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Dan gerousAs si gn ments covering the global press freedom struggle Spring | Summer 2008 Dateline Iraq Reflections on the war: Covering the world’s biggest story Repression in Kurdistan: www.cpj.org Assaults, arrests tarnish the “Other Iraq” From the Executive Director Dangerous Assignments friend, a Mexican reporter, recently joked that a person in her country is more Bill Sweeney likely to get away with killing a journalist than with running a red light. Traffic Editorial Director Aoffenders, after all, sometimes get fined. Lauren Wolfe It’s a sad fact, though, that in many parts of the world there is little chance of being Deputy Editor convicted for killing a journalist. Just how bad is the problem? How does a country Virginia Anstett such as Mexico—a vibrant democracy—compare to a place like Iraq, which does not Designer have functioning law enforcement? Barbara Ross To answer these questions, CPJ has compiled its first Impunity Index. The index, Copy Editor which appears on page 6, draws on CPJ’s detailed reporting on journalist murders Sebastian Dettman worldwide. Because we knew faltering governments would try to discredit our find - Proofreader ings, we’ve ensured that our results are both objective and statistically sound. Work - Photo Arts Limited ing with Mary Gray, a noted professor of mathematics and statistics at American Uni - Printer versity, we’ve developed a formula that calculates the number of unsolved journalist Published by the Committee to murders per country. It will serve as a benchmark from year to year. Protect Journalists This is a list of ignominy. Only those nations with a pattern of impunity are 330 Seventh Avenue, 11th Floor New York, N.Y. 10001 included. For each country named, there is the implication of indifference, incompe - On the Web: www.cpj.org tence, or both. E-mail: [email protected] The top three countries on the list are not surprising. They are Iraq, Sierra Leone, Phone: (212) 465-1004 and Somalia—three counties where war, a breakdown in the social order, and the col - CPJ Staff lapse of government authority have left journalists at the mercy of killers. Joel Simon What is shocking, however, is the number of established democracies on this list— Executive Director countries such as Mexico, the Philippines, and Russia. Our goal is to see the impunity Robert Mahoney rate drop in these countries in the coming years as more cases are solved. Deputy Director The Impunity Index is part of CPJ’s Global Campaign Against Impunity, an effort John Weis supported by the Knight Foundation. Initially, we are focusing on two countries— Development and Outreach Director Russia and the Philippines—where unchecked violence against the press has fueled Abi Wright self-censorship. Communications Director Two stories in this issue offer encouragement. On page 42, CPJ’s Karen Phillips Lade Kadejo recounts a new prosecution in the 2001 slaying of Colombian editor José Duviel Finance and Administration Director Vázquez Arias. On page 46, I profile the unusual legal team that won convictions in the 2005 murder of Philippine columnist Marlene Garcia-Esperat. As these cases show, Staff Members we can make a difference—one we hope will be reflected in the Impunity Index in the Denise Abatemarco, Joel Campagna, Sebastian Dettman, years to come. Bob Dietz, Madeline Earp, Mohamed Hassim Keita, Carlos Lauría, Andrew Levinson, Janet Mason, Kavita Menon, Nina Ognianova, Karen Phillips, Tom Rhodes, María Salazar, Joel Simon Bharat Shah, Frank Smyth, Mick Stern, Muzaffar Suleymanov, Elisabeth Witchel. The Committee David Laventhol, David Marash, International Program Paul E. Steiger Kati Marton, Michael Massing, Consultants Chairman Geraldine Fabrikant Metz, Victor Navasky, Andres Oppenheimer, Borja Bergareche, Monica Terry Anderson Burl Osborne, Charles L. Overby, Campbell, Shawn W. Crispin, Walter Cronkite a Clarence Page, Norman Pearls - g Kamel Labidi, Marcelo Soares, Honorary Co-Chairmen N tine, Dan Rather, Gene Roberts, d a Tidiane Sy. h e Sandra Mims Rowe, Diane J Directors Sawyer, Paul C. Tash, Mark Whitaker, Brian Williams, On the cover: Andrew Alexander, Franz Allina, Matthew Winkler. Photographer Jehad Nga Christiane Amanpour, Dean took this self-portrait in Baquet, Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Iraq’s Diyala province in Advisory Board Sheila Coronel, Josh Friedman, February 2008. On page 12, Anne Garrels, James C. Goodale, Tom Brokaw, Steven L. Isenberg, Nga and other veteran Cheryl Gould, Charlayne Hunter- Anthony Lewis, Erwin Potts, John journalists recount their Gault, Gwen Ifill, Jane Kramer, Seigenthaler. work in Iraq. Dangerous Assignments 1 Contents Departments Dangerous Assignments Spring | Summer 2008 4 In Focus By Lauren Wolfe Beaten down last fall, the Pakistani press is back in stride. 