International Journalists’ Union Reports Record High of Journalist Killings in 2025
According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has released alarming statistics for 2025, documenting the deaths of 128 journalists globally. More than half of these fatalities occurred in the Middle East, highlighting the region as the most dangerous for media workers.
IFJ Secretary-General Anthony Bellanger, in an interview with AFP, described the figures as not just numbers but a global red alert for journalists. The 2025 death toll surpasses the previous year’s count, signaling a worsening environment for press freedom.
The IFJ expressed grave concern over the dire situation for journalists in Palestinian territories, where 56 were killed—an unprecedented number. Bellanger emphasized that such a high death toll in such a short period and confined area had never been recorded before.
The report also noted journalist killings in Yemen, Ukraine, Sudan, Peru, and India, condemning the prevailing impunity for perpetrators. The IFJ warned that the lack of justice enables killers of journalists to continue their actions unchecked.
Additionally, the federation raised concerns over the record number of imprisoned journalists worldwide, which has reached 533. The IFJ’s annual figures are higher than those reported by Reporters Without Borders, which documented 67 journalist deaths in 2025, and UNESCO, which recorded 93. These discrepancies stem from differing methodologies, with the IFJ including journalists who died in accidents.
