Media watchdog says 65 journalists killed in 2007

New York - In its annual report, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says at least 65 journalists were killed last year because of their work.
It is the second highest number of such deaths ever and an increase of nine on 2006. Only in 1994 were more reporters killed, but that year the numbers were especially high because of the genocide in Rwanda.
Half of those who died in 2007 were killed in Iraq; others died in Somalia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The CPJ is still investigating more than 20 journalists' deaths to see if these were work-related.
The report also says that China still has the largest number of journalists in prison, followed by Cuba. The CPJ points out that despite undertakings to improve press freedom in the run-up to the Olympic Games, the situation in China remains largely unchanged.