FREE EXPRESSION SPOTLIGHT: Dozens of Journalists Killed for Their Work in 2008

DOZENS OF JOURNALISTS KILLED FOR THEIR WORK IN 2008

Last year, fewer journalists were killed while doing their job than inrecent years - but that should not be grounds for optimism, say IFEXmembers in their end of year reports. According to its annual analysis, the Committee to Protect Journalists(CPJ) recorded 41 journalists killed in direct connection to their work in2008 - a drop from 65 in 2007. "While that's lower than the unprecedentednumbers we saw over the last few years, by historical standards it's stillvery high," says CPJ. The lower death toll was due mainly to a sharp dropin deaths in Iraq, from 32 in 2007 to 11 last year, due to improvedsecurity conditions there, says CPJ. CPJ is still investigating furthercases.

The 2008 death toll reflected a shift in global hot spots, as high numbersof deaths were reported in restive areas of Asia and the Caucasus, saysCPJ. Watch CPJ's video tribute to the journalists who died in 2008:http://tinyurl.com/7ouzyw then read the report: http://tinyurl.com/9v6kvf Reporters Without Borders (RSF) counts 60 journalists killed in the line ofduty. RSF tallies cases in which a link between the violation and thevictim's work as a journalist is clearly established or very likely. ButRSF says the fall in numbers of attacks on the traditional media does notmean the press freedom situation has improved - online repression is on therise, with bloggers being imprisoned and websites being censored. RSF sayscases of online censorship were recorded in 37 countries, with Syria (162websites censored), China (93) and Iran (38) topping the list. "The figures may be lower than last year's but this should not mask thefact that intimidation and censorship have become more widespread,including in the West, and the most authoritarian governments have beentaking an even tougher line," says RSF.

See:http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=29797 The World Association of Newspapers (WAN) records 68 journalists and othermedia workers killed last year. "Attacks on journalists throughout theworld - by organised crime groups in Latin America, autocratic regimes inthe Middle East, repressive governments in Africa and by combatants in warzones - pose serious threats to press freedom," said WAN in its report,with region-by-region details. See:http://www.wan-pess.org/article17943.html

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), which compiles figuresin cooperation with the International News Safety Institute (INSI), counts109 journalists and media workers killed last year in 36 countries. IFJincludes all journalists killed because of their work as well as thosekilled in accident while on assignment or on their way to or from a story.According to IFJ, India's death toll also figured high on the list with 10casualties, following a surge of attacks in insurgent-hit states in thecountry. See IFJ: http://tinyurl.com/8juw3k and INSI:http://tinyurl.com/8suo9d Despite the range in numbers, all agree that even though the casualtieshave decreased, Iraq was once again the world's most dangerous country forthe press. Many of the at least 11 journalists - all Iraqi nationalsworking for local Iraqi news outlets - were deliberately targeted. The next three deadliest countries for the media were Pakistan with atleast seven journalists killed for doing their work, the Philippines withsix killed, and Mexico, with four murdered. In the Americas, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) called 2008 "ayear of contrasts." The year was marked on the one hand by violence andharassment of the media, including 13 journalists killed, and by thepassing of constructive new laws on the other. IAPA blamed organised crimefor the murders. IAPA notes "aggravation and threats" took place inBolivia, Nicaragua and Venezuela, while 26 journalists remain jailed inCuba, many of them seriously ill. But the good news is that access toinformation improved in Chile, Guatemala, Uruguay and Nicaragua. See:http://tinyurl.com/9bhsuh In Mexico journalists have increasingly become the target of drugtraffickers and mobsters. According to WAN, 23 have been killed since 2000,and seven others have disappeared since 2005 - cementing Mexico's positionas the most dangerous country in the Americas for the media, evensurpassing Colombia. Like the Philippines, Mexico is among the worst insolving these murders: none of the killers of journalists murdered inMexico this year have been brought to justice. The fall in the death toll in Africa, say IFEX members, is a result of manyjournalists opting not to work, often turning to a less dangerous trade orgoing into exile. WAN reports that charges of defamation, sedition and"disrupting public order" work to intimidate and silence independent andopposition media. Those that choose to report on rebellions or criticisethe authorities often end up in jail - the number of arrests isparticularly high in Africa, says RSF. Even in Europe and Central Asia, death threats against or prosecution ofjournalists reporting on conflict zones, war crimes and organised crime arecommon. Journalists are at risk in an increasingly volatile politicalsituation in the Caucasus, where at least three journalists died in justfive days of fighting between Georgian, Russian and local forces over thedisputed region of South Ossetia, say the members. Some IFEX members have also put out country-specific year-end analyses. "2008 was not a bright year for press freedom in Indonesia," says theAlliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), especially with a slew ofcriminal charges against journalists and, unsurprisingly, the introductionof new laws that criminalise press offences. Those who commit defamationvia the Internet face up to six years in jail, for example.

See:http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/99600/ Safety remains the biggest concern for journalists in the DemocraticRepublic of Congo, says Journalist in Danger (JED) in its 2008 annualreport, "Ten years for press freedom: the situation of freedom of the pressin Central Africa". JED says a decline in the number of attacks against thepress is more likely attributable to censorship and self-censorship, ratherthan improvements to the country's press laws or the impunity thatjournalists' killers usually enjoy. See:http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/99592/