Mexico and India have been the most dangerous countries for journalists in 2021, a special report compiled by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has revealed.
According to the report, record-breaking 42 journalists have been killed this year worldwide, including 3 in Pakistan, as 2021 also emerged as a dark year for independent press across the world.
Of the 42 journalists who died this year, 24 were killed directly because of their coverage (confirmed) and 18 died under mysterious circumstances (unconfirmed).
Mexico turned out to be the most dangerous country for journalists as 9 of them were killed there this year. Mexico is followed by India with 5 deaths, Afghanistan with 4 deaths, and Pakistan with 3 deaths.
2 journalists were killed in Azerbaijan, Burkina Faso, Somalia, Ethiopia, and the Philippines each this year.
1 journalist was killed in Bangladesh, Colombo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lebanon, Georgia, Greece, Haiti, Indonesia, Palestine, the Netherlands, and Yemen each in 2021.
On the other hand, the number of journalists jailed for their work also hit a new record this year.
Repressive regimes introduced new laws as part of their campaigns to crackdown against journalists as 293 journalists were rounded up across the world this year, up from last year’s 280.
For the third year in a row, China has thrown the most journalists behind the bars this year with 50. China is followed by Myanmar with 26 journalists sentenced to jail this year, Egypt with 25, Vietnam with 23, Belarus with 19, Turkey with 18, Eritrea with 16, Russia and Saudi Arabia with 14 each, and Iran with 11.