were killed around the world in 2015,
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
said on Tuesday, warning that more
were being deliberately targeted for
their work in supposedly peaceful countries. Sixty-seven journalists were killed
in the line of duty this year, and
another 43 died in circumstances
that were unclear, the watchdog
group said in its annual roundup.
Another 27 non-professional "citizen- journalists" and seven other media
workers were also killed. The high toll is "largely attributable
to deliberate violence against
journalists" and demonstrates the
failure of initiatives to protect media
personnel, the report said, calling for
the United Nations to take action. In particular, the report shed light on
the growing role of "non-state
groups" -- often jihadists such as
the Islamic State group -- in
perpetrating atrocities against
journalists. In 2014, it said, two-thirds of the
journalists killed were in war zones.
But in 2015, it was the exact
opposite: "Two-thirds were killed in
countries 'at peace'." "The creation of a specific
mechanism for enforcing
international law on the protection of
journalists is absolutely essential,"
RSF Secretary General Christophe
Deloire said. Also Read: Journalists 'under attack worldwide' "Non-state groups perpetrate
targeted atrocities while too many
governments do not comply with
their obligations under international
law." "The 110 journalists killed this year
need a response that matches the
emergency. A special representative
of the United Nations secretary-
general for the safety of journalists
must be appointed without delay." The 67 deaths bring to 787 the total
number of journalists who were
murdered, knowingly targeted or
killed in the course of their work
since 2005, the Paris-based
organisation said. In 2014, there were 66 such fatalities. War-torn Iraq and Syria were the
most dangerous places in the world
this year for journalists, with 11 and
10 fatalities respectively, the RSF
report found. Third on the list was France, where
eight journalists were killed a
jihadist assault in January on the
offices of the satirical magazine
Charlie Hebdo in an assault that
shocked the world. "It was an unprecedented tragedy,"
RSF said. "A western country had
never suffered a massacre of this
kind in the past. "Charlie Hebdo's journalists and
employees have been living under
close protection ever since. Some of
them still have to keep changing
their place of residence." In Syria, the northern town of
Aleppo was described as "a
minefield" for professional and
citizen-journalists alike. "Caught between the various parties
to the conflict since 2011,
journalists are liable to end up as
collateral victims, being taken
hostage by a non-state group (such
as Islamic State, the Al Nusra Front or the Free Syrian Army) or being
arrested by the Assad regime," RSF
said. Those murdered in Syria included
Japanese freelance reporter Kenji
Goto, whose execution by the
Islamic State group was unveiled in
a macabre video in January. India 'deadliest' Asian country The RSF report also singled out
India, where nine journalists had
been murdered since the start of
2015, some of them for reporting on
organised crime and its links with
politicians and others for covering illegal mining. India saw five journalists killed in
the course of their work and four for
uncertain reasons, which is why it
ranked below France where the
cause of death was known. "Their deaths confirm India's
position as Asia's deadliest country
for media personnel, ahead of both
Pakistan and Afghanistan," RSF
said, urging the Indian government
to establish "a national plan for protecting journalists". In Bangladesh, four secularist
bloggers were killed in acts claimed
by local jihadists. "The passivity of the Bangladeshi
authorities in the face of this
bloodbath has fostered a climate of
impunity that is extremely
dangerous for citizen journalists,"
RSF said. The report also placed the spotlight
on 54 journalists who were held
hostage at the end of 2015, 26 of
them in Syria, and 153 journalists
who were in prison, 23 of them in
China and 22 in Egypt. -
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