About 53 journalists killed on the job in 2018

Some 53 journalists were killed while doing their job in 2018, and 34 of them were targeted for murder in reprisal for their work, according to the journalists advocacy group, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

The CPJ says the numbers, which represent those killed between January 1 and December 14, make the year 2018 the deadliest for journalists in the past three years.

The organization notes that in Afghanistan, where extremists have stepped up deliberate attacks on journalists, was the deadliest country, followed by Syria and India.

It further indicates that the recent uptick in killings comes as the jailing of journalists hits a sustained high–adding up to ongoing global crisis of press freedom. Amid the physical dangers to journalists, many world leaders are doubling down on anti-press rhetoric, it added.

The year was marked by high-profile murders of journalists including Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed by Saudi agents in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul in October. In February, Slovakian investigative journalist Jan Kuciak was shot to death alongside his fiancé, the second murder of a European Union journalist covering corruption in less than six months. In Afghanistan, a suicide bomber targeted a group of reporters, killing nine in a single explosion in April. The 34 journalists murdered this year compares with 18 murders in 2017, CPJ says.

“Murder is a form of brutal censorship that is disrupting the flow of information. People around the world are increasingly recognizing what’s at stake. Political leaders must stand up, speak out, and deliver justice on behalf of the journalists who gave their lives to bring us the news,” says CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon.