Murder is the leading cause of work-related deaths among journalists and most of those killed on the job were not caught in cross-fire in conflict zones but hunted down and murdered, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Monday. A study tracking work-related deaths of members of the media since January 1, 2000 found that the Philippines was the most murderous country, followed by Iraq, Colombia, Bangladesh and Russia, the CPJ report found.
"By failing to investigate and punish the killers, the governments in these five countries embolden all those who seek to silence the press through violence," CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper said in a statement. "The violence becomes self-perpetuating and the free flow of information is cut off," she added.
The report, released to mark World Press Freedom Day on May 3, found that 121 of the 190 journalists killed in the past five years were murdered in retaliation for their work.
Referring to the 58 murders in the most five dangerous nations, the report said some gunmen were arrested and charged in a handful of cases, but that no charges were brought against those who directed any of the killings.
"The problem is enormous, but not intractable," Cooper said. "Journalists cannot do their jobs in a climate of violence and impunity. Governments, particularly those in the five most murderous countries, must devote the resources and exercise the will to solve these crimes."
The report found that journalists were murdered in response to reporting on corruption, crime, drug trafficking and the activities of rebel groups.
It also said that many were overtly threatened before their murder, "illustrating the brazen nature of their killers." In the Philippines, 18 journalists were killed in response to their work since 2000.
Forty one journalists were killed in Iraq, but most were caught in cross-fire. Iraq accounted for 13 murders. Since 2000, 11 journalists were murdered in Colombia, nine in Bangladesh and at least seven in Russia, the report found. The report found that of the journalists murdered worldwide since 2000, only 14 percent of cases were solved.
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