3 May - Guatemala - Mario Rolando López Sánchez
Radio producer Mario Rolando López Sánchez was gunned down outside his home in Guatemala City.
López, producer of the political debate program “Cosas y Casos de la Vida Nacional” and various social programs on national privately-owned Radio Sonora, was shot at 7 p.m. as he was walking from his car to his home in a northern neighborhood in Guatemala City, according to local press reports.
Arnulfo Agustín Guzmán, Director of Radio Sonora, told the Committee to Protect Journalists that López was shot four times in the head, back and chest. According to his wife, Blanca Castellano, nothing was stolen from his car or wallet. López was taken to the local Hospital Roosevelt where he died moments after arrival, the Guatemalan press reported.
López was one of the founders of Radio Sonora, where he had worked as a producer for 14 years, said Agustín. His program, “Cosas y Casos de la Vida Nacional,” was critical of Guatemalan politics in general, added Agustín.
According to the journalist’s colleagues and family, he had not received threats. However, Agustín told CPJ that the radio station has been repeatedly threatened over the phone. Radio Sonora’s director believes that López’ murder was not accidental as it happened on World Press Freedom Day, and on the day the country’s presidential campaign was launched.
Local authorities are investigating the murder but they do not have a motive yet, said Agustín.

5 May - Cameroon - Anthony Mitchell
Anthony Mitchell, correspondent with the Associated Press, was on board Kenya Airways flight KQ507 when it came down in southern Cameroon. He had been on assignment in the region for the past week.
Mr Mitchell, who is originally from London, lives in Nairobi with his wife Catherine and their children Tom, three, and Rose, one.

5 May - Brazil - Luiz Carlos Barbon Filho
Luiz Carlos Barbon Filho, known for investigative reporting that exposed political corruption, was gunned down in the southern state of Sao Paulo.
Barbon was sitting with two friends at a bar terrace in Porto Ferreira, 142 miles (228 kilometres) from the city of Sao Paulo, when two hooded individuals riding a motorcycle approached and shot Barbon twice at close range, with one shot hitting the journalist in a leg and the other in his abdomen.
Barbon, 37, was a columnist for the local dailies Jornal do Porto and JC Regional, and he contributed to the local radio station Radio Porto FM. Police Chief Eduardo Henrique Campos told reporters that investigators are looking into Barbon's journalism as the main motive.

5 May - Somalia - Mohammed Abdullahi Khalif
Journalist for Galkayo based Radio Voice for Peace was killed by crossfire while covering an army raid on an illegal gun market in the city of Galkayo.

6 May - Iraq - Dmitry Chebotayev
Chebotayev, 29, was a Moscow-based freelance photographer who was working in Iraq for the Russian edition of Newsweek magazine. He had also worked for European Pressphoto Agency (EPA).
Chebotayev and six soldiers from the US coalition died as a result of injuries sustained when their vehicle was attacked by a roadside bomb in Diyala Province, a military statement said.

9 May - Iraq - Raad Mutashar
9 May - Iraq - Imad Abdul-Razzaq
9 May - Iraq - Aqil Abdul-Qadir
Three Iraqi print journalists were killed in a drive-by shooting near the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk. They were working for the independent Raad media company, which publishes several weekly newspapers and monthly magazines that deal with politics, education and arts.
Those killed were identified as the company's director, Raad Mutashar, and three of his colleagues, Imad Abdul-Razzaq, Aqil Abdul-Qadir and Nibras Razzaq, the driver.
Their attackers, armed with machine guns, opened fire as they drove past a vehicle carrying the journalists in the Rashad area south-west of Kirkuk.

