The number of journalists killed last year rose by more than a third over the previous year, mainly due to the war in Afghanistan, a survey released today shows.
The survey said 37 reporters were killed as a direct result of their work, a big jump from 2000 when 24 died. Eight journalists were killed while covering the US-led military campaign in Afghanistan.
The majority of journalists, however, were murdered in reprisal for their reporting on sensitive topics, including official crime and corruption in countries such as Bangladesh, China, Thailand and Yugoslavia.
Giving a breakdown of deaths, three journalists were assassinated in Colombia, one of the world's most dangerous places for reporters. Two radio reporters died in the Philippines and two were killed in Thailand.
In the United States, a freelance news photographer was killed while reporting on the attacks on the World Trade Center, while a tabloid photo editor died of inhalation anthrax in Florida soon after the September 11th attacks.
Other countries where journalists were killed in the line of duty were Yugoslavia, Algeria, China, Bangladesh and Haiti.
After four years of decline, the number of reporters imprisoned worldwide rose by nearly 50 per cent, to 118 in 2001 from 81 the previous year, the survey said.
China kept its rank as the leading jailer of journalists for the third consecutive year, with eight more reporters arrested last year, bringing the total behind bars to 35.