86 Reporters Killed in 2007
January 2, 2008
The report said the most dangerous part of the world for reporters was Iraq, where 47 journalists were killed there last year -- all but one were Iraqis. Somalia was a distant second on the list with eight journalists killed.
The report also pointed out that 207 media workers had died in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003, making it the deadliest recent conflict for journalists.
"No country has ever seen more journalists killed than Iraq," Reporters Without Borders said. "[That's] more than in the Vietnam War, the fighting in ex-Yugoslavia, the massacres in Algeria or the Rwandan genocide."
The list includes only clearly work-related deaths. The Paris-based press freedom organization said 103 journalists were killed in 1994, nearly half of them in Rwanda.
A separate report released Wednesday, Jan. 2, by the International Federation of Journalists put the overall toll much higher, listing 171 journalists and other media workers killed by violence or in accidents throughout the year.
"Violence against journalists remains at extremely high levels for the third year in a row," IFJ President Jim Boumelha said in a statement. "The scale of attacks on journalists marks a continuing crisis filled with unlimited human tragedy and relentless attacks on press freedom."
Imprisonment, harassment also problems
Reporters Without Borders also said that some countries, including Pakistan, Cuba and Iran, continue to pursue policies of kidnapping and imprisoning journalists as a means of silencing them.
"About 30 governments continue to imprison journalists they dislike and rulers who belong to a past era still see this as the only answer to media criticism," Reporters Without Borders criticized.
The study found that on average two journalists per day were arrested, with 135 being currently imprisoned.
In addition, the report said 2007 was a relatively repressive year for journalists and bloggers on the Internet.
China was singled out for particular criticism -- Reporters Without Borders said that Beijing had shut down or than more 2,600 Web sites. The group also criticized Syria and Myanmar for trying to restrict the free flow of information on the Web.