At least 46 journalists were killed in 2011, according to figures released by the Committee to Protect Journalists.
They include seven deaths in Pakistan, where 29 journalists have now been killed in the past five years.
It was the most dangerous place to work as a journalist followed by Libya and Iraq, each with five fatalities, and Mexico with three deaths.
The most dangerous region was the Middle East where 19 journalists died this year, mainly while covering the Arab uprisings.
Among those included in the figures was Tim Hetherington, the award-winning British photojournalist killed in the war-torn Libyan city of Misrata last April, who was later described as ‘about as perfect a model of a war photographer as you’re going to find these days”.
The 2011 death toll is two more than the CPJ’s total for 2010, though the CPJ said it was also investigating another 35 deaths in 2011 to determine whether they were work-related or not.
Twenty of these cases are in Latin America, where CPJ said ‘the web of crime, official corruption, and weak law enforcement often obscures the motive”.
CPJ has compiled detailed records on journalist fatalities since 1992, and staff independently investigate and verify the circumstances surrounding each death.
A fatality is only included when staff are ‘reasonably certain that a journalist was killed in direct reprisal for his or her work; in crossfire; or while carrying out a dangerous assignment. Cases involving unclear motives, but with a potential link to journalism, are classified as ‘unconfirmed’ and CPJ continues to investigate”.
Deadliest Countries in 2011:
- Pakistan: 7
- Iraq: 5
- Libya: 5
- Mexico: 3
- Somalia: 2
- Syria: 2
- Egypt: 2
- Philippines: 2
- Yemen: 2
- Brazil: 2
- Afghanistan: 2
- Bahrain: 2
- Russia: 1
- Nigeria: 1
- Thailand: 1
- Peru: 1
- Tunisia: 1
- Ivory Coast: 1
- Panama: 1
- Dominican Republic: 1
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