Inside Story: Reporters at risk

Sixty-three journalists were killed across the globe in 2005, making it the deadliest year for a decade, according to Reporters Sans Frontières, which documented the carnage

AFGHANISTAN (2)

18.05.2005 - Shaima Rezayee, Tolo TV

Rezayee, 24, was killed after being shot in the head in Kabul. She had presented a music programme that was criticised by conservatives for being 'immoral and anti-Islamic'.

22.10.2005 - "Maiwand", Da Solah Pagham

Radio journalist who died in a bomb attack on a military convoy. Maiwand, 22, was standing near the vehicle when it was attacked.

AZERBAIJAN (2)

02.03.2005 - Elmar Husseynov, 'Monitor'

Editor of Azerbaijan's opposition weekly, the Monitor. He was shot seven times, including twice in the heart, as he returned to his apartment in Baku.

19.06.2005 - Alim Kazimli, 'Yeni Musavat'

Kazimli, 54, was paralysed following a beating at a police station in Baku. He fell into a coma and died from a brain haemorrhage six months later. He had worked for the main opposition daily.

BANGLADESH (2)

11.02.2005 - Sheikh Belaluddin Ahmed, 'Sangram'

A bomb planted on the 48-year-old correspondent's moped critically wounded him when it exploded in front of the Khulna Press Club.

12.08.2005 - Gautam Das, 'Dainik Shamokal'

Das, 28, was found dead in his office with broken arms and legs. He had also received blows to his neck. Das regularly wrote about illegal activities in Bangladesh.

BELARUS (1)

18.10.2005 - Vassili Grodnikov, 'Narodnaya Volya' Grodnikov was found dead in his apartment, having been killed by head injuries. He wrote for the opposition daily, and was focusing on crime rings

at the time.

BRAZIL (1)

01.07.2005 - José Candido Amorim Pinto, Radio Comunitaria Alternativa

Two men gunned down the investigative reporter as he parked his car outside work. He had received death threats for six months before the attack, and was injured in a shooting two months before his death.

COLOMBIA (1)

11.01.2005 - Julio Palacios Sanchez, Radio Lemas

The 55-year-old news presenter was shot in the chest three times on his way to work. He drove home before being rushed to hospital, where he died. He had survived two murder attempts, in 1996 and 1998.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (2)

01.08.2005 - Pascal Kabungulu, Héritiers de la Justice

Human-rights campaigner who was shot dead at his home. Kabungulu regularly wrote about human-rights violations in eastern Democratic Congo.

03.11.2005 - Franck 'Ngyke' Kangundu, 'La Référence Plus'

Kangundu, 52, and his wife were shot outside their home by four gunmen. The political editor tried to negotiate with the men, but they said that they were "sent to kill".

ECUADOR (1)

19.04.2005 - Julio Augusto Garcia, freelance photographer

Garcia died of a heart attack, caused by tear-gas. Police had used the gas to stop demonstrators outside parliament who were protesting against President Gutierrez.

HAITI (2)

04.04.2005 - Robenson Laraque, Tele Contact

The 25-year-old radio journalist died two weeks after being shot during a showdown between UN peacekeepers and former soldiers who were occupying a police station.

14.07.2005 - Jacques Roche, 'Le Matin'

Roche's handcuffed body was found in a chair on a Port-au-Prince street. The arts and culture editor appeared to have been tortured before being shot several times.

KAZAKHSTAN (1)

07.06.2005 - Batyrkhan Darimbet, 'Azat'

Darimbet, the editor of the opposition weekly 'Azat', was fatally injured in a road accident. Other journalists have died in similar circumstances in recent years.

KOSOVO (1)

25.06.2005 - Bardehul Ajeti, 'Bota Sot'

Ajeti died after gunmen shot him in the head. The attack was politically motivated, said the local press. Ajeti often wrote about organised crime gangs in 'Bota Sot', the Albanian-language daily.

LEBANON (2)

02.06.2005 - Samir Kassir, 'An-Nahar', TV5

Columnist Kassir, 45, was killed in Beirut when his car exploded. He was well known for his anti-Syrian views and criticism of the "Lebanese police state". He had been harassed and threatened for years.

12.12.2005 - Gebran Tueni, 'An-Nahar'

Tueni, the CEO of the Arabic-language daily 'An-Nahar' and a member of the Lebanese parliament, died in a car-bomb explosion in Beirut.

