Journalists killed, detained, held hostage and missing

2023
ROUND-UP
Journalists killed, detained,
held hostage and missing
Figures for 1 January to 1 December 2023

2 / ROUND-UP OF JOURNALISTS KILLED, DETAINED, HELD HOSTAGE AND MISSING IN 2023
ROUND-UP OVERVIEW p. 03
1 JOURNALISTS KILLED p. 04
The figures p. 04
Fall in the number of journalists killed worldwide in connection
with their work, despite the tragedy in Gaza p. 05
Most dangerous stories to cover p. 06
The most dangerous countries in 2023 p. 07
Journalists killed in the Middle East in the course of their work p. 08
From Ukraine to the Middle East: wars against journalism p. 09
Asia and Latin America: the most dangerous peace zones
for journalists in 2023 p. 10
Combating impunity for crimes against journalists p. 12
2 DETAINED JOURNALISTS p. 14
The figures p. 14
China, Myanmar, Belarus and Vietnam: more than half of world’s
imprisoned journalists in four countries p. 15
The ten biggest jailers of journalists p. 15
Five high-risk countries p. 16
Other prisons around the world p. 18
Women harshly repressed p. 19
Symbolic imprisonments p. 20
3 JOURNALISTS HELD HOSTAGE p. 22
The figures p. 22
High risk countries p. 23
54 journalists held hostage in five countries p. 23
4 MISSING JOURNALISTS p. 26
The figures p. 26
Countries with the most missing journalists p. 27
Seven new disappearances in 2023 p. 27
High-risk regions p. 27
METHODOLOGY p. 29

521 JOURNALISTS DETAINED
84MISSING
45KILLE
D
5
4
H
ELD
HOSTAGE
ROUND-UP OVERVIEW
PRESS

41PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS
M
EDIA
WORKERS 2 2 NON-PROFESSIO
N
A
L
J
O
U
R
N
A
L
I
S
T
S
1
JOURNALISTS KILLED
- 26.23%
Journalist killed: RSF logs a journalist’s death in its press freedom barometer when they are killed in the exercise of their
duties or in connection with their status as a journalist.
41 men 4 women
Press Press
(61 in 2022)
45
KILLED1
44
local
journalists
1
foreign
journalists
PRESS
1. In the course of their work or in connection with journalism
The figures
23
in war
zones
(51.1%)
22
in non-war
zones
(48.9 %)

1
JOURNALISTS KILLED
Fall in the number of journalists killed worldwide in connection with
their work, despite the tragedy in Gaza
Though the total number of journalists killed in connection with their work in 2023 (45) reached
its lowest level since 2002 (33), with every war, journalists pay a heavy price for their reporting.
War zones: grim toll of journalists killed in Gaza in 2023
Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, in just two months, 17 journalists have lost their lives in the
exercise of their duties in Gaza (13), Lebanon (3) and Israel (1), a toll that brings to 23 the number of
journalists killed in war zones this year, versus 20 in 2022. Journalists have also died while covering armed
clashes in northern Cameroon, northern Mali, Sudan, Syria and Ukraine.
Global toll of journalists killed in the exercise of their duties lower than in previous years
RSF has seen a gradual decrease in the number of journalists killed in connection with their work. In
total, 45 journalists were killed in 2023, 16 fewer than in 2022 (61). This is the lowest figure since 2002
(33). More than 140 journalists lost their lives in 2012, as well as in 2013, mainly due to the wars in
Syria and Iraq.
The drop in the number of journalists killed can be explained, in part and in certain areas, by an increase
in journalists’ security. In armed conflicts, media professionals are now usually better prepared (better
trained and equipped).
In peace zones, journalists are also better protected, thanks to the creation of regulatory frameworks to
guarantee their security, and the strengthening of mechanisms to combat impunity. But in some regions,
it is self-censorship in the face of an increase in risks that may also account for less exposure to physical
risks.
NUMBER OF MEDIA PROFESSIONALS KILLED IN THE COURSE OF THEIR WORK SINCE 2002
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
33
49
85
71
116
107
69
83
62
81
144 143
115 112
80
74
90
51 54 52
61
45

1
JOURNALISTS KILLED
Most dangerous stories to cover
War zones (reporting in a war zone, etc.) 23
Organised crime (investigating organised crime, the mafia,
drug trafficking, gang violence, etc.) 9
Corruption (investigating abuse of authority, influence
peddling, bribes, criticism of government policy, etc.) 6
Other (environment, protests, elections etc.) 5
A remarkable drop in the number of journalists killed in Latin America
Although the number of journalists killed in the line of duty in Latin America has fallen significantly, from
26 in 2022 to six in 2023, it is not possible to speak of a structural improvement in security conditions in
the region.
In Mexico, for example, four deaths were recorded in 2023, less than half the number recorded in 2022
(11). However, this does not mean that security has improved for journalists there, as demonstrated by the
kidnappings of three reporters and the armed attacks against four journalists towards the end of 2023.
Given the record number of cases of violence in 2022, some journalists have been more systematic in
calculating the risks to which they are exposed, which implies more self-censorship and the spread of
information black holes.
More than half of journalists killed were in war zones in 2023
For the first time since 2018, the number of journalists killed in war zones was proportionally higher than
the number killed in peace zones.
23
in war
zones
(51.1%)
22
in non-war
zones
(48.9 %)
WAR ZONES: RELATIVELY MORE DANGEROUS FOR JOURNALISTS
If covering war zones was the most dangerous reporting activity in 2023 (with 23 journalists killed),
covering organised crime and corruption also continues to be extremely risky, with 15 journalists killed
for investigating these stories in 2023, especially in Latin America and Africa.
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
54.5 %
37.3 %
20.4 %
38.5 %
32.8 %
51.1 %
Percentage of journalists killed in war zones

