A Bright Spot at the End of a Dangerous Year for Journalists

Richard Engel, NBC’s chief foreign correspondent, has been freed along with his crew following five days of captivity in Syria. Engel and his team were captured by an unknown group last Thursday when trying to cross into Syria from Turkey. They were freed from their hostage-takers following a firefight at a rebel checkpoint on Monday.

For journalists, “Syria was by far the deadliest country in 2012,” according to the CPJ, as “28 journalists [were] killed in combat or targeted for murder by government or opposition forces.” Worldwide, there have already been a record number of journalists jailed this year, and 2012 is one of the deadliest years for journalists since CPJ began tracking the figures. As of this writing, 67 journalists have been killed this year for reasons directly related to their work. Thirty-two additional murders are still under investigation.