13 May - Palestine - Suleiman Abdul-Rahim al-Ashi
Gunmen wearing presidential guard uniforms stopped a taxi, carrying Suleiman Abdul-Rahim al-Ashi, 25, an economics editor for the Hamas-affiliated daily Palestine, and Mohammad Matar Abdo, 25, a manager responsible for distribution and civic relations, in a high-security area southwest of Gaza City that is controlled by Fatah.
News accounts vary on the ensuing events; the two men were beaten before being shot on a public street. Al-Ashi died at the scene, while Abdo was taken to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City where he died the next day.
Al-Ashi and Abdo were scheduled to meet with economic and tourism organizations in Gaza that afternoon. The fledgling Palestine newspaper was launched early this May.
The murders come amid clashes in the coastal strip over the previous 24 hours. The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that at least six people died and another 52 wounded in fighting between rival Fatah and Hamas militias.

15 May - Palestine - Mohammad Awad al-Joujou
Issam Mohammad Awad al-Joujou, a journalist for the website Palestine Live, was killed by gunmen in Gaza City while on his way to cover clashes.

15 May - USA - Joe Loy
Joe Loy, an assignment editor at Fox Carolina news, was on Interstate 85 Monday afternoon to shoot video of an overturned tractor-trailer truck was killed in a crash caused by a driver who kept going, police said.
Loy was sent to the scene to shoot video of the lumber truck that had dumped its load on the southbound lanes of I-85 near mile marker 70.
While Loy was out of his news vehicle, a burgundy pickup truck cut off a white van causing it to swerve into Loy, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

16 May - Somalia - Abshir Ali Gabra
16 May - Somalia - Ahmed Hassan
At least 8 persons, including two journalists, were killed and 6 were wounded after a convoy carrying a Somali government delegation led by the governor of Middle Shabelle province, south-central Somalia, Mohammed Omar Deele, was ambushed by unknown gunmen, according to witnesses in the region.
Abshir Ali Gabra, a journalist working for IQK FM station based in the capital Mogadishu and Ahmed Hassan with SBC Radio in Bosaso (A commercial city in the semiautonomous province in north Somalia) were among the killed.
The journalists were also working with Jawhar radio in the region.

16 May - Haiti - Alix Joseph
Alix Joseph, director of private Radio Provinciale in the port town of Gonaives, was ambushed by two assailants as he sat in a car with his fiancee, who escaped unharmed. Alix Joseph was shot 11 times.
Colleagues said they did not know if Joseph, 38, had received threats, but said some people were unhappy with the station's reporting on local crime.

17 May - Iraq - Alaa Uldeen Aziz
Alaa Uldeen Aziz, 33, a cameraman working for the US network ABC was killed when the car he was travelling in was attacked. The cameraman was returning home from work along with its colleague, Saif Laith Yousuf.
Alaa Uldeen Aziz is survived by his wife, his two daughters and his mother.

17 May - Nigeria - Moses Ezulike
17 May - Nigeria - Agbo Isaac
17 May - Nigeria - Alfred James
17 May - Nigeria - Musa Nuhu
17 May - Nigeria - Judith Adama
17 May - Nigeria - Unknown
Six journalists lost their lives in an accident in Shendam, Plateau. The newsmen, members of the Plateau Correspondents Chapel, were travelling with Gov. Joshua Dariye to inaugurate some projects in the area. The bodies have been deposited at the Air Force Military Hospital in Jos. The dead journalists are Moses Ezulike (Champion), Agbo Isaac (The Nation), Alfred James (Leadership), Musa Nuhu (NAN), Judith Adama (New Nigerian) and an AIT correspondent.

20 May - Iraq - Ali Khalil
An Iraqi newspaper reporter was kidnapped while leaving a relative's house in Baghdad and found dead several hours later, his newspaper reported on Monday.
The attack on Ali Khalil, 22, occurred on Sunday in Baiyaa, an increasingly volatile neighbourhood in Baghdad, according to the Azzaman newspaper.
The newspaper, which did not give more details of the attack, was printed with a long black bar across its front page in mourning for Khalil.