4
Mexico 2
Cameroon
Afghanistan
3
3
Bangladesh
Ukraine
2
3
Lebanon
13
Palestine
Philippines
2
The most dangerous countries in 2023
1
JOURNALISTS KILLED
Maghreb and Middle East 18
67
Asia 10
73
Americas 7
69
Africa 7
31
Europe-Central Asia 3
23
In 2023
Since 2019 (over 5 years)
NUMBER OF JOURNALISTS KILLED IN CONNECTION WITH THEIR WORK IN 2023
BY GEOGRAPHIC REGION

1
JOURNALISTS KILLED
Journalists killed in the Middle East in the course of their work
Israel-Hamas war: At least 17 journalists killed in connection with their work
At least 17 media professionals have been killed in the exercise of their duties or in connection
with their work since 7 October in Gaza (Palestine), Israel and Lebanon. This figure does not include
journalists killed in circumstances unrelated to their work, those who were not killed as such, nor those
whose circumstances of death remain unknown. This is why, out of the total of 63 journalists killed in the
region under various circumstances, RSF counted 17 journalists as the number of those for whom it was
able to establish with a sufficient degree of certainty that their death was indeed linked to their journalistic
work, after checking the facts and on the basis of conclusive evidence. A complex investigation, that can
result in RSF to including the names of the victims in its press freedom barometer some time after their
deaths.
Total
17
13
Palestine
3
Lebanon
1
Israel

1
JOURNALISTS KILLED
From Ukraine to the Middle East: wars against journalism
War in Middle East, a tragedy for journalism in 2023
Palestine
In Palestine, 13 journalists have been killed in the exercise of their duties or in
connection with their work since the start of the armed conflict between Israel and Hamas
on 7 October. All died under Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip, like Ibrahim Lafi, a 21-year-old
photojournalist from the Palestinian production company Ain Media, who was killed on the
morning of 7 October while holding his camera.
Israel
In Israel, on the first day of the conflict, on 7 October, Roee Idan, an Israeli photojournalist working for
the news website Ynet, was killed by Hamas outside his house while he was documenting the atrocities
committed by Hamas in the southwest of the country.
Southern Lebanon
In southern Lebanon, near the Israeli border, Issam Abdallah, a Lebanese
photojournalist working for the Reuters news agency, was killed while reporting on 13
October. According to an RSF investigation, the place where he was located, along with
six of his colleagues from Reuters, Agence France-Presse and Al Jazeera, was targeted
by two consecutive strikes. Two other Lebanese journalists with the conservative media
outlet Al-Mayadeen, Farah Omar and Rabih al-Maamari, were killed on 21 November
by an Israeli bombing of the town of Tayr Harfa, in southern Lebanon, while they were
covering the violence along the border with Israel.
11 journalists killed since start of war in Ukraine, including two this year
In Ukraine, two journalists were killed in 2023, in addition to the nine previously
killed since the start of the war on 24 February 2022. Franco-Bosnian Agence France-
Presse war reporter Arman Soldin was killed by rocket fire while covering the fighting
near the eastern city of Bakhmut early May 2023. He was the only journalist to lose his
life in a country other than his own in 2023.
Two weeks earlier, Ukrainian video reporter Bohdan Bitik, clearly identifiable by
clothing bearing the inscription “PRESS”, was killed by a sniper on the Antonivsky bridge
near the city of Kherson.
Issam Abdallah
© Facebook
Arman Soldin
© Yasuyoshi CHIBA_AFP
Bohdan Bitik
© Capture d’écran RaiNews
Ibrahim Lafi
© Facebook

1
JOURNALISTS KILLED
In Africa, deadly conflicts in 2023
Sudan
In Sudan, journalist Halima Idris Salim was fatally hit by a Rapid Support Forces militia vehicle on
10 October, while she was covering clashes in Khartoum, the capital, for the independent media outlet
Sudan Bukra. Journalists have often been the targets of physical attacks and arbitrary arrests since the
start of the conflict between two Sudanese military factions in April 2023.
Mali
In the north of the country, Abdoul Aziz Djibrilla, a journalist working for the community
radio station Naata, was killed in an attack by an armed gang on 7 November. While on his
way to Gao for a training workshop, the gang opened fire on his vehicle and he was killed
instantly. He was 28 years old. Local journalists are bearing the brunt of the deterioration
of security conditions in northern Mali and throughout the Sahel region, as shown in RSF’s
report, “What it’s like to be a journalist in the Sahel.”
Cameroon
The death of the regional manager of the Advocate newspaper, Anye Nde Nsoh, on
7 May in the city of Bamenda, illustrates the dangers of covering the news in the border
areas of Cameroon, such as in the northwest of the country. The armed separatist group
operating there acknowledged its responsibility, but said it was an “error” and that the
journalist was not targeted.
Asia and Latin America: the most dangerous peace zones
for journalists in 2023
Latin America
Mexico: world record number of journalists killed in the past five years
With four journalists killed this year, Mexico maintains, despite the drastic drop in reporters who died
in the exercise of their duties, its place on the podium of the world’s deadliest countries for journalists,
second only to Palestine this year. Killed between May and July 2023, the four Mexican journalists were
all investigating organised crime. Two media directors, Gerardo Torres Rentería (Agencia Red Noticias)
and Nelson Matus Peña (Lo Real de Guerrero), were killed in Acapulco, in the southern state of Guerrero,
on 11 May and 15 July respectively. La Jornada correspondent Luis Martín Sánchez was found dead
in Nayarit state on 8 July. Radio Stereo Luz FM editorialist Marco Aurelio Ramírez Hernández was
murdered on 23 May.
Abdoul Aziz Djibrilla
© DR
Anye Nde Nsoh
© DR

