Dying for the truth

Two journalists were killed every week in 2010 in a sustained effort to silence free reporting in many parts of the globe, reports the International News Safety Institute (INSI)

INSI recorded that 97 journalists were killed last year in 30 countries, of whom 85 were murdered. Most of the victims were not foreign correspondents assigned to war zones but reporters working in their own countries, seeking to expose criminality and corruption. The total was down from 133 in 2009, but that figure was swollen by the massacre of 32 media workers in a single incident in the Philippines. “The sustained level of casualties remains unacceptably high,” said INSI director Rodney Pinder. “It is a terrible price to pay for our news.”

The most murderous country in 2010 was Pakistan where 16 journalists were killed in a spate of violence that has continued into the New Year. The first casualty of 2011 was 22-year-old Balochistan reporter, Ilyas Nazar, whose bullet-riddled body was found by a roadside eight days ago. In the western hemisphere, Mexico and Honduras, with 10 deaths each, have emerged as the most dangerous countries. NB: INSI compiles its casualties data in liaison with the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Cardiff University’s Centre for Journalism Studies A detailed list of the 2010 casualties is on INSI’s website. PS.