UNITED NATIONS --
Gunmen on motorcycles riddled Lasantha Wickramatunga's windscreen with
bullets on his way to work in January. The 52-year-old Sri Lankan
editor and frequent government critic died hours later.
In
Pakistan, gunmen shot to death journalist Musa Khan Khel in February as
he reported on a government deal with militants in the Swat Valley.
Both
journalists are examples of how violence against the press often goes
unsolved and unpunished. In a report released Monday called "Getting
Away With Murder 2009," the New York-based Committee to Protect
Journalists offered an "impunity index" of 14 top transgressor nations.
"Our findings indicate that the failure to solve
journalist murders perpetuates further violence against the press,"
said Joel Simon, CPJ's executive director.
The
group said its 2-year-old index ranks nations based on the number of
unsolved journalist murders as a percentage of country population
between 1999 and 2008. Unsolved cases are considered those with no
convictions. Only nations with at least five unsolved cases make the
list.
In descending order, ranked by the number of unsolved journalist
murders per 1 million inhabitants:
-Iraq. Since the U.S. invasion in 2003, at least 88 journalists have
been murdered, with no convictions.
-Sierra Leone. Most of the nine murders date to a civil war push on
the capital by rebels in 1999.
-Somalia.
Six murders are unsolved, including the shooting of the vice chairman
of the National Union of Somali Journalists in 2008.
-Sri Lanka.
At least nine killings remain unsolved. Violence has surged as
reporters are targeted both by Tamil separatist groups and the military.
-Colombia. The country has had no journalists killed since 2006, but
16 killings from the past decade remain unsolved.
-Philippines. At least 24 murders are unsolved, including the 2008
shootings of two radio journalists.
-Afghanistan. The seven killings include four international
journalists and three Afghans.
-Nepal. The five murders include four people who are thought to have
been killed by Maoist rebels.
-Russia.
Sixteen journalists who reported on official corruption, organized
crime and unrest in the North Caucasus have been killed. All but one
case remain unsolved.
-Pakistan. Ten unsolved cases, including three from 2008, highlight
the country's rising insecurity.
-Mexico. Six cases are unsolved, including that of a radio host in
2008 who had campaigned against crime.
-Bangladesh. Seven cases are unsolved, including a crime reporter
who was found decapitated in 2004.
-Brazil. Five unsolved murders linger from the past decade.
-India. Seven murders are unsolved, including a newspaper reporter
shot by gunmen on motorcycles in 2008.
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