2020 - IFJ   PDF - IFJ_KILLED_LIST_REPORT_2020

2022- The International Federation of Journalists has today published the most comprehensive report on journalists and media staff killed in work-related incidents around the world during 2021.  IFJ Killed List Report - 2021 - IFJ   PDF - IFJ_KILLED_LIST_2021_FINAL

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) published its full annual report on journalists and media staff killed in 2022. The 32nd report details 68 killings of media professionals, including targeted and bomb attacks and crossfire deadly incidents. There were also 11 deaths due to accidents and illness IFJ Killed List Report - 2022 - IFJ   PDF - FIJ_2022_Killed_List

2024 - To mark World Press Freedom Day on May 3, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), on behalf of the South Asia Media Solidarity Network (SAMSN), releases its 22nd annual South Asia Press Freedom Report, entitled ‘Artificial Independence: The Fight to Save Media and Democracy’. https://www.ifj.org/media-centre/reports/detail/artificial-independence-south-asia-press-freedom-report-2023-24/category/publicati   PDF - Artificial_Independence_IFJ_SAPFR_2023-24

2020 - The Fourth Report by the High-Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom The report concludes with three major recommendations to the signatories to the Global Pledge on Media Freedom, and other key governments, to strengthen investigations into attacks on journalists, address the issue of impunity and progress towards accountability, including the creation of a standing international Investigative Task Force.   PDF - advice-on-promoting-more-effective-investigations-into-abuses-against-journalists   https://mediafreedomcoalition.org/who-is-involved/high-level-panel-of-legal-experts/reports/

The First Report by the High-Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom The report examines current challenges faced by journalists around the world and recommends the consistent use of targeted sanctions as a tool to enforce compliance with international human rights law, including the right to a free press. The report contains an in-depth analysis of the existing systems for targeted sanctions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the European Union and concludes with eleven recommendations for designing and implementing global human rights sanctions regimes to better protect journalists around the...

Source: Al Jazeera Media Institute - Journalists testimonies from Gaza and the West Bank - The testimony of Al Jazeera correspondent Hisham Zaqout reveals the immense burden Palestinian journalists carry in documenting the war in Gaza. His words—expressed through tears and exhaustion—highlight the pain of reliving trauma, where faith alone sustains endurance. From the start, this project sought to preserve unfiltered testimonies from journalists enduring siege, starvation, displacement, and death. These accounts were not refined for style but captured as raw historical records, driven by fear that both journalists and their memories could be erased...

The report on the suppression of media and journalists in the first half of 2024 is based on 216 documented cases by researchers from the Organization for the Defending Free Flow Of Information (DeFFI). According to these documented cases, from January 1, 2024, to June 30, 2024 (11 Dey 1402 – 10 Tir 1403 in the Iranian calendar), 181 media outlets, journalists, and media activists experienced judicial and security confrontations from the Islamic Republic. July 16, 2024 - Source: DeFFI - During this period, the Defending Free Flow Of Information recorded 236 instances of judicial...

June 25, 2024 - Source: Forbidden Stories - On May 4, 2024, two journalists from Al Araby TV who were covering an Israeli raid in the West Bank were fired upon. Forbidden Stories and its partners reconstructed the trajectory of the first shot that hit the camera, determining that it came from Israeli forces vehicles parked only about sixty meters away. “Since the incident, I keep telling the photographer: I feel like I’ll be killed.” Ameed Shehade can still hear the sound of the bullet grazing past his head. The Al Araby TV correspondent and his cameraman,...

Groundbreaking new research also reports that 11% of surveyed have faced physical violence in their reporting. June 5, 2024 - Source: the guardian - Almost four out of every 10 journalists covering the climate crisis and environment issues have been threatened as a result of their work, with 11% subjected to physical violence, according to groundbreaking new research. A global survey of more than 740 reporters and editors from 102 countries found that 39% of those threatened “sometimes” or “frequently” were targeted by people engaged in illegal activities such as logging and mining. Some 30%, meanwhile, were...

The Nobel laureate won plaudits early on for releasing imprisoned journalists. Today, his government depicts journalists as spies and traitors, and is accused of arresting, harassing and murdering them.  June 3, 2024 - Source: Africanarguments -   Muhiyadin Mohamed Abdullahi, a multimedia journalist, was sentenced to two years in prison in April 2024 on questionable “hate speech” charges. Photo courtesy: Muhiyadin Mohamed Abdullahi social media. On International World Press Freedom Day, the world commemorated the sacrifices of media workers around the world and celebrated the advances made to enshrine press freedoms and permit journalists to freely carry...

June 2024 - monthly report - Women Press Freedom Venezuela and Georgia Lead in Press Freedom Violations for June 2024 WPF recorded a total of 70 press freedom violations in June 2024.   Note from the Editor: June 2024 has been a challenging month for journalists around the world, marked by a series of threats, arrests, and physical assaults. In Iran, Saba Azarpeik's tragic miscarriage while imprisoned is a stark reminder of the severe conditions journalists endure. The imprisonment of journalists like Alena Timashchuk in Belarus, Hiba Abu Taha in Jordan, and Sophia Huang Xueqin in...

UNESCO joint research dating back 15 years found violence and intimidation against about 750 reporters and 44 murders. 02 May 2024 - Source: The Guardian -  More than 70% of environmental journalists have been attacked for their work since 2009, according to a UNESCO report, which warns of rising threats against those covering the climate crisis. At least 749 environmental journalists have faced violence and intimidation in the last 15 years, the UN body found. It said that 44 reporters were murdered between 2009 and 2023 but that resulted in just five convictions. UNESCO and the International...

March 29, 2024 - Source: The Wall Street Journal -  From Vladimir Putin in Russia to the theocrats in Iran, authoritarian leaders are increasingly shutting down independent media and locking up reporters, with hundreds of journalists now in jail around the globe. The surge in government crackdowns on the press, which accelerated after Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago, has left more than 520 journalists imprisoned worldwide, including a few dozen under house arrest, according to the Paris-based advocacy group Reporters Without Borders. The figure is among the highest the group has ever recorded. The crackdowns reverse an expansion...

Report says it is difficult to track journalist deaths in Gaza due to Israeli non-cooperation   Nearly three-quarters of all journalists and media workers killed in 2023 were Palestinians who were killed in the first three months of the Israeli war in Gaza, said the annual report of Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)  released on Thursday , February 15. According to the CPJ, at least 99 journalists and media workers were killed in 2023. This is the highest number of journalists and media persons killed in a year since 2015 and was a 44% increase from last...