1, 2012, to August 31, 2022. (9) According to Freedom House’s publication Freedom in the World 2023 , global freedom has declined for 17 consecutive years, and over the past year, media freedom came under pressure in at least 157 countries and territories assessed in the report. Freedom House data also show that freedom of expression, for the media and individuals, has declined more than any other civil liberty over the last 17 years, and infringement on free expression is one of the biggest drivers of democratic backsliding globally. (10) According to data from Reporters Without Borders, 55 journalists were killed in 2022, an almost 15 percent increase over the prior year, and since 2020, more journalists have been deliberately targeted and killed in countries considered at peace than in conflict zones. (11) In 2018, the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of Saudi intelligence officers acting on explicit orders of the Saudi Government underscored the extent to which those in power will go to stifle the freedom of expression, silence their critics, and eliminate the threat they believe independent journalists pose to their rule. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a partial, declassified intelligence report on February 26, 2021, which concluded that Khashoggi’s murder was approved by Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman. However, impunity continues for the Saudi officials involved in this crime. (12) In March 2022, a Turkish judge, likely at the behest of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, issued a ruling that closed the criminal trial of the perpetrators in Türkiye (Turkey) and transferred it to Saudi Arabia, where the case against the perpetrators was promptly dismissed, foreclosing the prospect that they will ever be held accountable. (13) In an effort to combat attacks against journalists and others exercising their right to freedom of expression, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken in February 2021 announced the Khashoggi Ban, a new policy allowing the Department of State