Getting Away With Murder 2009

The Index

Here are the 14 countries where journalists are murdered on a recurring basis and governments are unable or unwilling to prosecute the killers. The index covers the years 1999 through 2008.

1. IRAQ

Iraq tops the index for the second consecutive year. At least 88 journalists have been murdered since the war began in 2003, and not a single conviction has been obtained in these cases. Insurgents and militias are behind the vast majority of killings, while Iraqis working for local media have been the predominant targets. The victims include Haider al-Hussein, a reporter for the Baghdad daily Al-Sharq who was abducted on his way to work in May 2008. His body was found with signs of torture three days later. Although the frequency of journalist murders is slowing—nine in 2008, down from 27 in 2007—Iraq remains the most dangerous place to be a journalist.

Impunity Index Rating: 2.983 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Ranked 1st with a rating of 2.821.

2. SIERRA LEONE

Most of the nine unsolved murders took place in January 1999, when Revolutionary United Front rebels pushed into Freetown during Sierra Leone’s civil war. “Operation No Living Thing,” as the assault was called, targeted journalists and thousands of other citizens deemed anti-rebel. The victims included newspaper editor Paul Mansaray, who died with his wife, two young children, and a nephew when rebels shot him and set his house ablaze. There have been no convictions associated with these cases.
Impunity Index Rating: 1.552 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Ranked 2^nd with a rating of 1.636.

3. SOMALIA

Nearly two decades of civil unrest, clan warfare and insurgency have created deep-seated conditions of impunity in Somalia, where six journalist murders have gone unsolved in the last decade. The victims included Nasteh Dahir Farah, a reporter and vice chairman of the National Union of Somali Journalists, who was shot while walking home from an Internet cafe in Kismayo in June 2008.
Impunity Index Rating: 0.690 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Ranked 3^rd with a rating of 0.610.

4. SRI LANKA

As the government pursues a military victory over the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a surge in violence against journalists, including the fatal stabbing of television correspondent Paranirupasingham Devakumar, pushed the South Asian island nation up from five to four on the index. Government pledges to investigate and punish violence against the press proved hollow as journalists continued to be targeted by both Tamil groups and the military. At least nine journalist murders have gone unsolved.
Impunity Index Rating: 0.452 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Ranked 5^th with a rating of 0.408.

5. COLOMBIA

With no work-related killings since 2006, Colombia has seen a steady drop in the journalist murder rate. The government credits increased security, although CPJ research shows that pervasive self-censorship has made the press less of a target. In a significant breakthrough, prosecutors recently obtained the convictions of a former mayor of Barrancabermeja and two other public officials charged with ordering the 2002 murder of radio commentator José Emeterio Rivas. Still, 16 of 20 journalist murders in the last decade have gone unsolved.
Impunity Index Rating: 0.347 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Ranked 4^th with a rating of 0.439.

6. PHILIPPINES

At least 24 journalist murders have gone unsolved in the last decade. This pervasive climate of impunity has led to repeated attacks on the press, with renewed levels of violence recorded in 2008. In just one week in August 2008, radio journalists Martin Roxas and Dennis Cuesta were fatally shot. CPJ research has shown local courts to be ineffective in trying journalist murders. Witnesses have been threatened, attacked, and killed while cases were being tried in local courts. Local judges have been reluctant to proceed with cases involving influential public figures.
Impunity Index Rating: 0.273 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Ranked 6^th with a rating of 0.289.

7. AFGHANISTAN

Rampant drug trafficking and armed militias combine with a weak central government and local political corruption to create a wide berth for the killers of journalists. Seven murders have gone unsolved. In a departure from worldwide trends, most of the victims were international journalists covering the ongoing armed conflict. Three Afghan journalists were also killed. They included Abdul Samad Rohani, a correspondent for the BBC and the Pajhwok Afghan News service who was slain after reporting on the local drug trade in the dangerous area bordering Pakistan.
Impunity Index Rating: 0.248 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Ranked 7^th with a rating of 0.279.

8. NEPAL

Political groups go unpunished in frequent attacks against the media. At least five journalist murders are unsolved, four of which are believed to have been perpetrated by Maoist rebels during Nepal’s decade-long civil conflict. Now the majority in a coalition government, the Maoists have yet to make good on assurances that the killers would not receive political protection. The victims include radio reporter Dekendra Raj Thapa, who was abducted and killed by Maoist rebels in 2004.
Impunity Index Rating: 0.178 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Ranked 8^th with a rating of 0.185.

