5 January 2005
IMPUNITY STAINS MURDERS OF JOURNALISTS
Around the world, murder was the leading cause of work-related deaths among journalists in 2004, and in the vast majority of cases, the killers went unpunished, according to an analysis by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Of the 56 journalists killed in the line of duty, 36 were murdered, and in all but nine cases in 2004, the murders were carried out with impunity, says CPJ.
This continues a long-term trend, documented by CPJ, in which 72 per cent of the 337 journalists murdered worldwide since 1995 were targeted because of their work. In 85 per cent of the cases, the person or persons who ordered a journalist's murder have eluded arrest and prosecution.
In contrast, only 20 percent of the 337 killed journalists died in crossfire. In many cases, journalists are murdered either to prevent them from reporting on corruption or human rights abuses, or to punish them after they have done so.
The 2004 death toll is the highest in a decade. The deadliest year for journalists since CPJ began compiling statistics was 1994, when 66 journalists were killed, mostly in Algeria, Rwanda and Bosnia-Herzegovina. CPJ says most of the journalists killed around the world each year are local reporters, photographers, editors, and camera operators covering events in their own countries.
Surprisingly, for the first time in at least 10 years, no journalist was killed in the line of duty in Colombia. That may be because dozens of murders over the past 20 years have instilled a culture of fear among provincial reporters, causing them to avoid sensitive coverage of the ongoing civil war.
CPJ also recorded 17 media workers (drivers, interpreters, fixers) killed in 2004, the majority of them in Iraq.
CPJ considers a journalist to be killed on duty if the person died as a result of a hostile action, including retaliation for his or her work, in crossfire while covering a conflict, or while reporting in dangerous circumstances such as a violent street demonstration. Journalists killed in accidents, or those who died of health ailments, are not included.
CPJ continues to investigate the cases of 17 other journalists killed in 2004 to determine whether their deaths are related to their journalistic work.
For more information, visit: http://www.cpj.org/news/2005/USA03jan05na.html
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