PHOTOS: Remembering 53 journalists lost in 2018

Fifty-three journalists were killed in 2018, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. There were high-profile deaths — most notably the murder of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi — allegedly by the government of Saudi Arabia, and the mass shooting in the newsroom of the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Md., that killed five people. Ten journalists were murdered in Afghanistan, with nearly a dozen more were killed in crossfire across the Middle East, including in Yemen and Syria. Time magazine named “The Guardians” as its 2018 Person of the Year, citing a war on free press across the globe.

“Today, democracy around the world faces its biggest crisis in decades, its foundations undermined by invective from on high and toxins from below, by new technologies that power ancient impulses, by a poisonous cocktail of strongmen and weakening institutions,” wrote Edward Felsenthal, the magazine’s editor in chief, about the publication’s choice. “From Russia to Riyadh to Silicon Valley, manipulation and abuse of truth is the common thread in so many of this year’s major headlines, an insidious and growing threat to freedom.”

Khashoggi’s death was the highest-profile killing; he was allegedly assassinated by Saudi Arabian operatives at the country’s consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. Khashoggi had been a critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and officials from both the Turkish and U.S. governments said there is evidence that orders he be killed came from the highest level of the Saudi Arabian government.

The murders at the Capital Gazette newspaper happened on June 28 when a gunman who had sued the paper for defamation opened fire with a shotgun in its Annapolis offices. Five people were killed: Columnist and editor Gerald Fischman, columnist and editor Rob Hiaasen, sports reporter John McNamara, community reporter Wendi Winters and sales assistant Rebecca Smith. The community mourned but the staff stayed on the job, with reporter Chase Cook tweeting in the aftermath of the attack, “I can tell you this: We are putting out a damn paper tomorrow.”

Slovakian investigative reporter Ján Kuciak, 27, and his girlfriend were shot to death in late February. Kuciak was known for his inquiries into fraud about the ruling class of Slovakia, and police suspect his murder was tied to his work. His death inspired a wave of protests across Slovakia, eventually leading to the resignation of the prime minister, Robert Fico, amid charges of corruption. Three people were charged in the double homicide in September.

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Here is a list of journalists killed in 2018:

Abadullah Hananzai

Abdul Manan Arghand

Abdul Rahman Ismael Yassin

Abdullah al-Qadry

Abdullahi Mire Hashi

Achyutananda Sahu

Ahmed Abu Hussein

Ahmed Azize

Aleksandr Rastorguyev

Ali Saleemi

Ángel Eduardo Gahona

Bashar al-Attar

Carlos Domínguez Rodríguez

Chandan Tiwari

Gerald Fischman

Ghazi Rasooli

Hamoud al-Jnaid

Ibrahim al-Munjar

Jairo Sousa

Jamal Khashoggi

Ján Kuciak

Jefferson Pureza Lopes

John McNamara

Juan Javier Ortega Reyes

Kamel abu al-Walid

Kirill Radchenko

Leobardo Vázquez Atzinm

Leslie Ann Pamela Montenegro del Real

Maharram Durrani

Mario Leonel Gómez Sánchez

Mohammad al-Qadasi

Mohammad Salim Angaar

Musa Abdul Kareem

Mustafa Salamah

Navin Nischal

Nawruz Ali Rajabi

Obeida abu Omar

Omar Ezzi Mohammad

Orkhan Dzhemal

Paúl Rivas Bravo

Raed Fares

Ramiz Ahmadi

Rob Hiaasen

Sabawoon Kakar

Saleem Talash

Samim Faramarz

Sandeep Sharma

Shah Marai

Shujaat Bukhari

Sohail Khan

Wendi Winters

Yar Mohammad Tokhi

Yasser Murtaja

See our 2018 year-end features >>>

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