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Journalists Continue to Be Killed With Impunity
“Across the world, journalists continue to be harassed and intimidated, violently attacked and arbitrarily surveilled, met with disinformation campaigns and cyberattacks – all for speaking truth to power,” noted U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield in a statement marking International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists.
Reporters in conflict zones face even greater danger. In Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, and elsewhere, journalists have been killed as they dared to report the facts. Crimes against journalists only continue to rise. Nearly 800 journalists across 45 countries were jailed at some point last year – more than 500 of whom are still in prison or under house arrest. “And yet, despite increasing violence against journalists, we have failed to see accountability for the perpetrators,” said Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield.
Indeed, over the past three decades, UNESCO reports that in more than 1,700 journalist deaths, only one in 10 perpetrators were held responsible for their crimes. Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield called on the international community to ensure crimes against journalists are brought to light and perpetrators brought to justice by making progress on the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists.
“In this moment in which democracy is under attack,” said Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield, “we count on journalists to expose corruption and counter disinformation and to facilitate the exchange of ideas and shine a spotlight on human rights abuses.”
The United States has worked tirelessly to secure the release of two falsely imprisoned reporters. Evan Gershkovich, the first American journalist to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War, was convicted of spying and sentenced to 16 years in prison by a Russian court. Alsu Kurmasheva is a Russian and American journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Tatar-Bashkir Service. She was charged with failure to register as a foreign agent and sentenced to six and a half years in prison. The U.S. also continues to advocate for the freedom and safety of Austin Tice held by the Syrian regime. He is now the longest-held American journalist in history.
“Journalists have the right to live and report without fear,” declared Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield. “Let us all work to support and protect them as they tell the stories that change our world for the better.”