![\"Elisabeth](\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/elisabeth_witchel.jpg\")
<\/a>Elisabeth Witchel<\/p><\/div>\n
“Though Sri Lanka\u2019s civil war ended nearly five years ago, the government of Mahinda Rajapaksa has shown no political will to address its record of perfect impunity in the nine murders of journalists that have taken place under his leadership, first as prime minister and then as president. Government and military officials are suspected to be behind several of the murders, including the 2009 assassination of prominent editor\u00a0<\/span>Lasantha Wikramatunga<\/span>, known for his critical reporting, and the nearly 10-year-old shooting of\u00a0<\/span>Aiyathurai Nadesan<\/span>, penname Nellai G. Nadesan, an award-winning journalist who was threatened before his death in response to his reporting about the army. Impunity in Sri Lanka is a major factor behind high numbers of journalists going into\u00a0<\/span>exile<\/a><\/span>, according to CPJ research.” said the\u00a0<\/span>Committee to Protect Journalists’\u00a0<\/span>Impunity Campaign Consultant,\u00a0<\/span>Elisabeth Witchel.<\/span><\/p>\n We published below the\u00a013 countries where at least five journalists have been murdered without a single perpetrator being convicted. The index covers murders that took place in the years 2004-2013.<\/p>\n 1 IRAQ<\/strong><\/p>\n With 100 journalists\u00a0murdered<\/a>\u00a0in the last decade and 100 percent\u00a0impunity<\/a>, Iraq is the worst offender on the Impunity Index, a spot it has held since 2008, when CPJ first compiled the index. Nine new murders in late 2013 amid a resurgence of militant groups broke a two-year quiescence in fatal anti-press violence. Three of the victims, plus two media workers, were killed in a single\u00a0attack<\/a>\u00a0when armed militants bombed and stormed Salaheddin TV station in Tikrit on December 23. Al-Qaeda affiliate Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack, according to news reports accusing it of warring against the Sunni people.<\/p>\n Impunity Index Rating<\/b>: 3.067 unsolved journalist murders per million inhabitants 2 Somalia<\/strong><\/p>\n Somalia\u2019s rating worsened for the sixth year in a row. Though anti-press violence ebbed slightly from its record high in 2012, journalists continue to be targeted at chilling levels, as four new murders took place in 2013. They include broadcast journalist\u00a0Mohamed Ibrahim Raage<\/a>. Nicknamed \u201cHonest,\u201d Mohamed was shot by gunmen in Mogadishu outside his home. He had fled Somali in 2009 but had recently returned. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud\u00a0pledged<\/a>\u00a0to address the horrific situation for journalists in Somalia with a special task force, but little has come of it. Out of\u00a027<\/a>\u00a0cases of journalists assassinated in Somalia since 2005, only one resulted in a conviction, as authorities executed a suspect in the 2012 murder of\u00a0Hassan Yusuf Absuge<\/a>. But\u00a0lack of due process<\/a>\u00a0in the case led many to view the development with concern.<\/p>\n Impunity Index Rating<\/b>: 2.549 unsolved journalist murders per million inhabitants 3 The Philippines<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Last year\u2019s\u00a0conviction<\/a>\u00a0of a gunman who shot broadcast investigative journalist Gerardo Ortega in 2011 was a welcome development but did little to change the rampant impunity in the Philippines, which has held the third worst spot on the index since 2010. More than 50 journalist murders that took place from 2004 through 2013 remain unsolved, belying theclaim<\/a>\u00a0made in November 2013 by the office of President Benigno Aquino III that \u201cthere is no more impunity\u201d in the Philippines. The victims include 32 journalists\u00a0massacred<\/a>\u00a0in Ampatuan Town, Maguindanao, in 2009 and freelance photographer\u00a0Mario Sy<\/a>, one of three journalists gunned down last year. Sy was shot in front of his wife and daughter following publication of a series of photos on drug trafficking.