NEW DELHI: India is ranked 14th among the countries that have the worst record on prosecution for journalists’ murder, according to 2018 report of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), titled ‘Getting Away with Murder on Global Impunity Index’.
According to the CPJ, the index profiles countries where “journalists are slain and their killers go free”. India has been indexed for the 11th time and the situation here has “worsened”, with 18 unresolved cases, according to the CPJ report.
The CPJ examined the murders of journalists that occurred between September 1, 2008, and August 31, 2018, and the cases were unsolved. India has also not responded to UNESCO’s impunity accountability mechanism on the status of journalists killed, mentions the report.Somalia tops the list with the worst record of 25 unresolved cases. Syria is in the second position with 18 unsolved cases in which the condition has worsened, followed by Iraq, South Sudan and The Philippines.
Syria, Afghanistan, Mexico and India are the countries where the status has worsened.The CPJ’s Impunity Index calculates the number of unsolved murders of journalists depending on the percentage of the country’s population. The countries with five or more unsolved murder cases are included in the methodology of calculating the index.
Cases are considered unsolved when no convictions have taken place even if the suspects have been identified and are in custody. The index, however, does not comprise cases where journalists were killed in combat or while on assignment in hostile environments.
The CPJ’s methodology defines murder as a deliberate attack against a specific journalist in relation to the victim’s work. The index is published annually to mark the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists on November 2.
India among nations where status has worsened
In Syria, Afghanistan, Mexico and India, the status has worsened. The countries where the situation has partially improved are Iraq, Somalia, South Sudan, Colombia, Philippines, Pakistan, Brazil, Nigeria and Russia. The status of Bangladesh was unchanged.