RSF: 71 journalists killed in 2013

KABUL): Seventy-one journalists have been killed in connection with their work in 2013, indicating a slight fall on last year’s toll of 88, Reporters Without Borders, also known as RSF, said on Thursday.

In the latest round-up of freedom of information violations, the Paris-based group noted a 129 percent increase in abductions, saying the overall level of violations affecting news providers continued to be very high.

Asia topped the regions with the largest numbers of journalists killed in connection with their work were with 24, followed by the Middle East and North Africa with 23. The number of journalists killed in sub-Saharan Africa fell from 21 in 2012 to 10 in 2013.

Syria, Somalia and Pakistan’s five deadliest countries for the media. They were joined by India and the Philippines, which replaced Mexico and Brazil.

The group said 39 percent of the deaths occurred in conflicts zones — Syria, Somalia, Mali, the Indian province of Chhattisgarh, the Pakistani province of Balochistan and the Russian republic of Dagestan.

Of the 71 journalists killed in 2013, 37 percent worked for the print media, 30 percent for radio stations, 30 percent for TV and 3 percent for news websites.

“Combating impunity must be a priority for the international community, given that we are just days away from the 7th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1738 on the safety of journalists…” said RSF Secretary-General Christophe Deloire.

Most of the kidnap cases were in the Middle East and North Africa (71) followed by sub-Saharan Africa (11). In 2013, 49 journalists were kidnapped in Syria and 14 in Libya.

At least 178 journalists are in prison right now. China, Eritrea, Turkey, Iran and Syria continue to be world’s five leading jailers of journalists. The number of imprisoned journalists is largely unchanged in China, Eritrea, Iran and Syria and has fallen somewhat in Turkey.

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