Thirty of the seventy one journalists that died in 2015 were killed by extremist groups like the ISIS, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has announced.
According to the CPJ, all the seventy one journalists were killed in direct relation to their work, making it the fourth deadliest year since the organisation began keeping records in 1992.
CPJ maintains a database of all journalists killed since 1992 and, according to the organization, the 30 journalists killed by extremist groups represents 42 per cent of the total number killed in 2015.
Those killings came as more than half of the 199 journalists imprisoned in 2015 were jailed on anti-state charges, showing how the press is caught between perpetrators of terrorism and governments purporting to fight terrorists.
CPJ  reported in December that 69 journalists were killed around the world from January 1 through December 23, 2015. On December 27 Naji Jerf, editor-in-chief of the independent monthly Hentah and the maker of documentary films on Islamic State, was murdered in Turkey. In addition, new information led CPJ to confirm that Ahmed Mohamed al-Mousa was killed in relation to his work as a journalist. Al-Mousa, a 23-year-old editor for ‘Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently’, was shot dead in Idlib province on December 16. The group of Syrian citizen journalists was honored with CPJ’s 2015 International Press Freedom Award in November.
In 2015, the fight against impunity in the murders of journalists achieved some success, with at least six convictions worldwide. CPJ advocacy also contributed to the release of at least 50 journalists from prison, while the total number in jail at the time of CPJ’s annual census declined slightly compared with the past three years. Of the journalists released this year, six were featured in the ‘Press Uncuffed’ campaign, which, in partnership with students at the University of Maryland, seeks to raise awareness of journalists imprisoned worldwide.
CPJ’s advocacy director Courtney Radsch said the organization will keep the pressure on governments worldwide to allow journalists to work freely and safely.
