Our blog is maintained by Deadliest Nations for Journalists 2013
International conflict is nothing new and over the years countless journalists have followed turmoil in an attempt to document the heinous crimes going on around the world. In their attempt to capture the reality and strife of war and danger, many journalists find themselves in terrifying situations, some of which they don’t end up making it home from.
The Committee to Protect Journalists keeps a database of journalists who have been killed, kidnapped, or who have gone missing for over 20 years. These journalists come from almost every country around the world and cover a variety of topics including business, crime, human interests, politics and culture. No matter what their beat, journalists in a handful of countries face imprisonment and death for simply carrying out the duties of their job.
Jamal Abdul-Nasser Sami was the latest fatality this year on December 26 having been killed when armed militants attacked his news channel headquarters in Tikrit, Iraq. Sami, the video editor for the local Salaheddin TV station, died along with four other staff members in the attack. But Sami is not alone.
The latest information reported by CPJ in their annual statistics released on Monday show that 99 journalists have been killed around the world this year, with Syria, Iraq and Egypt being the most dangerous countries to report from. Of those nearly 100 deaths, 70 have been confirmed and 44 have occurred in these three countries alone. Of those 70 confirmed deaths, two-thirds occurred in the Middle East.
The number of journalists killed began to slowly increase in the early 2000’s and has remained relatively consistent since 2006, with roughly between 70 to 100 deaths annually.
The annual report released by CPJ shows that 44% of those killed were murdered, 36% were hit by crossfire, and 20% died while on dangerous assignments. They are also currently investigating the deaths of 25 journalists who died this year.
Kidnappings are also widespread in war torn nations such as Syria where 28 journalists were killed this year alone. CPJ reports that 60 journalists have been kidnapped in Syria this year with 30 still in captivity.
In addition to killings and kidnappings, many journalists have simply disappeared. Due to the intensity of war in Syria however, information regarding missing journalists is difficult to come by.
“Cases of journalists missing in Syria are extremely difficult to track,” CPJ wrote on their website. “Information is scarce, the situation is constantly changing, and some cases go unreported.”
Of those missing in Syria, American law student and journalist Austin Tice, has been missing for over 500 days.
The CPJ has released their annual report every year since it started recording deaths in 1992. Their database includes detailed information on each journalist killed, imprisoned, exiled, or missing, and aims to create awareness and “defend journalists worldwide,” according to their website.
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