9. RUSSIA

Since 1999, 16 journalists have been murdered in retaliation for reporting on official corruption, unrest in the North Caucasus republics, and organized crime nationwide. All but one case has gone unsolved. As he took office in 2008, President Dmitry Medvedev promised that attacks against journalists would be investigated and prosecuted. Nevertheless, authorities have failed to obtain convictions in even high-profile killings such as the 2004 murder of Forbes editor Paul Klebnikov and the 2006 slaying of investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya.
Impunity Index Rating: 0.106 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Ranked 9^th with a rating of 0.098.

10. PAKISTAN

In a deteriorating security situation, journalists have come under threat from a wide range of militant religious and criminal organizations, some with links to Pakistani intelligence. Three unsolved murders were reported in 2008, bringing the decade total to 10 and moving Pakistan up two places on the index. The victims include Abdul Razzak Johra, who was dragged from his home and shot in retaliation for his reporting on drug trafficking.
Impunity Index Rating: 0.062 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Ranked 12^th with a rating of 0.051.

11. MEXICO

Untouchable drug cartels have made reporting on crime in Mexico the most dangerous beat in the Americas. In 2008, gunmen shot Alejandro Zenón Fonseca Estrada, a radio host who had waged an anticrime campaign, on a main street in Villahermosa, the state capital of Tabasco. In all, six murders have gone unsolved in the last decade. The country’s ranking, poor as it is, might actually be much worse: At least seven Mexican journalists have gone missing since 2005. Those reporters and editors are suspected to have died, although their cases are not yet included in this index.
Impunity Index Rating: 0.057 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Ranked 10^th with a rating of 0.068.

12. BANGLADESH

Authorities have failed to solve at least seven journalist murders that occurred between 2000 and 2005. The victims typically covered crime, corruption, and political unrest. The unsolved cases include the brutal 2004 murder of Kamal Hossain, a crime reporter whose decapitated body was found hours after he was abducted from his home. Local media advocates say Bangladeshi authorities’ practice of dragging out investigations and repeatedly postponing trials erodes the drive for justice.
Impunity Index Rating: 0.044 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Ranked 11^th with a rating of 0.056.

13. BRAZIL

With five unsolved murders in the last decade, Brazil is a newcomer to the index this year. Journalists covering crime, corruption, and local politics have faced brutal consequences. Brazil, unlike most countries on this index, has had some success in prosecuting the killers of journalists, obtaining convictions in three slayings in the last decade. Five men, including four police officers, are now being tried in the 2007 slaying of Luiz Carlos Barbon Filho, a provincial journalist known for his investigative reporting on police corruption.
Impunity Index Rating: 0.026 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Unranked.

14. INDIA

Despite the country’s strong democratic tradition and robust press, seven journalist murders have gone unsolved in the last 10 years. CPJ research indicates journalists covering crime, corruption, and politics have been targets. They include Vikas Ranjan, a correspondent for the newspaper Hindustan who was shot by motorcycle-riding assailants in 2008. Ranjan had received recent threats after reporting on counterfeit merchandise and stolen goods trafficking.
Impunity Index Rating: 0.006 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Ranked 13^th with a rating of 0.005.

For the detailed statistical breakdown for each country, click here.

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Methodology

CPJ's Impunity Index calculates the number of unsolved journalist murders as a percentage of each country's population. CPJ examined every nation worldwide for the period January 1, 1999, through December 31, 2008. Only those nations with five or more unsolved cases are included on this index.

Cases are considered unsolved when no convictions have been obtained.

CPJ defines murder as a deliberate attack against a specific journalist in relation to the victim's work. Murders make up more than 70 percent of work-related deaths among journalists, according to CPJ research. This index does not include cases of journalists killed in combat or while carrying out dangerous assignments such as coverage of street protests.

Where available, population data from the World Bank's 2008 World Development Indicators were used in this index. For Iraq and Afghanistan, CPJ relied on the U.N. Population Fund’s State of World Population 2008.

CPJ consulted Mary Gray, professor of mathematics and statistics at American University in Washington, in developing its methodology. Gray has served on the boards and committees of groups such as Amnesty International. In 2001, President George W. Bush awarded Gray the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring.

CPJ's Impunity Index looks specifically at unsolved journalist murders. On an ongoing basis, CPJ maintains a comprehensive database of all journalists killed in the line of duty and narrative capsules that detail the circumstances of each case.

CPJ welcomes comments about this index.

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Statistical Table

Unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants for 1999-2008. Only nations with five or more unsolved cases are included. Cases are considered unsolved when no convictions have been obtained.

Population data sources:
Unless otherwise indicated, 2008 World Development Indicators, World Bank.
* State of World Population 2008, U.N. Population Fund.