Geneva, 11 July 2025: The number of journalists killed rose dramatically in the first six months of this year. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) reported that since January, 26 countries have seen the deaths of 86 media workers, a rise of more than 16% from the previous year. The continuing hostilities in the Gaza Strip largely explain this very high toll, where at least 31 Palestinian journalists were killed in six months by the Israeli army (more than a third of the six-month total).
"The Israeli government is directly responsible for this tragedy, which targets civilians reporting on the situation in Gaza. The Israeli soldiers involved in these war crimes must be identified and prosecuted. This is a massacre on an unprecedented scale, with nearly 200 Palestinian journalists killed since October 2023," said PEC President Blaise Lempen, adding that the "fighting must absolutely stop."
Hostilities in Sudan have also been deadly for journalists on the ground, with six killed since January. In Mexico, six journalists were murdered, one per month. Fighting between Ukraine and Russia has also resulted in a total of 6 victims, including 5 in Ukrainian areas that are claimed by Moscow and 1 in Russia. Another conflict led to the death of four media employees in Tehran during Israeli bombardments in Iran in June.
Since 1 January, India has claimed the lives of four journalists, while Pakistan has claimed the lives of three. Colombia, Honduras, Iraq, the United States of America, Peru, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen follow with two victims each. One fatality was reported in Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Lebanon, Nepal, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and Zimbabwe. By region, the Middle East was the deadliest, with 43 victims, followed by Latin America with 16, Africa with 10, Europe with 6, and North America with 2. A record 179 media workers, including 80 in Gaza, lost their lives last year, with 74 of those deaths occurring in the first half of the year.
PEC’s South & Southeast Asia representative Nava Thakuria informed that India lost Mukesh Chandrakar, Raghavendra Vajpayee, Sahadev Dey, and Dharmendra Singh Chauhan to assailants in the first half of 2025. Pakistan witnessed the murder of Allah Dino Shar, Abdul Latif Baloch, and Syed Mohammed Shah, whereas Nepal saw one journalist (Suresh Rajak) murdered in this period. Trouble-torn nations Bangladesh and Myanmar have, however, evaded any journo-murder until date this year. The PEC condemns all these crimes and demands thorough investigations, in the hope that the second half of 2025 will be calmer.