1
JOURNALISTS KILLED
A total of six journalists were killed in Latin America in 2023. In addition to the four media
professionals killed in Mexico, Luis Gabriel Pereira, the administrator of the Notiorense Facebook page
that mainly covers news stories and criminal cases, was killed in Colombia in February, and Alexánder
Álvarez Ramírez, host of Radio Urundey FM, was killed in Paraguay, also in February.
Asia
Bangladesh: resurgence of violence in pre-election period
The situation in Bangladesh is continuing to deteriorate in the run-up to elections in
January 2024. Three journalists were murdered in 2023. Daily Monitor correspondent
and reporter for the local daily Brahmanbaria Patrika, Ashiqul Islam, was stabbed to
death on 9 January. Banglanews24 correspondent Golam Rabbani Nadeem was
killed on 15 July after publishing a series of articles about a local village official’s secret
marriage scandal. And a photographer for the daily Alor Jagat, Mossamat Sahara, was
hit on a motorbike on 20 September while she was covering a case of smuggling in which
local potentates may have been involved.
Afghanistan: attack against youth, three journalists killed
They were all in their 20s. On 11 March 2023, an Islamic State bomb attack hit a ceremony honouring
media personnel in Mazar-i-Sharif, in northern Afghanistan, injuring around 20 media workers and killing
three young journalists. Sayed Hussain Naderi, a reporter for the Afghan Voice Agency, and Akmal
Tabian, a journalism student working for Rah Farda Radio, were killed instantly. Soheil Seddiqi, also a
journalism student, died from his injuries ten days later.
Philippines: two journalists join 100 killed in the past 20 years
In the Philippines, the murder of radio show host Juan Jumalon on 5 November while
he was broadcasting live on the island of Mindanao, was a cruel reminder of the serious
criminal threat weighing on journalists in the archipelago. Earlier this year, on 31 May, host
of the show “Batita at Talakayan”, broadcast, among others, on the radio station DWXR
101.7FM, Cresencio Bunduquin was killed by armed assailants as he was leaving his
home. Known by the nickname “Cris”, he had received several death threats. Since 2004,
102 journalists have been killed in the Philippines, making the archipelago the most
dangerous country in Asia during this period.
Asia was the second most dangerous region for journalists in 2023, after the Middle East.
In the past five years, Asia has seen more journalists killed in the exercise of their duties than any other
region, totaling 73 journalists killed: 22 in Afghanistan, 14 in Pakistan, 12 in the Philippines, 11 in India,
seven in Bangladesh, four in Myanmar, and three in China.
Mossamat Sahara
© DR
Juan Jumalon
© Facebook

Combating impunity for crimes against journalists
Brazil: shedding light on the murder of Dom Phillips
Journalist Dom Phillips and Indigenous peoples specialist Bruno Araújo Pereira were
murdered in June 2022 while investigating illegal fishing in the Amazon. On 11 August
2023, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights announced the creation of a
working group, in which RSF is a participant, for journalist organisations to develop, with
the government, measures for the security of journalists and for justice to be carried out.
This is the first time that Brazil has made such a commitment.
South Sudan: the long quest for justice in the Christopher Allen case
The Republic of South Sudan announced, in October 2023, the creation of a committee
to investigate the death of Christopher Allen. After six years of advocacy, RSF welcomed
the initiative but urged the authorities to conduct a solid, independent and transparent
investigation in line with international standards. An American-British freelance journalist,
Christopher Allen, was shot dead while covering a clash in Kaya, near the South Sudan-
Uganda border on 26 August 2017.
In Malta, a conviction for the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia
In November 2023, the Malta Court of Appeal confirmed the 40-year prison sentences
of George and Alfred Degiorgio, found guilty of the assassination of Maltese journalist
Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017. Three other suspects have yet to be prosecuted,
including Yorgen Fenech, the businessman accused of ordering her murder.
The Gambia: historic verdict in the murder of RSF’s Gambian correspondent
On 30 November 2023, the Higher Regional Court in Celle, Germany, sentenced a
former member of the “Junglers”, a paramilitary unit established by former President
Yahya Jammeh, to life in prison for his involvement in the murder, on 16 December 2004,
of renowned journalist Deyda Hydara, co-founder of The Point newspaper and RSF’s
correspondent in The Gambia.
1
JOURNALISTS KILLED
Dom Phillips
© Joao Laet_AFP
Christopher Allen
© Falily photo
Daphne Caruana Galizia
© AFP
Deyda Hydara
© Seyllou AFP

