Journalist Deaths Highest Since 1994

New York, January 2, 2008―Sixty-five journalists were killed in direct relation to their work in 2007, the highest death toll in more than a decade, the Committee to Protect Journalists said in a year-end report. For the fifth straight year, Iraq was the world's deadliest country for the press. Its 32 victims accounted for nearly half of the 2007 toll. Somalia was the second-deadliest country, with seven journalist deaths.

CPJ, founded in 1981, compiles and analyzes journalist deaths each year. The 2007 toll is second only to that of 1994, when 66 journalists were killed amid conflicts in Algeria, Bosnia, and Rwanda. CPJ is investigating another 23 journalist deaths in 2007 to determine whether they were work-related.

Consistent with previous years, about seven in 10 journalist deaths in 2007 were murders. Combat-related deaths and deaths in dangerous assignments accounted for the rest of the cases.

A list of journalists killed for their work in 2007, with reporting on each case, is available online. Also online are capsules for the cases that CPJ is still investigating, and capsules for media worker deaths.

Read a fuller report on 2007's journalist deaths