There were more attacks on journalists in Germany in 2023 than in the previous year, the European Center for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) has found.
After 56 cases in 2022, 69 cases of physical attacks on journalists were recorded last year, the non-profit organization announced on Tuesday in its annual long-term analysis.
The capital Berlin had the most cases, with 25. The eastern state of Saxony had the most recorded attacks in the past year.
Demonstrations are the most dangerous environment for Germany’s media workers, the analysis shows, with 77% of known cases linked to protests. Of the 53 cases, 40% were recorded during pro-Palestinian rallies.
The previous analysis pointed out that the lack of anonymity could pose a security problem for journalists in their local environment.
The German Association of Newspaper Publishers and Digital Publishers (BDZV) has been involved in the research for several years.
BDZV director Sigrun Albert said some of the threatened local journalists had also been the target of attacks in recent years.
The organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) recently published its own figures, showing that there has actually been a decline in the number of attacks on German media workers, from 103 in 2022 to 41 in 2023.
