The Asian Post
PARIS: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says that 65 journalists were killed in 2017, the lowest toll in 14 years.
According to figures released by the non-governmental organization on Tuesday, 60 percent of the journalists who were killed were murdered.
RSF said the overall decrease is due to journalists leaving countries “that have become too dangerous.” It also noted “a growing awareness of the need to protect journalists.”
RSF stressed that some countries which are not at war have become as dangerous for reporters as war zones, with 46 percent of deaths occurring in such places in 2017, as against 30 percent the previous year.
Philippines ‘deadliest country’ in Asia for journalists in 2017
The Philippines is the deadliest country for journalists in Asia with 4 Filipino journalists killed for their work in 2017.
“The Philippines thus resumed a grim trend going back more than decade – one that was interrupted only in 2016, an exceptional year in which no journalist was killed,” it said.
The Philippines was also included in the top 5 dangerous countries for journalists – together with Mexico, Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The report labelled Syria as “the world’s deadliest.”
