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IPI Death Watch Overview:
101 Journalists killed in 2010
By Louise Hallman
Although in 2010 the number
of journalists killed either for or during
their work was – at 101 – down from its
record high of 110 in 2009, the year presented
another record statistic: The year
was the second bloodiest since IPI started
its Death Watch, even ahead of 2006,
which, at the height of the Iraq, saw 100
journalists killed. With the absence of a
major war (46 journalists were killed in
Iraq in 2006) or one single high-fatality incident,
like last year’s horrific massacre in
the Philippines, 2010 is in some ways the
worst year on record.
The journalists killed in 2010 were targeted
in 33 different countries – up from
27 last year, making 2010 the year with
the most widespread killing of journalists
and media workers since IPI’s Death
Watch records began in 1997. Some of the
photographers, cameramen and reporters
killed in 2010 died on dangerous assignments,
such as the multiple bomb blasts
in Pakistan, but the majority were shot
dead at close range, either in retaliation
for specific reports or just simply because
they were journalists. Most were killed
with complete impunity in countries
struggling with lawlessness brought
about by political instability.
The deadliest country for journalists was
Pakistan, which has been in the top five
since 2006, rising from fourth place to top
the list with 16 journalists killed. The slain
reporters, editors and cameramen had either
been deliberately targeted for their reporting
or were caught up in the violence
that has engulfed parts of the country whilst
trying to report for their media outlet.
Pakistan was followed by Mexico and Honduras,
where 12 and 10 journalists were
killed respectively. Both Latin American
countries have seen a surge in violence in
the past few years.
In Mexico the government has launched
an assault on the drug cartels, which have
retaliated with violence and intimidation,
specifically targeting media workers to
suppress criticism and information. It remained
the second most dangerous country
for journalists, up from sixth in 2008.
Most journalists were shot dead, many had
suffered torture and one had had his throat
slit, several others were kidnapped, some of
whose TV stations were forced to broadcast
messages on behalf of the drug lords. A
number of TV stations faced bomb attacks,
although there were no media-related fatalities.
The remains of Rodolfo Rincón
Taracena were discovered this year. The investigative
crime reporter, who had been
missing since 2007 and one of IPI’s Justice
Denied cases, had been dismembered and
burnt in a metal drum.
Honduras has faced much instability and
decline of the rule of law since the coup in
June 2009 which ousted President Manuel
Zelaya; journalists from both sides of the
political divide have lost their lives in the
ensuing violence. The Central American
state had previously only seen six journalists
lose their lives since IPI began its Death
Watch in 1997, but since the golpe de estado,
11 journalists have been killed; the
country had not featured on the IPI Death
Watch since 2007 when it was ranked the
12th worst country – it is now the third
most dangerous country in the world and
the second deadliest country in the Americas
for journalists.
Completing the top five bloodiest countries
were Iraq and the Philippines respectively.
Iraq, which was consistently the deadliest
country for journalists for six years following
the invasion in 2003, has seen a recent
resurgence in journalists’ killings, although
Above: Pakistani journalists hold a portrait of Talat Hussain, a Pakistani journalist allegedly aboard a flotilla of ships which was stormed by Israel naval commandos,
in Karachi, Pakistan, May 31, 2010. (AP)
fortunately nowhere near its 2006 war
height of 46; four of the six journalists to
lose their lives for their work in 2010 were
killed within six weeks of each other.
After the Maguindanao massacre in November
2009, the Philippines saw the slaying
of five journalists, three of them killed
in one bloody week in June.
Although there was not one horrific incident
like the previous year’s massacre
which saw 32 journalists slaughtered, 2010
did have the notorious honour of the most
countries to feature on the IPI Death Watch
in a single year; of the 34 countries where
journalists were killed for their work, Bulgaria,
Greece, Latvia and Cameroon all appeared
on the list for the first time.
The deadliest region in the world was Asia.
Instability in Pakistan, Afghanistan and
Thailand, coupled with the continuing disregard
for journalists in the Philippines and
Indonesia, made the region the bloodiest
for the third year running. Journalists and
media owners were also killed in
Bangladesh, China, India, Japan and Nepal.
On a more positive note, Sri Lanka – which
saw the end of its 26-year-long civil war in
2009 – did not feature on the annual list for
the first time since 2004; the media has still
faced government-led harassment through
the courts and many earlier assassinations,
including that of IPI World Press Freedom
Hero Lasantha Wickrematunge in January
2009, still go unpunished.
Asia was closely followed by the Americas
where, besides the previously mentioned
violence-engulfed countries of Mexico and
Honduras, journalists were also targeted
and killed in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia,
Ecuador and Guatemala. The vast majority
of these killings were committed with impunity.
A TV reporter was also killed in a
landslide in Nicaragua as she was reporting
on local flooding.
Continuing conflict in Somalia and a worrying
surge of inter-religious violence in
Nigeria added to Africa’s tally of 14 journalists
killed for their work, with journalists
also killed in Angola and the Democratic
Republic of Congo, as well as the
aforementioned first-timer Cameroon.
Rwanda appeared on the Death Watch
again for the first time since 1998 and
Uganda saw its count of slain journalists
rise from just one (Jimmy Higenyi, a journalism
student killed covering a protest in
2002) to an unprecedented three; two were
beaten to death by mobs whilst the third
was killed in a bomb blast whilst watching
the FIFA World Cup.
The Middle East and North Africa enjoyed
a relatively calm year; eight journalists
were killed in 2010, far down from its highs
of 48 in 2006 during the Iraq War. The ma-
jority of journalists were killed in Iraq,
which although relatively peaceful now,
still suffers from regular bomb attacks and
the deliberate targeting of reporters.
Al Arabiya TV station suffered a suicide
bomb attack in August which saw three security
guards and a cleaner killed.
Two other journalists were killed in the
MENA region – a Lebanese TV reporter in a
skirmish on the Lebanon-Israeli border
and a Yemeni crime reporter in the restive
north of the country.
Europe saw a worrying spread of deaths of
journalists in 2010. In Russia two journalists
lost their lives, both in the volatile
Northern Caucasus region – down from
five in 2009. However, a further five journalists
were killed. Three were shot in apparent
contract killings in Bulgaria, Greece
and Latvia and two journalists in Belarus
and Turkey died in suspicious circumstances;
both were found hanged but neither
was believed to be suicidal and colleagues
suspect serious foul play.
Although no journalists were targeted in the
Caribbean in 2010, Haiti’s media was dealt a
devastating blow when at least 26 media
workers were killed in the deadly earthquake
which destroyed the country’s capital
Port-au-Prince in January. As the journalists
were not at work during the quake, they
have not been included on the Death Watch.
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