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93 journalists killed in 2007, says media watchdog
Ninety-three journalists were killed in 2007, almost half of them in Iraq, the International Press Institute media watchdog said in its annual press freedom review published on Thursday.
- Agencies
- Published: 17:54 May 8, 2008
Vienna: Ninety-three journalists were killed in 2007, almost half of them in Iraq, the International Press Institute media watchdog said in its annual press freedom review published on Thursday.
The figure is the second highest in a decade after 2006, which saw 100 journalists' deaths, according to IPI.
Iraq remains the most dangerous country for journalists with 46 killed last year in bombings, abductions and drive-by shootings, twice as many as in 2005.
Asia is the second deadliest region, with 19 reporters killed, mostly in Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, the IPI said in a statement.
"Journalists and media workers have emerged as a clear target for insurgent attacks," IPI said in the survey.
"Media representatives have been repeatedly victimised by sectarian death squads intent on silencing outspoken voices through violence and intimidation," it added.
It also noted "the first targeted assassination of a journalist since 1993" in the United States, with the killing of a newspaper editor in Oakland, California.
IPI Director David Dadge added that the murder by a Turkish nationalist of renowned journalist Hrant Dink in Istanbul in January 2007 "reinforces... the bravery of journalists everywhere who challenge censorship."
Restrictions on press freedom were still widespread in Africa and the Middle East, the watchdog said, citing especially Iran and Zimbabwe, where hard-to-obtain licences are required to work as a journalist.
"Censorship (in Africa) came in all forms, from physical aggression to the subtle abuse of bureaucracy," it added.
The IPI noted that China still jailed the most journalists, with some 30 reporters and 50 bloggers currently in prison, while in Russia, "impunity exists for those who harass, assault or murder journalists."
The 46 journalists killed were working for international media outlets, it said.
The organisation, which was founded in the United States in 1950 and has members in 120 countries, blamed the Iraqi government for not prosecuting journalists' killings and for tightening its own grip on the media at the same time.
"Journalists have faced threats, criminal prosecution and imprisonment and news organisations have been banned over coverage that displeases the authorities," IPI said.
"The Iraqi government's policies towards the press closely resemble those of autocratic regimes in the region, and not those of an aspiring democracy."
Ten journalists were killed in the Philippines and seven in Mexico, IPI said.
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