22 May - Haiti - Francois Latour
Caraibes FM radio personality, theatre figure and publicist Francois Latour was shot in the stomach after being kidnapped on his way home.
A Haitian police spokesman called the murder a sign of the resurgence of criminal killings in the capital. He added that the authorities are ready and willing to take appropriate measures to deal with it.
Latour's killing follows last week's murder of another prominent radio journalist Alix Joseph, who was the manager of Radio Provinciale in Gonaives.
Thousands of demonstrators staged a protest Tuesday over Joseph's assassination in the northern port town.
The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti has condemned the attack and pledged to help authorities investigate and prosecute the killers.

22 May - Philippines - Dodie Nuñez
Freelance photographer Dodie Nuñez was shot dead by three men who used a motorcycle to intercept the minibus in which he was riding in the town of General Mariano Alvarez, Cavite province.
Local media reports identified Nuñez as a photojournalist who worked mainly for the local newspaper Katapat. The paper is owned by Archie Gadang, who waged an unsuccessful campaign for provincial governor. The winner of last week’s gubernatorial election, Ireneo Maliksi, has filed a libel lawsuit against Gadang for publishing corruption allegations, the GMA News Web site reported.

26 May - Iraq - Aidan Abdallah Al-Jamiji
According to Iraqi police, the body of Aidan Abdullah al-Jamiji, who was in charge of Kirkuk television's Turkoman language section and was a well-known local musician, was found on 26 May in the boot of his car. The car had been torched and dumped near a cemetery in the northern city of Kirkuk.

28 May - Iraq - Abdel Rahman al-Issawi
In the western city of Fallujah, journalism professor Abdel Rahman al-Issawi was murdered by gunmen together with six of his family members on Monday night, according to eye witnesses quoted by the independent daily al-Mada.
Issawi, who contributed to several newspapers and satellite channels and taught media studies, was killed along with his father, brother, and four children in his home.
While violence on the whole has been down in the western province of Anbar, the area around Fallujah has sees continuing high levels of insurgent activity.

29 May - Iraq - Mahmoud Hassib al-Qassab
Unidentified gunmen killed the editor-in-chief of a weekly newspaper published in Kirkuk in front of his house in the predominantly-Turkoman neighborhood of al-Musalla, northern Kirkuk, a police source said.
"Mahmoud Hassib al-Qassab, the editor of al-Hawadeth weekly, was an ethnic Turkoman and the fourth journalist to be killed in Kirkuk this month," the source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
Qassab was also the leader of the Movement to Rescue Turkomans. Al-Hawadeth was the first newspaper published in Kirkuk in 1962. It stopped for a while but Qassab had it re-issued after 2003.

30 May - Iraq - Nezar Abdul Wahid al-Radi
Gunmen killed Nezar Abdul Wahid al-Radi in the southern city of Amara as he prepared for a journalism workshop with colleagues.
"A group of three gunmen opened fire against Nezar Abdul Wahid al-Radi and five other journalists at 11:00 (0700 GMT) near al-Arousa Hotel in central Amara, killing him on the spot," said his Awsat al-Iraq news agency.
Radi was hit by four bullets while his colleagues were unharmed.
The Awsat al-Iraq website is a clearing house for Iraqi media agencies to pool their resources to make up for a lack of a national news agency and was launched in March 2005 with support from United Nations Development Programme and the Reuters Foundation.
Though officially in a province stable enough to no longer require coalition forces to maintain security, Amara is the site of frequent clashes between rival militias.

