InMortal Danger Journalists & Media Staff Killed in 2013 INCLUDES IFJ INTERNATIONAL SAFETY FUND REPORT No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher. The contents of this publication are copyrighted and the rights to use any of the contributions rest with the authors themselves. Cover image: December 8, 2013Mourners carry the coffin of Yasser Faysal al-Joumaili during his funeral procession in Falluja, 50 km (31 miles) west of Baghdad, December 8, 2013. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani Publisher: Beth Costa, IFJ General Secretary Managing Editor: Ernest Sagaga, Head of Human Rights and Safety Design: © 2014 Emily J Fischer www.emilyjfischer.com Printed by Druk. Hoeilaart, Belgium The IFJ would like to thank Reuters, its member unions and individuals who contributed photos to this publication. Published in Belgium by the International Federation of Journalists © 2013 International Federation of Journalists International Press Centre, Résidence Palace, Block C 155 rue de la Loi, B-1040 Brussels, Belgium CONTENTS Introduction 4 Challenges to Women Journalists from hostile environments, Corruption and Violence 6 Killed List 7 List of accidents 9 Africa 11 Americas 16 Asia-Pacific 21 Europe 29 Middle East and Arab World 32 International Safety Fund Report 39 Solidarity in Action 41 International Code of Practice 42 TIME OF RECKONING BY IFJ GENERAL SECRETARY THE FIGURES FOR JOURNALISTS AND MEDIA STAFF KILLED IN 2013 RELEASED BY THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF JOURNALISTS BRING TO LIGHT THE GRAVITY OF THE SAFE- TY CRISIS IN MEDIA FROM AROUND THE GLOBE. THE RE- GIONAL NARRATIVES CONTAINED IN THIS REPORT SET OUT IN GRAPHIC DETAIL HOW CONFLICTS, WARS AND POLITICAL UNREST PROVIDE THE BACKDROP FOR RISKY ASSIGNMENTS WHICH OFTEN LEAD TO TRAGIC ENDS FOR JOURNALISTS WHO STRAY ON TO THE TURFS OF MEN OF VIOLENCE. The IFJ documented 105 killings of journal- Meanwhile, the toxic combination of armed in- ists and media staff, in murders and cross-fire inci- surgencies, corruption, ethnic and religious ten- dents resulting in deaths. Twenty more colleagues sion in Asia Pacific turned the region into a killing lost their lives in accidents. As usual, the IFJ report field for journalists. With a death tally of ten each, comes with a warning that the cases we report are Pakistan, India and The Philippines make Afghan- those known to us and no organisation can say for istan, which posted one killed only, look compar- certain that they have counted everyone. But, there atively safer. are good reasons to be alarmed at the current lev- The seemingly never ending descent into chaos els of violence in journalism and violence in Somalia again claimed more jour- As was often the case in years gone by, 2013 nalists’ lives than any other country on the Afri- had its fair share of shocking assaults on journal- can continent. Seven died in violent incidents last ists, such as the summary executions by Al-Qaïda year, one more than in Egypt where journalists and au Maghreb islamique (AQMI) of RFI reporters media staff were caught up in the deadly violence Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon in Kindu in caused by the political turmoil. Mali. There was also the raid at the end of Decem- The IFJ sent a solidarity mission to Cairo, ar- ber by insurgents on Salaheddin TV in the north- ranged in cooperation with the Federation of Arab ern Iraqi city of Tikrit, in which five journalists Journalists (FAJ), at the height of the attacks on and employees of the TV station were killed. These journalists. The delegation heard accounts of jour- cold-blooded murders capped a year which saw nalists who had been forced into hiding, fearing a resurgence of excessive violence against media for their lives after their names and addresses had workers in Iraq, with 13 killed. been published in some media, exposing them to In Syria, there was no let-up as journalists con- mob violence. Women journalists were particular- tinue to pay a heavy price in the bloody civil war ly at risk of sexual attacks while covering the pro- which has ripped the country apart. The regime tests. and the armed opposition, as well as the myriad Meanwhile, in Mexico, it is hoped that the of Islamist militias have turned their guns on jour- downward trend of murder rates in media will con- nalists in their attempts to control the reporting tinue after a relatively calm year in which four died, on the conflict and its catalogue of gross violations in contrast to the situation in Colombia, Honduras of human rights. For the second year running, the and even Brazil where the numbers of victims of vi- IFJ has ranked Syria as the deadliest country in the olence suggest the murky politics in Latin America world for journalists in 2013 with 15 dead record- still carry safety challenges for media profession- ed. als. In 2013, Brazil posted four killed against three in Honduras and Colombia. 