<\/p>\n Impunity Index Rating<\/b>: 0.527 unsolved journalist murders per million inhabitants 4 Sri Lanka<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Though Sri Lanka\u2019s civil war ended nearly five years ago, the government of Mahinda Rajapaksa has shown no political will to address its record of perfect impunity in the nine murders of journalists that have taken place under his leadership, first as prime minister and then as president. Government and military officials are suspected to be behind several of the murders, including the 2009 assassination of prominent editor\u00a0Lasantha Wikramatunga<\/a>, known for his critical reporting, and the nearly 10-year-old shooting of\u00a0Aiyathurai Nadesan<\/a>, penname Nellai G. Nadesan, an award-winning journalist who was threatened before his death in response to his reporting about the army. Impunity in Sri Lanka is a major factor behind high numbers of journalists going into\u00a0exile<\/a>, according to CPJ research.<\/p>\n Impunity Index Rating<\/b>: 0.443 unsolved journalist murders per million inhabitants 5 Syria<\/strong><\/p>\n Embattled Syria joined the Index for the first time this year. More than 60 media fatalities by crossfire and dangerous assignment and unprecedented numbers of\u00a0abductions<\/a>\u00a0have marked Syria as the most\u00a0dangerous<\/a>\u00a0country in the world for the media, and now deliberate murder adds a chilling new threat to the mix. At least seven journalists have been fatally targeted in Syria since 2012, all with complete impunity. The perpetrators come from all sides\u2014non-Syrian Islamist militant groups, rebels targeting pro-government media, and President Bashar al-Assad\u2019s forces. Victims include reporters for citizen media outlets like\u00a0Abdel Karim al-Oqda<\/a>, a contributor to\u00a0Shaam News Network<\/a>, a Damascus-based citizen news organization that has posted tens of thousands of videos documenting the unrest since the uprising began in March 2011.\u00a0Al-Oqda died when security forces burned his home in retaliation for his coverage of the unrest.<\/p>\n Impunity Index Rating<\/b>: 0.313 unsolved journalist murders per million inhabitants 6 Afghanistan<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Afghanistan retains its sixth-place ranking on the index. No perpetrators have been held responsible in any of the five targeted killings that took place in the decade covered by this year\u2019s Index. More than seven years passed without a journalist being murdered in Afghanistan, although\u00a0violence<\/a>\u00a0increased<\/a>\u00a0in 2014. Afghanistan is one of the few countries where\u00a0fatalities<\/a>\u00a0among foreign journalists are higher than for local journalists.<\/p>\n Impunity Index Rating<\/b>: 0.168 unsolved journalist murders per million inhabitants 7 Mexico<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Justice continued to evade Mexican journalists who face unrelenting violence for reporting on crime and corruption. Sixteen journalists were\u00a0murdered<\/a>\u00a0with complete impunity during the decade and another in 2014. The only relief came last April with the approval of\u00a0legislation<\/a>that implements a constitutional amendment giving federal authorities in Mexico broader jurisdiction to prosecute crimes against journalists. The legislation establishes accountability at senior levels of the national government, evading the more corrupt and less effective state law enforcement officials. But critics say the special prosecutor’s office designated to handle such investigations\u00a0has been slow to exercise<\/a>\u00a0its new powers. A\u00a0botched<\/a>\u00a0prosecution in the case of Regina Mart\u00ednez P\u00e9rez, and the\u00a0dismissal<\/a>\u00a0of charges against one of the gunmen implicated in the 1997 assassination attempt against\u00a0Zeta<\/i>\u00a0magazine editor J. Jes\u00fas Blancornelas, further fueled concerns that the administration of President Enrique Pe\u00f1a Nieto is not up to the task of breaking Mexico\u2019s cycle of impunity and violence.