JUNE 2 June - Pakistan - Noor Hakeem Five people, including a tribal chief, a political tehsildar and a journalist were killed, when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in the Dara Khwar area on Saturday. Those who died were identified as Nazukai Salarzai tribe chief Malik Muhammad Ayaz, his son Mohammad Pervez, political tehisildar Wisal Khan, journalist Noor Hakeem and sepoy Hassan Muhammad. The tehsildar had gone to Mallsaid Banda in Salarzai tehsil to supervise an operation against a suspect wanted in connection with the Feb 16 murder of Dr Abdul Ghani Khan, the agency’s top surgeon. When the victims were returning to Khaar, the Bajaur Agency’s headquarters, their vehicle hit the bomb. The five men died on the spot. Officials believe that the device was an improvised remote control bomb. Journalist Noor Hakeem was a correspondent for Daily Pakistan and Vice President of the Tribal Union of Journalists. He was accompanying the tehsildar to cover the operation against the suspect. 6 June - Afghanistan - Zakia Zaki Zakia Zaki, director of the independent Radio Solh [Peace] in the central Parwan Province, was shot dead inside her house last night. Zakia's husband Abdol Ahad told Pajhwok Afghan News armed men sneaked into their house in the midnight and opened fire at her. Ahad would not tell the number of the assailants or their identities. Parwan Police Chief Mohammad Salim Ehsas confirmed the killing of the female staffer. He said police was investigating the case to identify and arrest the culprits. Zakia, 35, had also served as headmaster at the girls' high school in Jabalosaraj. She also attended the Constitution Loya Jerga on behalf of the people of Parwan. Solh is the only independent radio station operating in Parwan Province over the previous eight years. Zakia's was the second murder of a female journalist in less than a week. Earlier, 22-year-old Shakiba Sanga-Amaj, anchorperson with the private Shamshad TV, was mysteriously shot to death inside her house in Kabul Thursday night. 7 June - Iraq - Sahar al-Haideri A journalist working with the independent Aswat al-Iraq news agency in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul was killed by gunmen, the agency said. Sahar al-Haideri was married with three daughters, the agency said. Her body was found in the al-Hadbaa neighbourhood of northeastern Mosul. "Unknown armed people killed her today at noon," Aswat al-Iraq (Voice of Iraq) said in a statement. Aswat al-Iraq said Haideri's name had been on a "death list" of journalists issued by the local leader of the al Qaeda-led militant group, Islamic State in Iraq. Another Aswat al-Iraq journalist, Nazar al-Radhi, was among the journalists killed in May. 11 June - Iraq - Aref Ali A journalist working for the independent Aswat al-Iraq news agency was blown up by a roadside bomb in the volatile province of Diyala north of Baghdad, the third agency employee to be killed in the past two weeks. The agency said in a statement that Aref Ali, 32, was killed while on assignment in Diyala, where violence has spiked as al Qaeda and other Sunni insurgents battle U.S. and Iraqi troops. Aswat al-Iraq said Ali was hit by a roadside bomb near the town of Khalis, north of Baghdad. 13 June - DR Congo - Serge Maheshe Serge Maheshe, news editor of the Bukavu office of UN-backed Radio Okapi, was shot by gunmen as he was about to get into his UN-marked car in a residential neighbourhood. According to initial reports, Maheshe was killed by two or three men in civilian dress carrying Kalashnikov assault rifles as he emerged from a friend’s home in a residential district of Bukavu at about 9 p.m. Accompanied by his friend, Maheshe was about to get into one of the UN-marked vehicles that are used by the station’s journalists when the men ordered them to put their hands in the air. One of the gunmen asked which of them was Maheshe. He identified himself. After telling the friend to leave, and gunmen told Maheshe to sit on the ground beside the car. Then one of them shot him three times in the chest. Aged 31, Maheshe had worked for Radio Okapi since 2002 and had become one of the region’s leading journalists. Honest, independent and very professional, he had covered all of the crises in the eastern part of the country since the peace accord in 2002, including last year’s general elections. The joint creation of the Swiss foundation Hirondelle and the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC), Radio Okapi has more listeners than any other station in the country. 