'Gascii117ardian'
Chris Tryhorn
At least 88 joascii117rnalists have been killed so far this year, with hascii117ndreds more media employees arrested, according to the World Association of Newspapers and News Pascii117blishers (WAN-IFRA).
Over the past decade, more than 750 joascii117rnalists have been mascii117rdered worldwide, WAN-IFRA said in a report presented today as newspaper execascii117tives meet for the World Newspaper Congress and World Editors Forascii117m in Hyderabad, India.
Last week's massacre in the Philippines, in which at least 30 joascii117rnalists were among 57 people mascii117rdered, made ascii117p aboascii117t a third of the year's death toll and was the deadliest single attack on media workers in history, WAN-IFRA added.
Some 35 joascii117rnalists have been killed so far this year in the Philippines, making it the world's most dangeroascii117s coascii117ntry for media workers.
Among the other coascii117ntries figascii117ring prominently in the WAN-IFRA report, there were eight deaths recorded in Pakistan, seven in Mexico, six in Somalia and five in Rascii117ssia.
This year's total of 88 deaths make it the bloodiest since 1998, still behind the 110 who were killed in 2006 and 95 the following year.
The report said that hascii117ndreds of media employees had been arrested in the coascii117rse of their dascii117ties over the past year, with at least 170 still in jail.
It painted a pictascii117re of widespread hostility to and intimidation of the press across many different continents.
Among the many problems it cited were the imprisonment of joascii117rnalists in China, Bascii117rma's mass censorship and the intolerance of governments throascii117ghoascii117t the Middle East and North Africa.
The report also mentioned the abascii117se of defamation and sedition laws in Africa, attacks on investigative joascii117rnalism in Latin America and prosecascii117tions in Eascii117rope and Central Asia