Cameroon: investigation of an assassination at the heart of state affairs
In January 2023, the general director of privately owned radio Amplitude FM, Martinez
Zogo, was abducted in Cameroon. The discovery of his mutilated body five days later
has shaken the government. An RSF investigation revealed the details of the plot to
silence this journalist and the role played by a powerful businessman in cooperation with
intelligence services. In the wake of these revelations, the businessman was arrested and
charged with masterminding the murder and ten members of the intelligence agency were
accused of carrying it out. With all the pressure surrounding the case, which is being
closely followed by President Paul Biya, a trial is expected to start before the end of
2024.
RSF files complaints with International Criminal Court (ICC)
In 2023, RSF filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court for war crimes against
Palestinian journalists in Gaza and against an Israeli journalist. This was the third time that RSF
filed a complaint with the ICC prosecutor about war crimes committed against Palestinian journalists in
Gaza since 2018. RSF also filed, in 2023, an eighth complaint with the ICC prosecutor about war
crimes committed against journalists in Ukraine – complementing the seven others filed in 2022.
These complaints, forwarded to the Ukrainian prosecutor-general’s office, identify more than 50 abuses
committed on Ukrainian territory against nearly 150 journalists and 17 TV/radio towers and media
buildings.
Martinez Zogo
© RS
1
JOURNALISTS KILLED

2
DETAINED JOURNALISTS
419 PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS
WORKERS
22 MEDIA
JOURNALISTS
80 NON-PROFESSIONAL
521
DETAINED
- 8.43%
(569 in 2022)
PRESS
454 men 67 women
Press Press
RSF distinguishes three categories of detention of journalists in the exercise of their functions or in connection with their
work:
• Provisional detention: Any deprivation of freedom for more than 48 hours of a person who has not yet been tried.
• Detention following a conviction: deprivation of freedom of a journalist after conviction.
• House arrest: Requiring a journalist to remain in a specific location, determined by the authority ordering it – often in their
home – possibly under electronic surveillance, and/or with a requirement to report regularly to the police and/or to remain
in this place at specific times. It can be imposed as an alternative to imprisonment for those convicted, or as a surveillance
measure for those being prosecuted.
501
local
journalists
20
foreign
journalists
217
detentions following conviction
(including 5 life sentences)
296
provisional detentions
8
house arrests
The figures

China, Myanmar, Belarus and Vietnam: more than half of world’s
imprisoned journalists in four countries
Despited a decrease of nearly 9% in the number of journalists arbitrarily detained around the world
between 2022 and 2023, 521 journalists will start 2024 behind bars – there were 569 in 2022.
A total of 264 journalists are imprisoned in China (including Hong Kong), Myanmar, Belarus and Vietnam in 2023.
China is again the world’s largest prison for journalists, with 121 media professionals behind bars on
it soil (including 12 in Hong Kong). Nearly a quarter (23%) of the journalists detained worldwide are
now in Chinese jails.
In Myanmar, 68 journalists are still imprisoned in 2023, compared to 78 in 2022. Half of them are
awaiting trial.
In 2023, Alexander Lukashenko’s Belarus joins the top three regimes that lock up journalists the most:
39 are behind bars (seven more than in 2022). Belarus is the country with the highest number of
detained female journalists (10) after China (14). Total, in 2023, more than one in ten imprisoned
journalists was a woman (67).
Finally, of the 521 journalists detained worldwide, more than half (296) are still awaiting trial.
2
The ten biggest jailers of journalists
China
121
Russia
28
Belarus
39
Syria
25
24
Saudi Arabia
21
Iran
19
Egypt
15
Eritrea 36
Vietnam
Myanmar
68
(+ Hong Kong)

2
Five high-risk countries
China: Xinjiang, a vast prison
Nearly 8% of journalists detained worldwide, or 42 media professionals, are held in the Xinjiang
autonomous region, where the Chinese government has been waging a violent campaign of repression
against the Uyghurs, a mainly Muslim Turkic ethnic minority, since 2016. Also facing persecution beyond
the region, Uyghur journalists account for 64% (77) of the journalists imprisoned in China. Among
them are the iconic journalists Ilham Tohti, founder of the Uyghur Online news site, and Gulmira Imin, of
the Salkin news site.
Twelve journalists are also detained in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
They include Jimmy Lai, the founder of the Apple Daily newspaper, who is facing the
possibility of a life sentence under Hong Kong’s draconian national security law in a trial
due to start on 18 December 2023.
The Chinese authorities also do not hesitate to prosecute foreign journalists or those with dual
nationality. The Swedish journalist and publisher Gui Minhai was sentenced to ten years in prison in 2020,
while the Chinese-Australian political commentator Yang Hengjun has been detained for “espionage”
since 2019.
Seven more journalists were arrested by Xi Jinping’s government in 2023. One
of them, still behind bars, is Li Yanhe, the Taiwan-based host of a programme on Radio
Taiwan International, who was arrested when he went to China to renounce his Chinese
citizenship. He has been held incommunicado in Shanghai since March 2023.
Myanmar: 68 detained, three new convictions
Sixty-eight Burmese journalists are imprisoned in Myanmar, 34 of whom are still
awaiting trial. Those who have been tried have been handed heavy sentences, generally
on spurious charges such as “sedition” or “spreading fake news.” As such, in September
2023, the Burmese military junta handed down the heaviest sentence against a
journalist since taking power in 2021: 20 years in prison for photojournalist Sai Zaw
Thaike.
Sai Zaw Thaike
© Kon Blai_Myanmar Now
Li Yanhe
© RTI
Jimmy Lai
© AFP-RSF-APR-680wide

