CLOSE TO 50 journalists were killed in the course of their work last year, and there was a sharp rise in the number imprisoned.
Some 179 reporters, editors and photographers were behind bars on December 1 last year. Iran was by far the worst offender with 42 journalists in jail, according to a new report from advocacy group the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The deadliest country to work in the press was Pakistan for the second year in a row. The country accounted for seven of the 46 journalist fatalities.
Libya and Iraq both saw five journalists killed, with another three dying in Mexico. Worldwide, 21 journalists were murdered, with 18 dying on dangerous assignments and seven killed in combat or crossfire.
The Middle East and North Africa accounted for the largest share of journalists imprisoned, with 77. Eight were jailed in Europe, with no journalists behind bars anywhere in the Americas, according to the CPJ’s report Attacks on the Press in 2011.
The total of 179 was the highest for years, 34 above the 2010 tally and more than twice the number jailed in 2000.
More: Sunday Times journalist reported killed in Syrian shelling>
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