Posted on 05/02/2003 9:48:31 AM PDT by knighthawk
IRAQ, Cuba and Vietnam top a list of the worst places in the world to be a journalist, based on existing threats to press freedoms.
Iraq earned the number-one spot on the roll of dishonour published today and compiled by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) because of the number of journalists killed during the US-led invasion.
Nine journalists were killed in action during the first three weeks of hostilities by fire from Iraqi or US troops, land mines, or suicide bombers. Four others died in accidents or from illness, while several more were wounded and two remain missing.
"While the bulk of the fighting appears finished, safety conditions for journalists remain precarious," CPJ said.
"Banditry, gunfire and physical attacks will likely make Iraq a dangerous assignment for the foreseeable future," it said.
Cuba was listed for its sweeping crackdown on dissidents launched in March by the regime of President Fidel Castro.
CPJ said 28 journalists were convicted during one-day summary trials, sentenced to between 14 and 27 years in prison, and dispersed to serve their sentences in the many jails of the Cuban gulag.
"The crackdown, while unprecedented in its scale, is the culmination of years of repression and intimidation, including jailings, forced exile, confiscation of property, suspension of phone service, and orchestrated harassment by pro-government mobs," the group said.
Third on the list was Vietnam, where CPJ noted an intensification of the government's repression of independent writers and political dissidents who contradict the Communist Party line.
"The government typically accuses independent journalists of endangering national security and treats even moderate criticism of the government or support for democratic reform as treasonous offences," it said.
CPJ said eight journalists were languishing in Vietnam's prisons or under house arrest, including several who were arrested as part of a growing clampdown on Internet journalism.
The other places included in the list were Afghanistan, Chechnya, the West Bank and Gaza, Eritrea, Togo, Colombia, and Belarus.
"Many journalists who report from these places have made the ultimate sacrifice; others are in jail serving long sentences," CPJ acting director Joel Simon said.
"But their colleagues persevere, confronting government crackdowns, physical violence, harsh press laws, and indiscriminate gunfire to bring us the news," Simon said.
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