Journalism under fire

By Alessandra Ram

(Left) A woman lights a candle next to photos of Mexican journalist Miroslava Breach, who was shot in Chihuahua, Mexico. (Right) Shifa Gardi was reporting live for Iraqi Kurdish channel Rudaw when she was killed.

On World Press Freedom Day, it’s important to highlight the people behind the journalism.

Journalists help us learn and make educated decisions about the world around us. And as the UN General Assembly proclaimed in 1993, media plays an important role in “advancing peaceful, just and inclusive societies.”

But it doesn’t come without a cost.

In some countries, working as a journalist could cost you your life.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 13 journalists have been killed so far in 2017. Some of these journalists were shot at work or on assignment in a foreign country. Others were murdered outside restaurants, or their home.

Here are their names:

Jan. 12, 2017: Muhammad Jan, a teacher and reporter for the Urdu-language newspaper Qudrat, was fatally shot in Qalat, Pakistan.

Jan. 17, 2017: Igor Abisaí Padilla Chávez, a reporter for HCH, or Hable como Habla TV station, was fatally shot in Honduras.

Feb. 3, 2017: Abdul Hakim Shimul, a reporter for the Bangladeshi newspaper Samakal, died from gunshot wounds.

Feb. 12, 2017: 22-year-old Taimoor Khan, a cameraman for Samaa TV, was fatally shot while covering an attack on police in Karachi, Pakistan.

Feb. 14, 2017: Director and producer Leónidas Martínez was shot outside the radio station FM 103.5 in the Dominican Republic.

Feb. 14, 2017: Radio journalist Luis Manuel Medina was shot in the recording booth at the radio station FM 103.5 in the Dominican Republic.

Feb. 25, 2017: Reporter and anchor Shifa Gardi was killed by a roadside bomb while covering the Iraqi Army’s offensive against ISIS in Mosul, Iraq.

March 2, 2017: Cecilio Pineda Birto, a freelance crime journalist, was shot while waiting at a car wash in Guerrero, Mexico.

March 12, 2017: Mohamed Abazied was killed by rocket fire in Daraa, Syria, while reporting on Russian and Syrian airstrikes.

March 13, 2017: Joaquin Briones, a columnist and radio commentator, was shot in the back four times in the Philippines.

March 19, 2017: Ricardo Monlui Cabrera was shot and killed in Veracruz, Mexico, as he was leaving a restaurant with his wife and son.

March 23, 2017: La Jornada correspondent Miroslava Breach Velducea was shot eight times while leaving her house in Chihuahua, Mexico.

April 14, 2017: Freelance crime reporter Maximino Rodríguez was shot and killed in La Paz, Mexico.

In total, CPJ estimates 1,236 journalists have been killed since 1992. This does not include “missing” persons.