Journalism under threat

From Russia to Latin America, China or the Maghreb, the press is under threat.

Violence against journalists, carried out in multiple forms through harassment, government censorship, intimidation, imprisonment, and murder, continues.

In recent weeks there have been several episodes that should not only raise the concern of local authorities and international organizations, but also require unanimous condemnation and an immediate response.

Freedom of information is not an empty label and it is not enough to recognize it on paper or decree it.

Journalism needs basic conditions for its exercise: one of them is security and another is respect for political power and other powers.

The most widespread threat to reporters comes from organized crime, mafias, cartels, and delinquency.

However, sometimes danger lies in government palaces.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, where 12 communicators died last year, according to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), also has repercussions far from the war fronts.

whom the Kremlin accuses of espionage,

was arrested in the Urals region .

The judge's first decision was to keep Evan Gershkovich in pretrial detention, while his case has been declared top secret.

At the same time, journalism is increasingly under siege in the Maghreb.

A recent report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) warns of the setbacks suffered by, for example, Morocco, which wants to end self-regulation;

Algeria, whose authorities seek to restrict professional secrecy, or Tunisia, where the director of the main radio station was jailed in the middle of a raid against opponents.

According to this study, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia and Finland are the countries in which press freedom is most respected.

At the tail, North Korea and, five positions behind, China.

In Latin America, the job of reporting has never ceased to be a risky activity.

The case of Rafael Moreno, a reporter who risked his life denouncing local corruption in one of the most violent regions of Colombia, is one of the most recent.

He was shot by a hitman last October and his investigations could continue because before the attack he came into contact with the Forbidden Stories consortium, which brings together more than 30 international media, including EL PAÍS, The Guardian or

Monde

Mexico has become the most dangerous place on the planet to practice the profession of journalist.

To the south, things do not change.

Not as many die as in Mexico, but the persecution is atrocious.

Exile, if not jail, is already part of the routine of many journalists, from Bolivia to Honduras or Guatemala, where one of the banners of this profession, José Zamora, remains in prison.

The situation in Central America continues to be more than worrying: in El Salvador, a newspaper like

that has uncovered the corruption of all layers of power, has been forced to move its operations to Costa Rica due to the persecution of the Nayib Bukele regime.

Not to mention Nicaragua, where the autocracy of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo has expelled practically all the informants, who mostly work from Costa Rica.

The outlook is bleak and calls for immediate action by international organizations.

It also appeals to society as a whole when today so many interests are trying to discredit one of the essential elements of any democracy throughout the world.