Sixty-seven journalists have lost their lives in connection with their work over the past 12 months, most of them victims of war or criminal networks, the Reporters without Borders (RSF) rights organization reported on Tuesday.
The figures for the period between the beginning of December 2024 and the beginning of December this year are comparable to the previous 12-month period.
The most dangerous region remained the Gaza Strip, where 29 reporters lost their lives, with the second most dangerous being Mexico, with nine deaths.
"Every dead journalist and every detained reporter represents a warning to us in Germany that whoever attacks journalists is depriving all of us of the right to gain information without obstruction," RSF head in Germany Anja Osterhaus said.
Governments around the world needed to act, she said. "When those who report critically have to fear for their freedom or even their lives, democracy is at stake worldwide," she added.
According to the report, 503 journalists are currently in prison in 62 countries, slightly fewer than in the previous period. China has the most with 121, followed by Russia with 48 and Myanmar with 47.
Russia is holding the most foreign journalists with 26 Ukrainians, followed by Israel with 20 Palestinians.
In addition, 135 media staff are listed as missing, some of them for more than 30 years. Journalists have gone missing in 137 countries, although most of them disappeared in the Middle East and Latin America.
Syria has been particularly badly affected, where many reporters disappeared under the rule of Bashar Al-Assad. The same applies to journalists taken hostage by Islamic State, who are listed as missing by the RSF. Mexico is second-worst for cases of missing reporters.
