Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Aqleh is the 26th journalist to lose her life in the exercise …
of the profession in 2022. Her name adds to the already sizeable list compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which since last January has surveyed 25 journalists killed – including four women – and two media workers in a dozen countries. The most critical situations for news workers, whatever their assignment, are found in Mexico, one of the most dangerous countries by far for those in the profession, and in Ukraine, since last Feb. 24 the scene of a conflict with Russia.
In Mexico as many as 8 journalists and media workers have been killed, in chronological order Jose Luis Gamboa Arenas (Jan. 10), Alfonso Margarito Martìnez Esquivel (Jan. 17), Lourdes Maldonado Lòpez (Jan. 21), Roberto Toledo (Jan. 31), Heber Lòpez Vàsquez (Feb. 10), Jorge LuisCamero (Feb. 24), Juan Carlos Muniz (March 4) and Armando Linares (March 15). In Ukraine, there are so far 7 casualties among those working in information, whether local or foreign journalists on the ground to document the conflict: Evgeny Sakun (March 1), Brent Renaud (March 13), Pierre Zakrzewski and Oleksandra Kuvshynova (March 15), Oksana Baoulina (23), Max Levin (April 1) and Mantas Kvedaravicius (April 2). In Yemen, ravaged by more than 7 years of war, two journalists lost their lives-Marwan Al-Makradi last Feb. 6 and Fawaz Alwafy on March 23.