<\/p>\n Impunity Index Rating<\/b>: 0.132 unsolved journalist murders per million inhabitants 8 Colombia<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Colombia moved from fifth to eighth place on CPJ\u2019s Index. This progress has less to do with justice\u2014no one has been convicted of killing a journalist since 2009, when three former public officials were\u00a0sentenced<\/a>\u00a0for plotting the 2003 murder of Colombian radio commentator Jos\u00e9 Emeterio Rivas\u2014than with an overall decline in fatal anti-press violence. Problems such as overburdened prosecutors, a lack of information sharing, mishandling of evidence, and malfeasance by judicial officials can\u00a0delay<\/a>\u00a0criminal investigations for years, leaving many families in despair as cases reach their 20-year statute of limitations. Failure to prosecute is proving a threat to the country\u2019s fragile improvement in security. The 2013 murder of\u00a0\u00c9dison Alberto Molina<\/a>\u00a0broke a three-year hiatus in journalist murders. Molina was shot dead as he headed home from the radio station where he worked. A week before he was killed, Molina, who often took government officials to task for corruption on his radio program, received a plastic bag filled with black dirt and unidentified bones.<\/p>\n Impunity Index Rating<\/b>: 0.126 unsolved journalist murders per million inhabitants 9 Pakistan<\/strong><\/p>\n Pakistan showed a modest improvement on the Index this year, buoyed by the recent convictions of six men for the assassination of Wali Khan Babar. However, with two convicts still at large and no official identification of the\u00a0mastermind<\/a>, justice is far from complete. A hard-won watershed\u2014at least five people\u00a0<\/a>linked to the case were also murdered, including witnesses, informants, and investigators\u2014the case has opened the door to possible prosecutions in other unsolved murders. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif told a CPJ mission thatvisited<\/a>\u00a0in March 2014 that he would consider implementing a wide range of measures based on lessons learned in Babar\u2019s case, including moving trial venues to safer locations and appointing special prosecutors to ensure justice in more than 20 journalist murders CPJ has recorded over the last decade. In the meantime, perpetrators of violent attacks against journalists, who range from banned militant groups like the Taliban to political groups, use unchecked violence against journalists to censor and control coverage.<\/p>\n Impunity Index Rating<\/b>: 0.123 unsolved journalist murders per million inhabitants 10 Russia<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Despite a mild improvement in its Index ranking and a key conviction, impunity still afflicts the media landscape in Russia, where no perpetrators in 14 murders over the Index period have been put behind bars. Last year, the\u00a0conviction and sentencing<\/a>\u00a0of a Russian businessman, the sixth suspect in the case to be prosecuted, for inciting the 2000 murder of Igor Domnikov, was a welcome advancement, though other masterminds behind the crime have yet to be brought to justice. In a less positive development, the\u00a0retrial of several suspects<\/a>\u00a0in the 2006 murder of\u00a0Novaya Gazeta<\/i>\u00a0journalist\u00a0Anna Politkovskaya<\/a>\u00a0proceeded in\u00a0fits and starts<\/a>, while the prosecution made no progress in netting\u00a0whoever commissioned the murder<\/a>. Two journalists died last year due to fatal assaults. Dagestan-based editorAkhmednabi Akhmednabiyev<\/a>\u00a0was shot from a car, and crusading environmental journalistMikhail Beketov<\/a>\u00a0succumbed to injuries he sustained in 2008 when thugs beat him into a coma. Not a single person was arrested for the assault against Beketov, despite a personal promise by\u00a0Vladimir Putin\u00a0<\/a>to bring the attackers to justice.<\/p>\n Impunity Index Rating<\/b>: 0.098 unsolved journalist murders per million inhabitants 11 Brazil<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n In recent years, Brazil\u2019s standing on the Index has volleyed up and down as sporadic but significant progress in prosecuting journalists\u2019 killers weighed against new killings. Last year, convictions were won in three cases. In a groundbreaking move, courts sentenced the mastermind behind the 2002 murder of\u00a0Domingos S\u00e1vio Brand\u00e3o Lima J\u00fanior<\/a>, owner, publisher, and columnist for a daily paper known for coverage of organized crime, making this one of the few cases worldwide to meet with complete justice. But new violent acts against the press undermine this progress. In 2013,\u00a0three<\/a>\u00a0journalists were murdered in retaliation for their work. Brazil\u2019s government has pledged to address its high rate of impunity and embraced new\u00a0measures<\/a>, such as proposed legislation that gives federal police jurisdiction to investigate crimes against journalists when there is evidence of lapses or incompetence at the state level. How fully these will be adopted and implemented over the next year will be a litmus test for the government\u2019s political will to up the fight for justice beyond rhetoric.