At least 50 journalists and media workers lost their lives in the year 2020 in the course of work.
According to a report released by Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF) – Reporters Without Borders, most of the incidents happened in countries that are not at war.
However, most of the journalists were those investigating environmental issues, crime and corruption, the report said.
It said eight journalists were killed in Mexico while reporting on politicians and drug trafficking related issues.
The report further said five Afghanistan journalists were killed in the war front despite the peace negotiations between the Taliban and the government.
It said that most of the Afghanistan victims who published reports against the government, we’re targeted and intentionally killed.
Pauline Ades, Level editor-In-Chief and Spokesperson for RSF, noted violence against journalists covering protests in the United States following the murder of George Floyd by a police officer.
He added that investigations showe that seven media workers were killed while covering protest on the streets.
“Two journalists died in Nigeria while covering protest in 2020.
“Another 387 journalists were detained in connection to their work, while 14 were arrested for COVID-19 coverage,” the report said.
RSF described the demise of a journalist, Samuel Wazizi, while in prison as the worst crime against journalists in the past 10 years in Cameroon.