2
Belarus: persecution of the media and journalists
In 2023, Belarus took third place on the podium of the world’s biggest jailers of journalists while continuing
to fall in RSF’s World Press Freedom Index, ranking 157th out of 180 countries, as a result of dictator
Alexander Lukashenko’s persecution of independent media. In July 2023, the Supreme Court rejected
the appeals of Maryna Zolatava, the editor of Tut.by, the country’s most widely read media outlet until its
closure in 2021, and Liudmila Chekina, its director. Listed as “terrorists” by the government, these two
journalists’ 12-year prison sentences, handed down on 17 March 2023, were upheld.
Vietnam: muzzled journalists
As the only sources of freely reported information in a country where the press is
under the orders of the single party, independent journalists and bloggers are regularly
targeted by the authorities. Thirty-six journalists are detained in Vietnam, including
20 bloggers, such as Nguyen Lan Thang, who was sentenced to eight years in prison
for “anti-state propaganda” in April 2023.
The ruling party’s repression also reaches beyond its borders. After being kidnapped in Thailand in April
2023, investigative reporter Duong Van Thai resurfaced three months later in detention in Vietnam, where
he now awaits a trial on a charge of “anti-state propaganda,” which carries a possible 20-year sentence.
Journalists imprisoned in Vietnam are almost systematically subjected to degrading treatment and denied
access to medical care. Two independent journalists, Pham Chi Dung and Le Trong Hung, began a
hunger strike mid-2023 in protest against the conditions in which they were being held.
Imprisoned by Russia’s repressive machine
Twenty-eight journalists are detained in Russia, including two US citizens. One is Wall
Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich, being held for “espionage” since 29
March 2023. The other is Alsu Kurmasheva, an American-Russian journalist who works
for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Prague (Czech Republic). Since 18 October 2023,
she has been languishing in a prison in Tatarstan, her region of origin, where she had
gone to visit her ailing mother. She is accused of failing to declare herself a “foreign
agent” and is facing a possible five-year sentence.
Nguyen Lan Thang
© Facebook
Alsu Kurmasheva
© RFERL

Other prisons around the world
In India, Jammu and Kashmir now independent journalism’s prison
Since 2019, the Jammu and Kashmir region has lost its political autonomy and is now administered by the
central government’s Hindu nationalist party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, hostile to criticism from journalists.
Laws meant to combat terrorism are regularly used to silence criticism, with five journalists currently
imprisoned in this territory of the union. The latest is independent journalist Majid Hyderi, jailed under
the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act on 15 September 2023.
Tightening of the situation in North Africa
Press freedom has deteriorated in North Africa. Since Kais Saied became president in Tunisia in 2019,
dozens of journalists have been arrested for criticising him and two are still being held. One is Chadha
Hadj Mbarek, a reporter for the daily Le Maghreb, who has been jailed since 22 July 2023. The other is
Khalifa Guesmi, a journalist with the privately owned Radio Mosaïque, who was sentenced to five years
in prison on 16 May 2023.
In Algeria, two journalists are currently behind bars: Mustapha Bendjama, a journalist
and editor-in-chief of the Le Provincial newspaper and Ihsane El Kadi, the founder
and director of independent media outlets Maghreb Émergent and Radio M. The latter
was sentenced on appeal in June 2023 to five years in prison with another two years
suspended.
In Morocco, three journalists are still in prison, having been sentenced to long prison terms:
Taoufik Bouachrine, the former publisher of the daily Akhbar El Youm, investigative reporter Omar Radi,
and journalist Soulaimane Raissouni. As their appeals to the court of cassation, the highest appeals
court, were rejected – in 2021 for Bouachrine and in 2023 for his two colleagues – their only hope of an
early release lies in a royal pardon.
Detention as a means of intimidation of Turkish journalists
In Türkiye, 43 journalists were jailed in 2023, a number that demonstrates the extent with which
detention is used as a method of intimidation. Seven of these journalists are still behind bars. They
include four Kurdish journalists who are being detained provisionally in investigations targeting about ten
employees of pro-Kurdish media. Kurdish journalists are particularly targeted by the Turkish authorities.
During a wave of arrests in April 2023, 13 Kurdish journalists were jailed on the eve of the presidential
elections.
2
Ihsane El Kadi
© RADIO M

