‘How terrorism poses lethal threat to journalists globally’

Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has revealed that the Islamic militant groups were responsible for about 40 per cent of journalist deaths in 2015.

On its part, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said 110 journalists were killed in connection with their work or for unclear reasons in 2015 disclosing that 67 of them were targeted because of their work or were killed while reporting.

In a statement last week, the CPJ said that of 69 journalists who were killed in relation to their work in 2015, Islamic militants were responsible for killing 28 of them. It also disclosed that nine of the killings took place in France, second only to Syria as the most deadly country for the press in 2015.

“Non-state actors ranging from Islamic militants to criminal gangs have become the most lethal threat to journalists worldwide, and account for the vast majority of killing that took place in the past year,” said CPJ

Executive Director Joel Simon. “Reversing this terrible trend will require delivering effective justice while also ensuring that journalists on the front line have the information and support they need to stay safe.”

Groups such as Al-Qaeda, Islamic State, the Taliban, and Al-Shabaab were responsible for murders of journalists in Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, Turkey, and Yemen, as well as France. In Bangladesh, Islamic extremists killed a publisher and four bloggers.

According to CPJ’s most recent annual prison census, more than half of the 199 journalists jailed by governments around the world are jailed on anti-state charges-showing how the press is being squeezed by terrorists on the one hand and by authorities purporting to fight terror on the other.

Worldwide, more than two thirds of the journalists killed in 2015 were murdered in direct reprisal for their work. At least 28 of the 47 murder victims received threats before they were killed. Six journalists were murdered in Brazil, the highest number CPJ has documented since it began keeping detailed records in 1992.

Registering for the first time on CPJ’s database of journalists killed were South Sudan, Poland, and Ghana.

One third of killings worldwide came at the hands of criminal groups, government officials, or local residents-in most cases, drug traffickers or local authorities suspected of being involved with organized crime. The most common beat covered by victims was politics, followed by war and human rights. Broadcast reporter was the most dangerous job, with 25 killed, while 29 victims worked online.

CPJ’s database of journalists killed for their work in 2015 includes capsule reports on each victim and a statistical analysis. CPJ maintains a database of all journalists killed since 1992. The database is continually updated.

Reporters Without Borders stated that with the 67 deaths, it brings to 787 the number of journalists killed in connection with their work since 2005.

“It has not been possible to clearly establish the circumstances or motives of this year’s 43 other deaths of journalists. 27 citizen-journalists and seven media workers were also killed in 2015.

“This disturbing situation is largely attributable to deliberate violence against journalists and is indicative of the failure of the initiatives so far taken to protect media personnel.

Just like CPJ data, Reporters Without Borders said that France was one of the deadliest countries for journalists in 2015.

“The January attack on Charlie Hebdo contributed to a reversal of last year’s trend, when two thirds of the deaths occurred in war zones. In 2015, two thirds of the deaths were 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.

“Non-state groups perpetrate targeted atrocities while too many governments do not comply with their obligations under international law. The 110 journalists killed last 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.”

In his annual report on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity on 6 August 2015, UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said: “I am deeply concerned about the failure to reduce the frequency and scale of targeted violence that journalists face and the near absolute impunity for such crimes.”