Killings of 44 reporters documented in 2010

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Committee to Protect Journalists reports 2010 was another mixed year for press freedom, saying that while international law and conventions guarantee the right to free expression, international institutions such as the United Nations and regional organizations have failed to robustly defend that right. The report also highlights the record high number of journalists imprisoned across the globe last year.

CPJ’s annual report, "Attacks on the Press", documents the killings of 44 reporters, editors and photojournalists and the detention of 145 others last year. The authors say that is the highest number imprisoned since 1996.

Nearly half those jailed were in Iran and China, with 34 jailed reporters each. Another group seeing prison time on the rise is bloggers, who account for nearly half of all those in jail.

Pakistan was singled out for being the most dangerous country for a reporter to work.

But Iraq, which had previously been the most dangerous country for reporters in 2004 and 2005 when dozens were killed, has seen a dramatic improvement. The Committee to Protect Journalists says five reporters were killed there last year - its lowest number since the conflict began in 2003, VOA News reported.