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Journalists killed ‘in retaliation for their work’ globally doubles this year to 21 — Report

The report by New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists also mentions the deaths of Indian journalists Rakesh Singh and Shubham Mani Tripathi.

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New Delhi: The number of journalists killed in retaliation for their work globally has more than doubled this year, according to a report published Tuesday by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

CPJ noted that 21 journalists were killed in retaliation for their work in 2020, compared to 10 in the previous year. The murder of two Indian journalists, Rakesh Singh and Shubham Mani Tripathi, both killed in Uttar Pradesh, were also mentioned in the report.

It also noted that a total of 30 journalists have died between 1 January and 15 December, of which 21 were killed in retaliation for their work, three died in crossfire and six deaths took place during dangerous assignments. One media worker was also killed during this period.

Journalists killed during crossfire dropped sharply from eight in 2019 to three this year since “intensity of conflicts” in the Middle East has abated and the Covid-19 pandemic made it difficult for journalists to travel, noted the report.

CPJ is currently investigating the deaths of another 15 journalists to determine whether they were killed due to reasons related to their work.

Other than India, countries mentioned in the report include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Barbados, Colombia, Honduras, Iran, Iraq, Mexico, Nigeria, Paraguay, Philippines, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.


Also read: Baloch activist, gender inequality critic Karima Baloch found dead in Canada


Rakesh Singh and Shubham Mani Tripathi

On 28 November, Rakesh Singh Nirbhik, a journalist with Rashtriya Swaroop, and his friend died of burn injuries after they were set on fire with alcohol-based sanitiser in Uttar Pradesh’s Balrampur district. The state police had arrested three suspects, one of whom was the local village head’s son, Keshwanand Mishra alias Rinku, on 30 November for the crime.

According to police, Rinku’s motive to kill the journalist was his reportage against his mother and village pradhan Sushila Devi, ahead of the panchayat elections in the state.

There is also a 2.5 minute video in which the journalist was heard telling hospital officials that he regularly wrote about alleged corruption by the village head and her son.

On 19 June, two assailants had shot and killed Shubham Mani Tripathi, a reporter with Kampu Mail, in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district. Tripathi, who regularly covered land disputes, was allegedly killed at the behest of a ‘sand mafia’ and illegal land grabbers.

He was returning home on a motorcycle with a friend when he was attacked, according to a police complaint filed by the journalist’s brother. Tripathi later died at a hospital in Kanpur.

The incident was condemned by the Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, as  “gunpoint censorship”.

‘Trump responsible for dangerous anti-press rhetoric’

The report also attributed the current “global climate of impunity and dangerous anti-press rhetoric” to US’ “abdication” of global leadership towards the defence of press freedom under President Donald Trump.

It called the Trump administration’s approach to press freedom “opportunistic”, adding that the American government chose to speak out against Iran’s shortcomings but “failed to condemn the Saudi government and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for their role in the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi”.

On 17 November, the CPJ had also published a proposal to the incoming Joe Biden administration on restoring US leadership. It suggested rebuilding the State Department institutions that have traditionally supported press freedom, appointing a special presidential envoy for press freedom responsible for speaking out against violations around the world, and issuing a directive to US embassies that press freedom was a foreign policy priority.


Also read: The BBC is struggling to survive the era of fake news


 

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