<\/p>\n Impunity Index Rating<\/b>: 0.045 unsolved journalist murders per million inhabitants 12 Nigeria<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n A steady rise in unsolved murders in recent years landed Nigeria on CPJ’s\u00a0Impunity Index<\/a>\u00a0for the second year in a row. Since 2009, five Nigerian journalists have been targeted and killed while no perpetrators have been brought to book. The administration of President Goodluck Jonathan has shown no resolve to improve its rate of justice in media killings, insteaddownplaying<\/a>\u00a0CPJ\u2019s Index findings. A presidential spokesman told one daily newspaper that\u00a0the survey “promotes sensationalism, rather than the truth”\u00a0and\u00a0is\u00a0“not a true reflection of journalists in the country.” He blamed journalist deaths on the crossfire of Boko Haram activities in the North. Militant groups like Boko Haram are indeed responsible for many journalist fatalities in Nigeria, but not all. News editor\u00a0Bayo Ohu<\/a>\u00a0was shot at his front door by six unknown assailants in retaliation, colleagues believe, for his reporting on local politics. Nigeria is second only to Somalia in terms of Africa’s worst record on unpunished journalist murders.<\/p>\n Impunity Index Rating<\/b>: 0.030 unsolved journalist murders per million inhabitants 13 India<\/strong><\/p>\n The world\u2019s largest democracy\u2019s repeated failure to advance justice in the killings of its journalists has kept it on CPJ\u2019s Index since the survey started in 2008. At least seven journalists, all working for local print publications and reporting on corruption, politics, or crime, have\u00a0been slain<\/a>\u00a0in connection to their work in the last decade, with state responses rarely going beyond a perfunctory police investigation. Two journalists were murdered with impunity in 2013. They include\u00a0Narendra Dabholkar<\/a>, shot by two gunmen on motorcycles as he took an early morning walk in August. Dabholkar had received threats in the days before his murder and often published articles on sensitive issues including student suicides, farmer suicides, slums, and India’s Maoist movement.<\/p>\n Impunity Index Rating<\/b>: 0.006 unsolved journalist murders per million inhabitants Methodology<\/strong><\/p>\n CPJ’s Impunity Index calculates the number of unsolved journalist murders as a percentage of each country’s population. For this index, CPJ examined journalist murders that occurred between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2013, and that remain unsolved. Only those nations with five or more unsolved cases are included on this index.<\/p>\n CPJ defines murder as a deliberate attack against a specific journalist in relation to the victim’s work. Murders make up nearly 70 percent of work-related deaths among journalists, according to CPJ research. This index does not include cases of journalists killed in combat or while carrying out dangerous assignments such as coverage of street protests.<\/p>\n Cases are considered unsolved when no convictions have been obtained. Population data from the World Bank’s 2012 World Development Indicators were used in calculating each country’s rating.<\/p>\n Among the other findings in CPJ\u2019s Impunity Index:<\/p>\n
\nLast year<\/b>: Ranked 1st with a rating of 2.818<\/p>\n
\nLast year<\/b>: Ranked 2nd with a rating of 2.396<\/p>\n
\nLast year<\/b>: Ranked 3rd with a rating of 0.580<\/p>\n
\nLast year<\/b>: Ranked 4th with a rating of 0.431<\/p>\n
\nLast year<\/b>: Syria was not on the 2013 Index<\/p>\n
\nLast year<\/b>: Ranked 6th with a rating of 0.142<\/p>\n
\nLast year<\/b>: Ranked 7th with a rating of 0.131<\/p>\n
\nLast year<\/b>: Ranked 5th with a rating of 0.171<\/p>\n
\nLast year:\u00a0<\/b>Ranked 8th with a rating of 0.130<\/p>\n
\nLast year<\/b>: Ranked 9th with a rating of 0.099<\/p>\n
\nLast year<\/b>: Ranked 10th with a rating of 0.046<\/p>\n
\nLast year<\/b>: Ranked 11th with a rating of 0.031<\/p>\n
\nLast year<\/b>: Ranked 12th with a rating of 0.005<\/p>\n