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Asia most dangerous region for journalistsPosted Feb 15 2009
Asia replaced the Middle East as the most dangerous region for journalists during 2008, with 26 reporters, photographers and editors killed in retaliation for their work or in civil conflicts, according to the International Press Institute (IPI) in Vienna.
For the sixth year in a row more journalists were killed in Iraq than in any other country, though Pakistan became the second deadliest place for journalists in 2008 as chaos gripped the country’s politics and conflict spread along the Pak-Afghan border.
IPI’s annual World Press Freedom Review, which focuses on Asia this year, shows that in many cases where journalists were murdered, the crimes were not prosecuted.
“Impunity remains a contagion in the region, particularly in the Philippines and Sri Lanka, but the murderers of journalists are also escaping prosecution in leading democracies such as India,” said IPI Director David Dadge. “Those who want to stifle free expression and frighten journalists into silence and self-censorship are succeeding because of impunity.”
Many journalists were also killed in Mexico, Georgia and Russia, where increasingly brash attacks unnerved a journalism community already accustomed to violence. Worldwide, 66 journalists were killed in 2008, down from 93 in 2007 and 100 in 2006, according to IPI’s annual review.
More information
- International Press Institute