5 CPJ Remembers By Nasteh Dahir Farah d Somali reporter Hassan Kafi Hared survived attacks and imprisonment— e e v a only to die on his way to a routine assignment. N m u j n A / 4 P A 6 The List Compiled by Frank Smyth Cover Package CPJ’s Impunity Index spotlights 13 nations where journalists are murdered on a regular basis and the killers go unpunished. 12 The Biggest Story Interviews by Abi Wright Journalists in Iraq are confronting the most complex and dangerous story 8 Q&A Interview by Tom Rhodes of their lives. In their own words, three veterans of the conflict describe Kenya’s election crisis tested the news media as never before. A prominent the challenges and rewards of getting the story right—and then getting it e z editor gives the press some mixed grades. d i r out to the world. a p r a a J t S a h o s t i n 10 M Commentary By Kurt Streeter o / 18 The Other Iraq By Joel Campagna r 66 P o A T s After covering Major League Baseball in Beijing, a sportswriter finds i b Iraqi Kurdistan promotes itself as a region of stability and tolerance. Yet r o reasons to be worried about press conditions during the Olympics. C / security forces have detained top journalists, and suspected government a g N agents have assaulted critical writers. Now, a press bill provides a test d 12 a h e J of the government’s intentions. 40 Dispatches By Daniel J. Wakin When a reporter travels to North Korea to cover performances by the New York Philharmonic, he finds himself with some new companions. y t a k u B . F 42 t Justice Project By Karen Phillips r e b Features o A Colombian journalist unexpectedly encounters the face of an alleged R / 10 P A killer—six years later, from a continent away. 26 Cuba’s Long Black Spring By Carlos Lauría, Monica Campbell, and María Salazar 44 On the Air By Nina Ognianova More than 20 journalists remain in Cuban prisons five years after a As angry crowds gathered outside the Serbian broadcaster B92, police massive crackdown on the independent press. Everyone has paid a price: were nowhere to be found. Then Veran Matic made a phone call. The journalists suffer health problems, their families are blacklisted, y and Cuba has encountered international isolation. Will Raúl Castro break y e a r R 46 G Mission Journal By Joel Simon e with the past? d i g v r Two lawyers with very different styles are breaking through the culture of a o J D / 26 / s P r impunity in the Philippines. Press advocates take note. A e t u 40 36 e Firewall Fighters By Shawn W. Crispin R Burma’s military junta struck back with a vengeance after widespread 48 Drawing the Line pro-democracy protests. Despite new government Internet restrictions, Press freedom through the eyes of cartoonist Mick Stern. the exile-run media and their undercover reporters have found ways around the firewall. And the reporting is better than ever. n i p s i r C . W v o n p o w P a g h e S l / O J 36 / P s r C e t u 44 e R 2 Spring | Summer 2008 Dangerous Assignments 3 Contents Departments Dangerous Assignments Spring | Summer 2008 4 In Focus By Lauren Wolfe Beaten down last fall, the Pakistani press is back in stride. 5 CPJ Remembers By Nasteh Dahir Farah d Somali reporter Hassan Kafi Hared survived attacks and imprisonment— e e v a only to die on his way to a routine assignment. N m u j n A / 4 P A 6 The List Compiled by Frank Smyth Cover Package CPJ’s Impunity Index spotlights 13 nations where journalists are murdered on a regular basis and the killers go unpunished. 12 The Biggest Story Interviews by Abi Wright Journalists in Iraq are confronting the most complex and dangerous story 8 Q&A Interview by Tom Rhodes of their lives. In their own words, three veterans of the conflict describe Kenya’s election crisis tested the news media as never before. A prominent the challenges and rewards of getting the story right—and then getting it e z editor gives the press some mixed grades. d i r out to the world. a p r a a J t S a h o s t i n 10 M Commentary By Kurt Streeter o / 18 The Other Iraq By Joel Campagna r 66 P o A T s After covering Major League Baseball in Beijing, a sportswriter finds i b Iraqi Kurdistan promotes itself as a region of stability and tolerance. Yet r o reasons to be worried about press conditions during the Olympics. C / security forces have detained top journalists, and suspected government a g N agents have assaulted critical writers. Now, a press bill provides a test d 12 a h e J of the government’s intentions.