2
Women harshly repressed
As of 1 December 2023, 67 female journalists were being detained, 8 of whom were imprisoned in 2023.
China, Belarus and Myanmar are the three biggest jailers of female journalists (as they are for their male
counterparts), as well as being the countries that hand down the longest sentences. In the Middle East, it
is especially in Iran that women face the greatest pressure.
Six of the eight heaviest sentences are handed down to women
In Belarus, nearly one in four imprisoned journalists is a women
Belarus, the world’s third biggest jailer of journalists in 2023, is also the country holding the most
women journalists (10) after China (14).
In 2023, the prison sentences handed down to women journalists were particularly heavy. Maryna
Zolatava, the editor-in-chief of the Tut.by news site, and Liudmila Chekina, its director, were each
sentenced to 12 years in prison on 17 March 2023. Belarussian Yearbook editor Valeriya Kastsiuhova
was sentenced to ten years in prison.
Women jailed in Iran for their coverage of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement
Five of the 31 women journalists imprisoned for their coverage of the “Woman, Life, Freedom”
movement , which followed Mahsa Amini’s death on 16 September 2022, are still in prison. They
include Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, reporters with Shargh Daily and Han Mihan,
respectively, who covered the story.
In addition to these five journalists, Narges Mohammadi, who has been detained since 16 November
2021, has continued to inform the world about the violence inflicted on women in prison. She was awarded
the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize on 6 November 2023.
20 years Sai Zaw Thaike Myanmar
14 years Xu Zhiyong China
13 years Niloofar Hamedi Iran
12 years Maryna Zolatava Belarus
12 years Lioudmila Tchekina Belarus
12 years Elaheh Mohammadi Iran
10 years Floriane Irangabiye Burundi
10 years Valeriya Kastsiouhova Belarus

2
Floriane Irangabiye sentenced to ten years in prison in Burundi
While visiting her family in Burundi, the host of a debate programme on Burundian politics
and culture on the Rwanda-based Radio Igicanir, Floriane Irangabiye, was arrested by
the National Intelligence Service on 20 August 2022. Accused of having “endangered
the integrity of the national territory”, she was sentenced on 3 January 2023 to ten years
in prison – one of the heaviest sentences handed down to any journalist in 2023.
Symbolic imprisonments
Stanis Bujakera Tshimala: wrongly accused of being a “counterfeiter”
The Congolese journalist with the most social media followers, Stanis Bujakera
Tshimala, correspondent of, among others, Jeune Afrique, has been languishing in
prison since 8 September 2023 for allegedly fabricating and circulating a Congolese
intelligence agency memo about the death of a political opponent. RSF investigated the
circumstances of the arrest and determined that he could not have been the memo’s
author. Nonetheless, despite the absence of incriminating evidence, a trial is underway,
and Stanis Bujakera is facing up to ten years in prison.
Jose Rubén Zamora: victim of psychological torture
In Guatemala, the founder of the daily elPeriódico, Jose Rubén Zamora, was arrested
on 29 July 2022, five days after publishing an investigation into alleged cases of
corruption involving persons close to President Alejandro Giammattei. When RSF visited
him in Guatemala City’s Mariscal Zavala prison in May 2023, Zamora said he had
been subjected to psychological torture. Despite an appeals court overturning his six-year
prison sentence in October 2023, the winner of the 2023 RSF Prize for Independence
remains in prison pending a retrial scheduled to begin on 5 February 2024.
Floriane Irangabiye
© XXXXX
Stanis Bujakera
Tshiamala
© 2023 Agence Afrique
Jose Rubén Zamora
© EFE

2
Mohamed “Oxygen”: in solitary confinement for 6 months
The creator of the blog Oxygen Misr (“Egypt’s Oxygen”), Mohamed Ibrahim Radwan, known under the
pseudonym Mohamed “Oxygen”, winner of the 2023 RSF Prize for Courage, has faced inhumane
detention conditions. Imprisoned since 2019 for his coverage of protests in Egypt, he has been held in
solitary confinement in Cairo’s Badr prison since May 2023 for trying to defend one of his fellow
prisoners.
Xu Zhiyong: 14-year sentence in 2023 for revelations about Covid-19
Six journalists are still being detained in China, Bangladesh and Vietnam for
criticising their governments’ handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. They include
Chinese journalist Xu Zhiyong, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison in April
2023 for “subversion.” Detained for the past three years, he is often subjected to torture.
Endless extradition proceedings for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange
The founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, faces 18 charges in the United States for publishing classified
documents revealing information of public interest in 2010. If the US government succeeds in obtaining
his extradition from the United Kingdom, he faces an exorbitant 175-year prison sentence for his
contribution to journalism. A final hearing before the UK High Court could be convened soon and could
prove decisive.
Mortaza Behboudi free at last!
On 18 October 2023, the Franco-Afghan journalist Mortaza Behboudi was released
after being held for 284 days in Afghanistan. RSF had been working tirelessly for his
release ever since his arrest by the Taliban in Kabul on 7 January 2023.
Xu Zhiyong
© China Change
Mortaza Behboudi
©Julien de Rosa _ AFP

4 NON-PROFESSIONAL
JOURNALISTS
47
PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS
3 MEDIA
WORKERS
-16.9%
3
JOURNALISTS HELD HOSTAGE
Hostage: RSF considers that a journalist is a hostage from the moment they are being deprived of their freedom by a
non-state actor who combines this deprivation of liberty with threats to kill or injure them, or continue to detain them with the
aim of coercing a third party to perform or refrain from performing an act as an explicit or implicit condition for the hostage’s
release, safety or well-being.
51 men 3 women
Press Press
(65 in 2022)
54
HELD HOSTAGE
52
local
journalists
2
foreign
journalists
PRESS
The figures

