The first was a columnist and commentator in Lebanon. Then there were 29 others around the world – among them bureau chiefs, editors, correspondents, print reporters, a photojournalist and a reporter who was also a poet.
These were 30 journalists murdered for their work in 1992, the first year CPJ began documenting journalist killings. None of their murderers have ever been brought to justice.
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Source: Committee to Protect Journalists
Map by Geoff McGhee for CPJ
This decades-long wait for some form of accountability, and closure, for family, friends and colleagues of these journalists is devastatingly emblematic of how the vast majority of journalists’ killers have complete impunity, meaning they get away with murder. In 1992, only a single murdered journalist received some form of justice. In this year’s CPJ Golbal Impunity Index, which measures a decade-long period from 2014-2024, nearly 80% of murder cases still have complete impunity.
These 30 have endured the longest wait. CPJ has limited information on many of them, which reflects its limitations in both communications and resources in the 1990s.
But every bit of information we have gathered is a powerful reminder of who they were, and what the world lost when they were slain for daring to do their jobs.