(WAN/IFEX) – The following is a WAN press release: Paris, 18 March 2004 53 Journalists Killed in 2003; 15 Died in Iraq Fifty-three journalists and other media workers were killed because of their professional activities in 2003, with 15 of them killed in the Iraq war and its aftermath, the World Association of Newspapers said […]
(WAN/IFEX) – The following is a WAN press release:
Paris, 18 March 2004
53 Journalists Killed in 2003; 15 Died in Iraq
Fifty-three journalists and other media workers were killed because of their professional activities in 2003, with 15 of them killed in the Iraq war and its aftermath, the World Association of Newspapers said Thursday.
Three countries accounted for more than half of the deaths. In addition to the 15 killed in Iraq, seven were killed in the Philippines and six were killed in Colombia, WAN said in its annual report of journalists killed world-wide.
“In addition to correspondents covering the Iraq war, journalists who investigated organised crime, drug trafficking and political corruption were also at high risk, and many of the murders appear to be retributive attacks,” said Kajsa Törnroth, Director of Press Freedom Programmes for the Paris-based WAN. “In many cases, the killers act with impunity — most of these cases remain unsolved.”
Details of all the murders are available on a special web site, launched for World Press Freedom Day on 3 May at http://www.wan-press.org/rubrique593.html
The 2003 death toll compares with 46 killed in 2002, 60 killed in 2001 and 53 killed in 2000. Seventy journalists died in 1999 and 28 in 1998.
Journalists and other media workers were also killed in Brazil (3), Cambodia (1), Guatemala (1), Honduras (1), India (2), Indonesia (1), Iran (1), Ivory Coast (2), Japan (1), Kyrgyzstan (1), Nepal (3), Pakistan (2), the Palestinian Territories (2), Russia (3), and Thailand (1).
Several press freedom organisations track the number of journalists killed each year. The numbers vary based on the criteria used by different associations. WAN’s figures include all media workers killed in the line of duty or targeted because of their work. It also includes cases where the motive for the killings is unsure or where investigations have not been completed.
The Paris-based WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, defends and promotes press freedom world-wide. It represents 18,000 newspapers; its membership includes 72 national newspaper associations, individual newspaper executives in 101 countries, 13 news agencies and nine regional and world-wide press groups.
