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DUBAI, 4 Jan 2006
(IRIN) - Iraq was the most dangerous place for
journalists in 2005 and the deadliest conflict for
media workers in the last 24 years, according to the
US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
“The war in Iraq might lead one to think that
reporters are losing their lives on the battlefield.
But the fact is that three out of four journalists
killed around the world are singled out for murder,
and their killers are rarely brought to justice.
It’s a terrible indictment of governments that let
warlords and criminals dictate the news their
citizens can see and hear,” CPJ Executive Director
Ann Cooper said.
Iraq accounted for 22 deaths in 2005, or nearly half
of the year’s total, the CPJ found.
Murder accounted for more than 70 percent of the
deaths documented by the watchdog organisation.
An increasing number of journalists were murdered
last year, in contrast with the previous two years
where crossfire had been the leading cause of death.
Fatal abductions also emerged as a particularly
disturbing trend with at least eight journalists
kidnapped and slain in 2005, compared with one
abduction the previous year.
Additionally, those responsible for the deaths
usually go unpunished, the journalist watchdog
association said following an analysis of the
situation.
“Slayings were carried out with impunity about 90
percent of the time in 2005, a figure consistent
with data collected by CPJ over more than a decade,”
a CPJ statement said.
“Too many journalists have lost their lives just
because they were doing their jobs, and unresponsive
governments bear responsibility for the toll,”
Cooper added.
“Iraqi journalists bore the brunt of these attacks
as it became increasingly hazardous for foreign
reporters and photojournalists to work in the
field,” the statement added.
Steven Vincent, a US citizen, was the only foreign
journalist to be killed in Iraq in 2005; five
foreigners died there a year earlier.
At least three journalists were killed as a result
of fire from US forces, compared with six such
deaths in 2004.
A total of 60 journalists have been killed in Iraq
since the US-led invasion in March 2003.
An analysis of the casualties in Iraq is available
at: www.cpj.org
www.irinnews.org
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