11 January 2006
IRAQ WAR CLAIMS HIGHEST DEATH TOLL: CPJ
Iraq has become the single deadliest conflict for the media since the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) began recording journalists' deaths 24 years ago, with 60 journalists killed on duty since the start of the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003. The toll surpasses the 58 journalists CPJ says were killed in the Algerian conflict from 1993 to 1996.
In its year-end report, CPJ says Iraq accounted for about half of the world-wide deaths recorded in 2005 by the organisation.
Internationally, murder was the leading cause of work-related deaths among journalists last year, with 47 killed last year. More than three-quarters of them were murdered to silence their criticism or punish them for their work.
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.
CPJ's report also notes that about 90 per cent of the murders in 2005 went unpunished. CPJ has found that less than 15 percent of journalist murders since 1992 have resulted in the arrest and prosecution of those who ordered the killings.
Read CPJ's report here:
http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/2006/killed_05/killed_release_03jan05.html
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