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19
Journalists Killed for Their Work in 2002
Lowest
number on record; Russia, Colombia, and the West Bank top list
Source:
Committee to Protect Journalists
January 3, 2003
A total of 19 journalists
were killed worldwide for their work in 2002, according to the Committee
to Protect Journalists (CPJ). This number marks a sharp decrease from
2001 when 37 journalists were killed, eight of them while covering the
war in Afghanistan. Of the 19 journalists killed in 2002, most were targeted
in direct reprisal for their work, and their killers had not been brought
to justice at year's end.
This is the lowest number of journalists killed in the line of duty that
CPJ has recorded since it began tracking the deaths in 1985. The dramatic
drop is partially attributed to a decline in the number of world conflicts.
According to CPJ research, a direct correlation exists between the number
of journalists killed on the job and the incidence of violent conflict,
which can give those who target journalists the ability to do so with
impunity because of the instability that war fosters. In 1994, for example,
66 journalists were targeted for their work while civil wars raged in
Algeria, Bosnia, and Rwanda.
Another factor in the decreasing number of journalists' deaths may be
the result of the international attention that Wall Street Journal reporter
Daniel Pearl's kidnapping and murder early last year garnered. In the
wake of Pearl's death, journalist safety became a priority for news organizations;
many sent their staff to hostile-environment training, and reporters were
better prepared in the field. At least two journalists survived being
shot in the West Bank last spring because they were wearing flak jackets,
while in Venezuela, bulletproof vests saved the lives of two more journalists.
Still, in 2002, journalists remained at great risk. In countries such
as Russia, Colombia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and the Philippines,
local journalists were murdered in direct reprisal for their reporting
on crime and corruption, most of them with impunity. Cameramen and photographers
were especially vulnerable to cross fire and targeting by military forces-five
were killed in 2002, including two who were covering conflict in the West
Bank.
"While we are encouraged to see the number of deaths decrease this year,
journalists are still being targeted and assassinated for doing their
jobs," said CPJ executive director Ann Cooper. "Drug traffickers in Brazil,
paramilitary groups in Colombia, and corrupt politicians in the Philippines
are trying to silence journalists through intimidation and murder, and
it
has to stop."
In addition to the 19 cases described in this report, CPJ continues to
investigate four journalists who are missing and 13 others whose killings
may have been related to their professional work.
Russia and Colombia: perennial offenders Some statistics fluctuate from
year to year, but others remain constant in such countries as Russia and
Colombia, where journalists die virtually every year because of their
work. Three journalists were killed for their work in Russia in 2002:
An editor of a newspaper known for its coverage of organized crime was
shot eight times at point-blank range; a cameraman died in cross fire
covering the fighting near the Chechen border; and a business reporter
was bludgeoned to death on her way home.
In Colombia, three journalists also died in the line of duty: The owner
of a radio station and host of programs that criticized all sides of Colombia's
civil war was pulled from his car, shot, and killed; a newspaper columnist
who wrote about human rights abuses was shot in the head while walking
to work; and a cameraman was killed in cross fire while covering fighting
between the army and a paramilitary group.
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