LIBYA (1)

01.06.2005 - Daif Al Ghazal, Libya Al-Youm

Al Ghazal, who wrote for the London-based online newspaper Libya Al-Youm, was kidnapped by two gunmen who forced his car to stop. When his body was found, fingers had been severed and his body had multiple bruises and stab wounds. He had been "finished off" by a gunshot to the head.

MEXICO (2)

08.04.2005 - RAUL GIBB GUERRERO, 'LA OPINION'

The 53-year-old editor of the daily La Opinion was shot seven times, including three times in the head, as he returned home in his car.

16.04.2005 - Dolores Guadalupe Garcia Escamilla, Radio Estereo 91 XHNOE Escamilla was shot nine times by a gunman outside her radio station. She died 11 days later due to liver failure caused by one of the shots.

NEPAL (2)

31.03.2005 - Khagendra Shrestha, 'Dharan Today'

The managing editor of Dharan Today was shot twice in the head while in his office. Shrestha, 45, died 16 days later.

4.10.2005 - Maheshwor Pahari, 'Rastriya Swabhiman'

Pahari, 30, who had worked for the weekly Rastriya Swabhiman, died of TB a week after being belatedly transferred from prison to hospital.

PAKISTAN (2)

07.02.2005 - Amir Nawab Khan, APTN and 'The Frontier Post'; and Allah Noor Wazir, Khyber TV, 'The Nation' and DPA

Both journalists were killed when their cars came under fire as they returned from Sararogha, where a Taliban warlord, Baitullah Mehsud, had given himself up.

PHILIPPINES (7)

02.02.2005 - Edgar Amoro, Radio DXKP

Amoro was a key witness in the murder trial of fellow-journalist Edgar Damalerio, when he was shot by two accomplices of the main suspect in the case. He was shot at point-blank range and died of his injuries.

24.03.2005 - Marlene Garcia Esperat, 'Midland Review'

Esperat, 45, was killed in front of her 10-year-old daughter by two gunmen. The columnist had police protection, but allowed her bodyguards to go home for Easter. She waged a crusade against corruption and was known for her scathing commentaries.

04.05.2005 - Klein Cantoneros, DXAA

A radio presenter who financed his own show. He was critically wounded when gunmen shot him in the street. Cantoneros was an outspoken critic of the local authorities.

10.05.2005 - Philip Agustin, 'Starline Times Recorder'

Editor and publisher who was killed by a single shot inside his daughter's home. Agustin, 54, had published negative articles about the local mayor, who denied being involved in the murder.

03.07.2005 - Rolando 'Dodong' Morales, DXMD

Eight gunmen on motorcycles shot Morales, 43, as he left work, and continued to fire at him as he lay dying. Morales had recently criticised drug traffickers in the region.

20.11.2005 - Roberto Ramos, 'Katapat'

A newspaper reporter who died when two men on a motorcycle shot him twice in the head. They killed him because he had written about their trafficking of pirated DVDs, they allegedly confessed.

01.12.2005 - George Benaojan, DYDD Bantay Radio

Radio presenter who was shot by a gunman. He had received death threats in text messages, said colleagues. The attack was made after he accused local figures, including customs officials, of being corrupt, said the police.

RUSSIA (2)

21.05.2005 - Pavel Makeev, Puls d'Azov TV

Young cameraman whose body was found dead at a roadside. He had just finished filming a report about illegal dragster racing.

28.06.2005 - Magomedzagid Varisov, 'Novoe delo'

A political editor, Varisov was shot dead as he got out of a car outside his home. He was critical of the Dagestan opposition in his articles.

SIERRA LEONE (1)

28.07.2005 - Harry Yansaneh, 'For Di People'

Yansaneh, acting editor of the independent daily For Di People, was beaten up by the henchmen of a deputy in the ruling Sierra Leone People's Party. The attack led to his death from kidney failure two months later.

SOMALIA (2)

09.02.2005 - Kate Peyton, BBC

Peyton, 39, an experienced television producer, was shot in the back by masked men while outside the Hotel Sahafi International, despite having bodyguards around her. She was part of a group of foreign reporters with a delegation of Somali parliamentarians who were supposed to pave the way for the transitional government's arrival.

05.06.2005 - Duniya Muhiyadin Nur, HornAfrik

Nur, 26, a radio journalist was shot while covering a protest by bus and truck drivers. People were ordered to turn back at the barricades by the drivers and the military. She drove on and was killed.

