Syria remains the most dangerous country in the world for journalists for the second consecutive year, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on Tuesday.
Since the Syrian revolution broke out in 2011, the Assad regime has killed hundreds of journalists and media activists to conceal the crimes its forces are committing against demonstrators and dissidents.
Syria was the deadliest country for journalists, with 12 killed in 2017, according to annual figures the non-governmental organization (RSF) published on Tuesday. Behind Syria, the deadliest countries for reporters were Mexico, Iraq, and the Philippines with 11, 8, and 4 journalists killed in those countries respectively.
According to RSF, a total of 65 journalists and media workers were killed in 2017. It said that 26 people “were killed in the course of their work,” while, the remaining 39 “were murdered, and deliberately targeted because their reporting threatened political, economic, or criminal interests.”
“Countries that have become too dangerous such as Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Libya have been hemorrhaging journalists,” RSF added.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said in a report that the Assad regime was responsible for the death of hundreds of journalists in Syria. The monitoring group condemned all violations of the freedom of media work by all parties and called for holding those responsible accountable. It also called on the international community, especially the UN Security Council, to assume its responsibilities in protecting media workers in Syria. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
