Advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said on Wednesday press freedom had experienced a "deep and disturbing decline" in 2015, as war, organized crime and corruption, among other concerns, had led to a clampdown on free speech.

According to the World Press Index, which ranks 180 countries according to things like media independence, self-censorship, rule of law and transparency, every region in the world saw a major decline.

Latin America, in particular, fared poorly in 2015, with countries like Venezuela and Ecuador suffering from "institutionalized violence," and journalists in Honduras, Colombia and Brazil suffocating from crime, impunity and corruption, respectively.

'A new era of propaganda'

"We are entering a new era of propaganda where new technologies allow the low-cost dissemination of their own communication, their information, as dictated," Christophe Deloire of Reporters Without Borders told AFP news agency. "On the other side, journalists are the ones who get in the way."

Syria, which has experienced constant warfare for around five years, was among the lowest-ranked countries on the list, but Reporters Without Borders noted that journalists across the Middle East and Central Asia, in general, became victims of terrorism and violence.

In East Asia, meanwhile, democracies like Japan and South Korea saw a sharp decline in press freedom, while China's Communist Party was accused of taking "repression to new heights."

Europe has the freest media, according to the report, but countries like Poland and Hungary scored fairly low on the index because of government efforts to suppress dissent.

19 citizen journalists killed in 2015 Syria tops the list Ten out of a total of 19 citizen journalists and bloggers were murdered in war-torn Syria. Citizen journalist Dirar Moussa al-Jahid was killed on January 1 and the killing spree ended with Jumua al-Ahmed, who died on October 27.

19 citizen journalists killed in 2015 IS critic beheaded in Turkey Syrian citizen journalist Ibrahim Abd al-Qader, known for campaigning against the "Islamic State" in Syria, was shot and beheaded on October 30 in Turkey. Al-Qader’s friend and fellow citizen journalist, Naji al-Jerf, was killed on December 27 in southern Turkey for his work, according to Johann Bihr, the head of RSF's Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk.

19 citizen journalists killed in 2015 Citizen journalist killed by 'Islamic State' Iraqi citizen journalist Zuhair Kinan al-Nahass was executed on August 9 by militants of the "Islamic State" (IS) for publishing an image of a burned-out IS car targeted by an international coalition missile in Mosul. Rights groups said that the picture, which he took from inside his house, went viral soon after it was posted on the internet.

19 citizen journalists killed in 2015 Bloggers hacked to death in Bangladesh Four atheist bloggers were hacked to death this year in Bangladesh for their writings against religious fundamentalism. Avijit Roy, a US blogger of Bangladeshi origin, was killed on February 26. Three other bloggers, Washiqur Rahman Babu, Niloy Neel and Ananta Bijoy Das were killed in similar attacks.

19 citizen journalists killed in 2015 Blogger beheaded in Brazil Brazilian blogger Evany José Metzkerwas was killed on May 18. He was tortured, scalped and then beheaded by unknown assailants, local media said. Metzkerwas was investigating child prostitution cases in the South American country.

19 citizen journalists killed in 2015 Peace activist killed in Pakistan Online activist Sabeen Mahmud was killed in Karachi, the capital of the Sindh province of Pakistan, on April 24. She was shot by a gunman while driving in the city. Mahmud was a critic of Pakistan's army and its human rights violations in Balochistan.

19 citizen journalists killed in 2015 Nine more killed for 'unclear' reasons Nine other netizens and citizen journalists were killed this year for unclear reasons, Reporters Without Borders said. According to the Paris-based media watchdog, 67 professional journalists were killed in 2015 for their work. New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has put the figure at 69. Author: Arafatul Islam



blc/jil (AFP, AP)