Julio Hernando Palacios Sánchez

By Shazdeh Omari/CPJ Deputy Editor

When Mick Deane was killed in Egypt on Wednesday, he became the 1,000th journalist documented by CPJ as having died in direct relation to his work. The photos above, a sampling of those who have died over the past 21 years, serve as a powerful reminder of the cost of critical, independent journalism.

COLOMBIA

In May, CPJ identified Colombia as one the world's five most murderous countries for journalists, a notoriety earned by 12 work-connected slayings in the country since 2000. Over the past decade, 28 journalists in Colombia have been killed for their work.

Still, deadly violence tapered off for the second consecutive year, with only one journalist slain in 2005. The government claimed credit for the decline, but many journalists assert that pervasive self-censorship has now replaced widespread murder. An October investigative report by CPJ found that threats, assaults, and intimidation continue from all sides in the ongoing civil war, causing the press to severely limit its coverage of armed conflict, human rights abuses, organized crime, drug trafficking, and corruption.

By Chip Mitchell

Threatened on all sides, Colombia's news media muzzle themselves.

JANUARY 11, 2005
Updated: September 2, 2005

Julio Hernando Palacios Sánchez, Radio Lemas
KILLED—CONFIRMED

Two armed motorcyclists shot Palacios, 55, a veteran radio news host, as he drove to work around 5:30 a.m. in the city of Cúcuta, in the unstable northeastern region near the Venezuelan border.

New York, January 11, 2005—Gunmen shot and killed a veteran Colombian radio news host early this morning in the city of Cúcuta, in the unstable northeastern region near the Venezuelan border. The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating the murder to determine whether it was related to his journalism.

Two armed motorcyclists shot Julio Hernando Palacios Sánchez, 55, as he drove to work around 5:30 a.m. Palacios, who hosted the morning program "Radio Periódico El Viento" on Radio Lemas, was shot three times in the chest, said the local police chief, Col. José Humberto Henao.