NEW YORK -- At least 118 journalists were in prison in 25 countries at the end of 1998, and 24 others were allegedly killed during the year doing their jobs.
A report by the Committee to Protect Journalists details 500 attacks allegedly aimed at intimidating reporters, editors, correspondents and their news organizations."With more countries wielding insult laws and criminal libel statutes to muzzle expression, more journalists than ever face a stark choice: Exercise self-censorship or risk going to jail for hard-hitting reporting," said Ann K. Cooper, CPJ's executive director.
The 400-page report, "Attacks on the Press in 1998," analyzed journalists' working conditions in 118 countries. CPJ is a nonprofit organization dedicated to safeguarding press freedom.
Among the most dangerous areas for members of the media were the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone.
For the fifth consecutive year, Turkey led the list of nations imprisoning journalists -- 27 in 1998.
In 1997, CPJ reported that 26 journalists had been killed, most of them victims of political assassination, and at least 129 were being held in 24 countries.