Today is November 2, 2022, the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists.
Could you imagine a world without journalism?
“The purpose of journalism is thus to provide citizens with the information they need to make the best possible decisions about their lives, their communities, their societies, and their governments.” — American Press Institute.
CPJ.org reports 263 globally recorded cases of journalists murdered in retaliation for their work over the past decade and 933 since1992; nearly 80% of them go with impunity.
Seventy-two of the murder victims were women. Here are a few of their stories:
Maria Elizabeth Macías Castro was editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper Primera Hora and blogger; Online, she was known as “NenaDLaredo” or “La Nena De Laredo.” She would share valuable information about Gang and Drug activity online and denounce the cartels.
She was found dead on Sep. 24, 2011, in Nuevo Laredo; her body was decapitated. Beside her, a cryptic well-placed message: “…For those who do not want to believe, this happened to me for my actions, for trusting ‘Sedena’ (Mexico’s Army) and ‘Marina’ (Mexico’s Navy). Thank you for your attention. Sincerely, ‘La Nena de Laredo’ (Elisabeth Macías’ pseudo name)… ZZZZ”. The signature with the letter ‘Z’ suggests a strong link to the notorious cartel ‘Los Zetas.’ Her case was the first documented murder in direct retaliation for online journalism.
Wendy Winters, a sixty-five-year-old reporter, moved to Maryland and began working as a stringer for the Capital Gazette, where she built a reputation for connecting with the community, her colleagues told The Baltimore Sun. Winters left behind a son and three daughters. She wrote for news services and a Manhattan weekly, The Baltimore Sun reports.
On June 28, 2018, Winters, 65, was one of five people killed in retaliation for their Journalism. Wendi reportedly picked up a trash can and charged at the gunman who opened fire in the Capital Gazette newsroom on June 28; Winters’ heroic action allowed her colleagues to escape. Her son, Phoenix Geimer, said she was an American Hero. The gunman Jarrod Ramos has been charged with five counts of murder and pleaded criminally insane. Fortunately, he was sentenced to multiple life sentences and an additional 345 years.
On October 7, 2006, prominent Russian journalist and human rights activist Anna Politkovskaya was brutally murdered after receiving several threats. Politkovskaya was carrying groceries to her central Moscow home when she was shot four times at close range. She was found dead in the apartment building’s elevator. Six men have been convicted in the case, and the last trial occurred in 2014. However, Politkovskaya’s assassination is widely believed to have been a contract killing, with the identity of those who ordered it still unknown. Politkovskaya was a Russian journalist and human rights activist who reported on political events in Russia, particularly the Second Chechen War (1999–2005). Her reporting from Chechnya made Politkovskaya’s national and international reputation. For seven years, she refused to give up reporting on the war despite numerous acts of intimidation and violence. Politkovskaya was arrested by Russian military forces in Chechnya and subjected to a mock execution, a form of physiological torture. Politkovskaya was a fierce and fearless critic of Vladimir Putin, and her reporting exposed high-level corruption in Russia. She was a renowned war reporter of Russia’s second war in Chechnya. She traveled there often, writing award-winning reports for Novaya Gazeta on human rights violations, murders, torture, and kidnappings on both sides of the conflict.
Politkovskaya also raised accusations against Ramzan Kadyrov, who later became the head of the Chechen Republic and has led the state in an autocratic and oppressive manner in cooperation with the Kremlin since 2007. At the time of her death, she was finishing a story on the investigation of torture in Chechnya.
