Pradeep Bhatia

New York, May 10, 2001 --- Seventeen journalists were attacked today by Indian security forces as they attempted to cover a funeral procession in the troubled Kashmir region.

The incident occurred in Magam, a town about 17 miles (28 kilometers) north of the state capital, Srinagar. Three of the journalists were hospitalized and thousands of dollars worth of camera equipment was destroyed, according to local and international news reports.

INDIAN JOURNALISTS ARE JUSTIFIABLY PROUD OF THEIR FREEDOM, which remained largely intact last year despite ongoing sectarian and political violence, and a general climate of intolerance that has worsened under the leadership of the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Journalists in India's urban centers, especially those who work for the powerful English-language national dailies, tend to be insulated from threats of violence and intimidation. Members of this elite are apt to identify the most worrisome threats to the press in similar terms as their American counterparts, warning that news is increasingly driven more by corporate concerns than by the values of public service.

New York, January 4, 2001 --- Of the 24 journalists killed for their work in 2000, according to CPJ research, at least 16 were murdered, most of those in countries where assassins have learned they can kill journalists with impunity.

This figure is down from 1999, when CPJ found that 34 journalists were killed for their work, 10 of them in war-torn Sierra Leone.

In announcing the organization's annual accounting of journalists who lost their lives because of their work, CPJ executive director Ann Cooper noted that while most of the deaths occurred in countries experiencing war or civil strife, "The majority did not die in crossfire. They were very deliberately targeted for elimination because of their reporting." Others whose deaths were documented by CPJ appear to have been singled out while covering demonstrations, or were caught in military actions or ambushes while on assignment.

August 11, 2000

Mr. Syed Salahuddin
Supreme Commander, Hezb-ul Mujahedeen
Islamabad, Pakistan

VIA FACSIMILE: 94-51-252-667
Dear Mr. Salahuddin:

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns yesterday's bomb attack in Srinagar, which killed one journalist and seriously injured at least six others. Pradeep Bhatia, a photographer for the Indian newspaper The Hindustan Times, was one of twelve people killed in the attack, police told reporters today.