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Asia Becomes World's Deadliest Region For Journalists


In Baghdad, a poster reading "Stop Killing Journalists" bears photographs of media personnel killed in the line of duty.
In Baghdad, a poster reading "Stop Killing Journalists" bears photographs of media personnel killed in the line of duty.
For the sixth year in a row, more journalists were killed working in Iraq than anywhere else in the world.

Fourteen journalists lost their lives covering Iraq in 2008, according to the International Press Institute's (IPI) comprehensive and well-researched "World Press Freedom Review."

However, Asia replaced the Middle East last year as the deadliest region overall for reporters to work.

Six journalists were killed in Pakistan, five each in India and the Philippines, three in Thailand, and two each in Afghanistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

Elsewhere, five journalists lost their lives in Mexico, four each in Russia and Georgia, and two in Croatia and Somalia.

Worldwide, 66 journalists were killed in 2008. That's down from 93 in 2007 and 100 in 2006

"What united the many different incidents was a growing sense of resignation that little would be done to investigate and prosecute the killers," says Uta Melzer, editor of "World Press Freedom Review."

Melzer talks about the report in the following video from the IPI:


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"Watchdog" is a blog with a singular mission -- to monitor the latest developments concerning human rights, civil society, and press freedom. We'll pay particular attention to reports concerning countries in RFE/RL's broadcast region.

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