SRI LANKA (2)

29.04.2005 - Dharmeratnam Sivaram, TamilNet and 'Daily Mirror'

Editor and columnist found dead after being kidnapped. Sivaram was in danger because of his hard-hitting coverage of the political situation.

12.08.2005 - Relangi Sevaraja, Sri Lankan Rupavahini Corporation

Sevaraja, 45, and her husband were shot dead by gunmen. In her radio show, she was critical of the LTTE (Tamil Tigers).

IRAQ (24)

28.11.2005 - Akeel Abdul Rwdha, Al-Iraqiya

Rwdha, of the state-run al-Iraqiya television network, was killed by gunmen in Baghdad.

07.11.2005 - Ahmed Hussein Al Maliki, 'Tall Afar'

Maliki's body was discovered two months after insurgents had kidnapped him.

19.10.2005 - Mohamed Haroun, general secretary of the Union of Iraqi Journalists Haroun was shot at the wheel of his car in Baghdad.

21.09.2005 - Firas Al-Maadhidi, 'Al-Safir'

Head of Iraqi daily Al-Safir's bureau in Mosul. He was shot dead outside his home.

20.09.2005 - Hind Ismail, 'Al-Safir'

A female reporter, Ismail was gunned down by men in police uniforms in Mosul city centre.

19.09.2005 - Fakher Haydar Al-Tamimi, 'New York Times'

An Iraqi journalist who worked for foreign news media. He was kidnapped at his home and shot in the head hours later in Basra.

27.08.2005 - Rafed Al Rubaii, Al-Iraqiya

TV reporter who was covering a pro-Saddam demonstration. Was shot several times by gunmen.

02.08.2005 - Steven Vincent, freelance journalist

American freelance journalist who was abducted and shot dead in Basra. He wrote a book about the Iraqi war, In the Red Zone.

03.07.2005 - Maha Ibrahim, Baghdad TV

Ibrahim was editor-in-chief of Baghdad TV. He was killed by US military gunfire, it is believed.

01.07.2005 - Khaled Sabih al Attar, Al-Iraqiya

A television producer who was murdered in Mosul. He produced a satirical programme called I Don't Give a Damn, which made fun of government employees.

28.06.2005 - Wael Al Bakri, Al-Charkiyah

A television producer who was shot at the wheel of his car by the US army when he drove too close to a US military convoy.

22.06.2005 - Jassim Al Qais, 'Al-Siyada'

The journalist Al-Qais and his son were shot dead near Baghdad.

22.06.2005 - Yasser Al Salihy, Knight Ridder

Salihy, a reporter for the US Knight Ridder newspaper group, was shot while driving his car.

15.05.2005 - Najem Abed Khodair and Ahmad Adam, 'Al-Madaa' and 'Tariq al-Shaab'

Iraqi journalists who had their throats slit at the side of a road.

23.04.2005 - Saleh Ibrahim, Associated Press

An Iraqi cameraman who came under gunfire as he arrived at the scene of an explosion. The gunmen were aiming at US military.

15.04.2005 - Shamal Abdallah Assad, Kirkuk TV, Kurdsat

The body of the Kurdish television journalist was dumped on the street after gunmen shot him.

14.04.2005 - Fadel Hazem Fadel and Ali Abrahim Aissa, Al-Hurriya TV

A bomb killed the reporter Fadel and cameraman Aissa as they drove to report a car-bomb in Baghdad.

01.04.2005 - Ahmed Jabbar Hashim, 'Al-Sabah'

The decapitated body of Hashim, a reporter for the US-backed paper Al Sabah, was found a week after he was kidnapped. Eight men had ambushed the journalist.

14.03.2005 - Houssam Hilal Sarsam, Kurdistan-TV

Kidnapped cameraman Sarsam was shot when he tried to escape his abductors. He tried to flee during a traffic jam, but was shot four times as he ran away.

10.03.2005 - Laik Ibrahim, Kurdistan-TV

Kurdistan-TV's bureau chief in Kirkuk, Laik Ibrahim, was shot dead as he drove to work.

25.02.2005 - Raeda Mohammed Wageh Wazzan, Al-Iraqiya

Iraqi television journalist who was found dead five days after she and her son were kidnapped by masked gunmen in Mosul.

09.02.2005 - Abdel Hussein Khazaal, Al-Hurra TV

A correspondent for the US-financed station, Al-Hurra, Khazaal was gunned down along with his three-year-old son.