Ernest Sagaga, IFJ's head of human rights and safety, says that while the goals of armed groups in Afghanistan and in Mexico may be different, they employ the same strategy to attack and suppress journalists.

Recent cases like the killing of Western journalists investigating corruption in Malta and Slovakia has garnered attention but Mahoney says this is only part of a bigger picture.

"Sometimes they'll pick up the gunman or hired assassin," says the CPJ spokesperson, "but the thing we see as complete impunity is how the real killer, the person who ordered the death, does not come to justice."
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