In June 2015, a journalist in India was burned to death by a police officer after writing
about local corruption.
India is one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a journalist, but it is
far from the worst.
So where is it most deadly to be a journalist?
In an extensive study by The Committee to Protect Journalists, it was reported that
since 1992, over one thousand journalists around the world have been killed.
A number die during a dangerous assignment, like covering a street protest, or while reporting
on a war zone.
However, an overwhelming majority are outright murdered, usually while covering politics.
What’s worse is that only 4% of those murders see full criminal prosecution.
According to the CPJ study, the most dangerous country to be a journalist is Iraq, where
167 journalists have been killed, nearly all since 2003.
About 2/3rds were said to have been murdered by insurgent groups, and a third killed in
combat crossfire.
Syria, which is also a war zone, has suffered 83 journalist deaths.
However, unlike Iraq, Syria’s deaths are almost entirely combat related, and have occurred
since the Syrian Civil War began in 2011.
One of the deadliest non-war zones is The Philippines.
Out of 77 killed journalists, 75 were murdered, primarily for reporting on political issues
and corruption.
In 41% of cases, the journalists were tortured before being murdered, and yet in only 9%
of cases was anybody convicted or prosecuted.
Algeria was once very dangerous, but the majority of their 60 journalist deaths occurred between
1993 and 1996 during the Algerian Civil War.
Nearly all were murdered by unknown assailants and political groups.
Similarly, but more recently, Somalia has also been the source of many civil-war caused
journalist deaths.
Russia is notorious for the persecution and political murders of journalists.
Of 56 deaths, as many as 64% are attributed as murders, and committed mostly by military
and government officials.
In only four cases was there any criminal prosecution.
Pakistan is also at 56 deaths.
However, fewer journalists were actually murdered in Pakistan than in Russia.
Colombia is well known for being a source of government corruption and human right violations
and since 1992 they’ve seen 46 journalists killed.
As we mentioned earlier, India is another dangerous country to report on.
However, roughly 37% of their deaths are the result of dangerous assignments rather than
violent cover ups.
Finally, there is drug cartel rampant Mexico, with 32 deaths.
It should be no surprise that nearly all of their killed journalists were murdered.
Worse yet, in 90% of those murders, nobody was prosecuted for the crime.
Being a journalist is already a tough job.
But in these countries, they’re literally risking their lives to bring corruption, war
crimes, human rights abuses, and other problems to light, often in the hopes of saving others
and spreading valuable information.
To learn more about the state of censorship around the world, check out our video here
on which countries have the worst freedoms for the press.
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