Iraq
9
38
Syria
4
Yemen
3
High risk countries
54 journalists held hostage in five countries
At least 54 media professionals are currently being held hostage in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Mexico and
Mali. Nearly half of these journalists (25) were kidnapped by the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq or Syria
between 2013 and 2015.
The recorded number of journalists held hostage in 2023 is the lowest among those recorded since 2017.
Of the seven journalists abducted in 2023 (Mexico, Haiti, Yemen, Mali), two are still in captivity
in Mali.
2
Mali
1
Mexico

Seven releases in Yemen: journalists as bargaining chips
On 16 April 2023, four Yemeni journalists who had been held hostage for eight years and sentenced
to death for “espionage” by the Houthi rebels in Yemen breathed a sigh of relief. The journalists Hareth
Homaid, Tawfik al-Mansouri and Abdul Khaleq Amran – who worked for the Yemen Revolution Press
agency – and Akram al-Walidi – who worked for Alrabie-ye.net and the SABA agency – were released
as part of a prisoner swap between the Houthi rebel and Yemen’s internationally recognised government.
Three other journalists, Muhammad Ali Al-Junaid, Mohamed Abdo Al-Salahi and Fahed Al-Arhabi,
were released later in the year. Of the 11 journalists recorded as hostages in Yemen at the end of 2022,
four are still being held.
In Mali, Olivier Dubois released, two other journalists abducted
Two years of campaigning for the release of Olivier Dubois, a French journalist held
hostage in Mali, ended successfully on 20 March 2023, when he was finally freed after
being held hostage for 711 days in Mali. He had been kidnapped by the Support Group
for Islam and Muslims (JNIM) on 8 April 2021 in Gao, a city in northeastern Mali that is
200 km from the border with Burkina Faso and Niger. No French journalist had been a
captive for such a long time since 1980 in Lebanon.
The relief resulting from Dubois’ release was short-lived. Two Malian journalists – Radio
Coton FM director Saleck Ag Jiddou and Radio Coton FM presenter Moustapha
Koné – were on their way to a workshop in Gao on 7 November 2023 when they were
abducted by an armed group that initially opened fire on their car, killing Abdoul Aziz
Djibrilla, a community radio journalist travelling with them.
Mexico: media outlet editor still held hostage
Alán García Aguilar, the founder and editor of Escenario Calentano, a media outlet
known for its coverage of criminal gangs and corruption in the Tierra Caliente region of
southern Mexico’s Guerrero state, was kidnapped at the end of December 2022 along
with two people believed to have contributed to this local news page, Jesús Pintor Alegre
and Fernando Moreno Villegas. Only the latter were released on 11 January 2023.
Olivier Dubois
© Souleymane AG ANARA _ AFP
Alán García Aguilar
© Facebook
3

Iraq: no news of nine journalists held hostage since the fall of the Islamic State
There has been no recent proof of life of the nine journalists currently held hostage in Iraq. Sumariya TV
journalists Rim Zeid and Marouane Khazaal were abducted by unidentified gunmen in Baghdad in 2006.
The seven other journalists were kidnapped by the Islamic State (ISIS) between 2014 and 2015 in Mosul,
which the Iraqi armed forces retook in 2017.
No recent proof of life of the 38 hostages held in Syria
Six years after Islamic State’s defeat, RSF has no news of 38 journalists who were kidnapped in Syria
between 2012 and 2021. They include three Syrian employees of Istanbul-based Orient TV – reporter
Obeida Batal, technician Aboud Al-Atik and soundman Hosam Nizam Al-Dine – who were kidnapped
40 km north of Aleppo in July 2013.
In addition to holding two of the world’s only three female journalists hostage, Syria is also the
only country where foreign journalists are being held captive. They are the Mauritanian reporter Ishak
Mokhtar and Lebanese cameraman Samir Kassab, who were working for the Emirati TV channel Sky
News Arabia when they were abducted, together with their Syrian driver, whose anonymity has been
requested by his family, near Aleppo in October 2013.
Ten years later, a French court revives the case of Syrian woman journalist’s abduction
In July 2023, the Judicial Court of Paris ordered the indictment of Majdi Nema, the
former leader of the Syrian Islamist rebel group Jaysh al-Islam, for “complicity in war
crimes and forced disappearances,” including the disappearance of Razan Zaitouneh, a
Syrian woman journalist who was a member of the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom
of Expression (SCM). Zaitouneh was kidnapped on 9 December 2013, while documenting
crimes committed by the government and rebel groups in Syria.
Razan Zaitouneh
© DR
3

JOURNALIST 1
NON-PROFESSIONAL
82 PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS
1 MEDIA
WORKER
4
MISSING JOURNALISTS
+9.09%
79 men 5 women
Press Press
Missing journalist: RSF classifies journalists as missing when there is not enough evidence to determine if they were victims
of a homicide or abduction and no credible claim of responsibility has been made.
Reported missing: Default status when a journalist or media worker is missing, when it is not known whether they were
taken hostage, are in state custody or were killed, when evidence of death or abduction is non-existent or insufficient, and
when no credible claim of responsibility has been made.
Enforced disappearance: Under international law, it is characterised by three essential criteria: deprivation of freedom by
an official authority (or a group acting in its name, with its support, or with its consent), combined with the refusal either to
recognise this deprivation, or to reveal the fate of the person concerned and their location.
84
DISPARUS
(77 en 2022)
71
local
journalists
13
foreign
journalists
39
enforced disappearances
45
reported missing
PRESS
The figures

