Parvaz Mohammed Sultan

Although India is the world's largest democracy, with a diverse and expanding media, government authorities remained sensitive to criticism in the press in 2003. Officials harassed journalists through lawsuits, using restrictive laws governing criminal defamation, contempt of court, and national security to silence reporters' accounts of corruption. Meanwhile, violence in the disputed state of Kashmir continued to endanger journalists.

New York, January 2, 2004—A total of 36 journalists were killed worldwide as a direct result of their work in 2003, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). This is a sharp increase from 2002, when 19 journalists were killed. The war in Iraq was the primary reason for the increase, as 13 journalists, more than a third of this year's casualties, were killed in hostile actions.

In fact, according to CPJ's statistics, the death toll in Iraq was the highest annual total from a single country since 24 journalists were killed in Algeria in 1995 at the height of civil strife between the government and Islamist militants.

New York, April 30, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the threat issued yesterday by the militant group Tehrik-ul-Mujahideen against journalists working “against the freedom struggle” in the disputed territory of Kashmir. The organization is one of more than a dozen armed groups fighting against Indian rule in Kashmir, which is claimed by both India and Pakistan.

The rebel group’s statement was published on Tuesday, April 29, by the Current News Service, a private news agency based in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. In the statement, a senior commander of Tehrik-ul-Mujahideen was quoted as saying, “There are seven dailies among the local ones and a well-known news agency which work at the behest of the Indian (intelligence) agencies and are paid by them,” according to a translation of the report prepared by The Associated Press. “We inform such journalists that they will be killed if they fail to mend their ways,” added the commander, identified as Dr. Abd-ar-Rabb. The statement did not identify any journalist or news organization by name.

New York, April 28, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the recent attack on the offices of Doordarshan Television and Radio Kashmir in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. Five people were killed.

At about 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 26, assailants detonated a car laden with explosives near the main gate of an office complex housing the media outlets, both of which are owned by the Indian government. The attackers then threw a grenade into the security post outside the building and tried to enter the offices. A gunfight ensued, during which the three assailants and two security officers were killed.

Your Excellency:

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the murder of journalist Parvaz Mohammed Sultan, editor of an independent wire service based in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir State.

On the evening of January 31, Sultan, editor of the News and Feature Alliance (NAFA), was shot dead by an unidentified gunman. Two men entered Sultan's office at around 5:30 p.m., local time, according to news reports. After a brief conversation with Sultan, one of the men shot him in the head. The Associated Press (AP) news agency reported that the killer used a pistol equipped with a silencer. No one stopped the assailants from leaving the premises, which is located in the press enclave in central Srinagar.