4 JOURNALISTS AND MEDIA STAFF KILLED IN 2013 The IFJ and its unions campaign every year to olence targeting journalists, in scant disregard for end impunity which, by all accounts, remains the the lofty recommendations of the Security Council. biggest contributing factor for violence targeting The media death toll of 2013 confirms the abject journalists. In June, the IFJ World Congress in failure of governments to hold accountable those Dublin resolved to step up our efforts to tackle this who are responsible for violence against journal- major issue. A new campaign was launched in No- ists, which has entrenched the culture of impunity vember, urging countries with the poorest records for attacks on media professionals. of media safety, starting with Iraq, Pakistan and For all these facts which call into question the Russia, to hold accountable those who attack jour- commitment of governments in this particular do- nalists as a means of addressings the issue of ram- main, there is at least another which deserves rec- pant impunity. ognition. The new UN Day may not be a game While our actions alone are unlikely to yield changer, but it represents a time of reckoning at an immediate and positive reaction from govern- the highest level of world governance that the safe- ments, they offer an opportunity to promote legal ty crisis in media is about much more than silenc- guarantees for the protection of journalists as civil- ing the truth. It also threatens democratic rule and, ians which states are duty bound to enforce under in the process, jeopardise public trust in govern- domestic and international law. ments. The prospects for the kind of global action we Any expectations that the wheels of justice for have been calling for looked more promising to- journalists will turn fast are likely to be quickly wards the end of 2013. On 18 December, the disappointed. But the IFJ will maintain the pres- United Nations’ General Assembly established sure for action on this front and, in the meantime, an International Day to end impunity for crimes more efforts will be deployed to assist colleagues against journalists. The UN Day will be marked on in need. The Federation prides itself on the long 2 November each year, the date of the murders of standing tradition among its members of solidari- the two RFI reporters in Mali. ty with journalists who suffer because of violence, However, the temptation to declare victory in illness or natural disasters. the battle over the safety of journalists should be As usual, this report concludes with a review resisted as it is far too premature to determine the of the work of the IFJ Safety Fund – the model impact of this latest decision of the world body. In of solidarity among journalists which has proved fact, a degree of skepticism may be justified. While a lifeline to many who had nowhere else to turn. the resolutions of the UN General Assembly carry Following the launch of an IFJ safety dedicat- some authority, they are not binding on states and ed website, it is now possible to make secure on- it remains to be seen whether the recent decision line donations to the Safety Fund, and thus help us will be a catalyst for a genuine commitment to the do more to ease the pain and suffering of our col- safety of journalists or just another self-congratu- leagues and their families around the world. latory exercise. This latest resolution comes seven years after Beth Costa the adoption of Security Council Resolution 1738 IFJ General Secretary adopted unanimously on 23 December 2006, urg- ing governments to respect the rights and profes- sional independence of journalists. Contrary to the UN General Assembly’s resolution, Member States are bound by the Security Council resolutions and Resolution 1738 was hailed as a historic UN ac- tion to fight impunity for killings of journalists and media staff. Unfortunately, the ensuing years have been marked by consistently high levels of vi- JOURNALISTS AND MEDIA STAFF KILLED IN 2013 5 CHALLENGES TO WOMEN FROM HOSTILE ENVIRONMENTS, CORRUPTION AND VIOLENCE The overall figures for attacks on journalists The circumstances of these deaths may be com- can be misleading about the security risks facing mon to male and female journalists but there women journalists. should be a gender-orientated approach in han- In 2013, 105 media workers were killed world- dling security issues specific to women journalists. wide, of whom only 5 were women. This may Depending on the culture and position of wom- suggest that women are less affected by the safe- en journalists, the type of the threat to them may ty crisis in media. Indeed, this perception is likely be different.