4
Seven new disappearances in 2023
The long list of missing media professionals (84) continued to grow in 2023: seven journalists disappeared
in Palestine (2), Sudan (2), Russia (1), Mexico (1) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (1).
To date, of the 84 journalists missing worldwide, 39 are the victims of enforced disappearances –
deprivation of freedom involving state agents who deny that the victim has been detained or conceal their
fate and place of detention.
MISSING JOURNALISTS
Russia
2
9
Syria
5
Kosovo
Countries with the most missing journalists
3
Mali
31
Mexico
3
Colombia
High-risk regions
Americas 43
Maghreb and Middle East 16
Africa 13
Europe - Central Asia 8
Asia 4

4
MISSING JOURNALISTS
Number of journalists missing in Mexico now exceeds 30
Juan Carlos Hinojosa Viveros, a photojournalist and editor of the online media outlet La de 8 News,
has been missing since 6 July 2023. He joins the 30 other Mexican journalists who have disappeared, a
figure that testifies to the extent of the threats weighing on the media profession in this country. Of these
31 cases, eight are regarded as enforced disappearances, including Mexican journalists Mauricio
Estrada Zamora (La Opinión de Apatzingán) and Ramón Ángeles Zalpa (Cambio de Michoacán), who
disappeared in 2008 and 2010 respectively. These two cases were referred to the UN Human Rights
Committee by RSF and its Mexican partner organisation Propuesta Cívica on 2 November 2022.
More than half of missing journalists are in Latin America
More than half (43) of the missing journalists disappeared in Latin America. Four of the five women
journalists currently listed as missing worldwide also disappeared in this region. They include Sara Cristina
Chan Chan Medina, a photographer who has been missing in El Salvador since 19 August 1989.
Russia: enforced disappearances of two Ukrainian journalists in 2023
Victoria Roshchyna, a 26-year-old freelance journalist, disappeared on 3 August 2023
after setting off via Russia to report from Ukraine’s illegally occupied territories. According
to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), she was captured by Russian occupation forces.
In 2023, RSF also revealed the enforced disappearance of Dmytro Khyliuk, a Ukrainian
journalist working for the Ukrainian News Agency (UNIAN). Arrested on 3 March 2022
in Dymer, a town north of Kyiv, Khyliuk is believed to be incarcerated in Russia, according
to an RSF investigation.
DRC: second radio station director missing
The disappearance of radio Voix de Mikeno director Byamungu Garubanda in February 2023 brings
to mind the disappearance of another radio station director, Bwira Bwalitse, in June 2020. These two
enforced disappearances in Nord-Kivu province, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo,
underscored the dangers that the media face in the DRC and in this province in particular.
Palestine: two journalists disappeared on first day of war
On 7 October 2023, the first day of the war between Israel and Hamas, two Palestinian
photojournalists – Haytham Abdel Wahed of Ain Media and Nidal al-Wahidi of News Press and
Al Najah – disappeared while covering clashes at the Erez crossing point in Beit Hanoun.
Imran Riaz Khan: a noteworthy release in 2023
In Pakistan, BOL News star TV anchor Imran Riaz Khan, who went missing on 11 May 2023 during
protests following former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s arrest, was released by his kidnappers on
25 September, four months after his abduction.
Victoria Roshchyna
© Instagram

Compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) every year since 1995, the annual round-
up of violence and abuses against journalists is based on data collected throughout the
year. We gather detailed information that allows us to affirm with certainty or a great deal
of confidence that the death, detention or abduction of each journalist was a direct result
of their journalistic work.
RSF only counts journalists who fall within the scope of its mandate, that is to say, anyone
who – by any means of communication and on a regular or professional basis – collects,
processes and disseminates news, information and ideas in such a way as to serve the
general interest and the public’s fundamental rights, all the while respecting the principles
of freedom of expression and journalistic ethics.
The 2023 Round-up figures compiled by RSF include professional journalists, non-
professional journalists and media workers. The round-up distinguishes these categories
in its breakdowns in order to facilitate comparison with previous years.
The figures in this round-up were compiled on 1 December 2023 and don’t take into
account arrests, releases, deaths or disappearances that took place after that date. The
latest figures appear in RSF’s Press Freedom Index, which is updated on a regular basis.
METHODOLOGY
CREDITS
Editorial director: Anne Bocandé
Data journalist: Blanche Marès
Data journalist (intern): Alix Mayence
Translator editor: Michael Tarr and Pénélope Souquet
Editor: Anne-Laure Chanteloup with Robin Dussenne
Contributors: RSF’s regional desks and bureaus (Africa, Asia-Pacific, East Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Maghreb
and Middle East, Latin America and North America)
Layout: Stéphanie Barcelo

REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS (RSF) defends and
promotes journalistic freedom, independence and pluralism.
Headquartered in Paris, it has consultative status with the UN
and UNESCO, has 13 international bureaus and sections,
and has correspondents in more than 130 countries.
INTERNATIONAL SECRETARIAT - CS 90247 - 75083 PARIS CEDEX 02 - TEL. +33 1 4483 8484
WWW.RSF.ORG

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