17 June - Iraq - Flayeh Wadi Mijdab Gunmen ambushed Flayeh Wadi Mijdab, editor of the state-owned al-Sabah newspaper, on 13 June in eastern Baghdad as he was heading to work, police said. His 25-year-old son and driver were left behind. Mijdab's body was discovered 17 June near the Firdaws mosque in the al-Bonuk area of northeast Baghdad, and handed over to a local morgue, police said. 17 June - Pakistan - Noor Ahmed Solangi Noor Ahmed Solangi, correspondent for the Sindhi-language newspaper, Khabroon, in Kingri, Sindh province, died in a hail of nine bullets after he was ambushed by six people on motorbikes and armed with Kalashnikovs, who shot him at point blank range as he was distributing newspapers on 17 June. A friend of the reporter, Khan Muhammad, told Reporters Without Borders, “Solangi received death threats two days previously, from a Sindhi tribe, Junejo, which was unhappy about his reports". The journalist had written an article contesting allegations by Junejo members that a rival clan had killed some of its members in a recent clash. The journalist asserted that they had been killed by police officers. 24 June - Iraq - Zeena Shakir Mahmoud Zeena Shakir Mahmoud was shot to death Sunday on her way home from work in Mosul, the second female journalist to be killed in the northern city this month, officials said. Mahmoud, a former radio broadcaster, was writing about women's affairs for the Al-Haqiqa newspaper, an organ of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, according to Abdul-Ghani Ali Yahya, head of the Journalists Union of Kurdistan. Although she worked for a Kurdish paper, she was a Sunni Arab. She was attacked around 3:35 p.m. in the mostly Sunni Arab neighborhood of Intisar in eastern Mosul, a city 225 miles northwest of the capital, police Brig. Gen. Abdul-Karim al-Jubouri said. 25 June - Philippines - Vicente Sumalpong Vicente Sumalpong, who works for a state-run radio station, was about to board his motorcycle with two companions when gunmen fired at them in Bongao town in Tawi-Tawi province, 1,125 kilometres south of Manila. Sumalpong suffered five gunshot wounds and died on the way to hospital, while his companions - broadcaster Vema Antham and nephew Roilan Borja - were injured but out of danger. Antham, who is being treated at a local hospital, said she suffered only slight injuries because Sumalpong covered her with his body. "The shooting was so quick," she said. "I think it was over in less than 30 seconds. The gunmen fled as we lay on the ground." Investigators were looking into the possibility that the attack might be related to the victim's work as a broadcast journalist. 25 June - Iraq - Rahim al-Maliki Rahim al-Maliki, who worked for al-Iraqiya TV, was among 13 people killed in a suicide attack at a Baghdad hotel, where he was filming tribal leaders about their decision to join U.S.-led forces in the fight against factions linked to al-Qaida. Four of the tribal sheiks from the western Anbar province were among the victims. 26 June - Iraq - Hamed Sarhan Iraqi journalist Hamed Sarhan was killed by gunmen in southern Baghdad, Iraq's press syndicate president Shehab al-Tamimi said Wednesday. Sarhan, 57, was shot dead Tuesday afternoon on his way home, al-Tamimi said. For more than 30 years, Sarhan worked for many newspapers, local magazines and also for the Iraqi news agency. He is survived by his wife and five children. 27 June - Iraq - Luay Suleiman Luay Suleiman, a Christian working with a newspaper called Nineveh al-Hurra in the northern city of Mosul, and another man were found dead on Wednesday, Brigadier General Saeeh Ahmed of Nineveh police told AFP. "Luay was carrying an identity card which showed him working as a reporter with the newspaper," Ahmed said. He said the two men, who were also members of a local Christian cultural organisation, were killed by gunmen in the Al-Zuhur neighbourhood of Mosul. As more and more media outlets relocate to neighbouring countries and the Kurdish north "their local correspondents are left without any protection and their killers continue to operate with impunity," the Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said in a statement. JULY 03 July - Pakistan - Javed Khan Javed Khan, a photo-journalist, who worked for London-based Urdu channel DM Digital, was hit in the chest by a stray bullet while covering the Lal Masjid Besieged Mosque when gunbattle between the militant students and the paramilitary forces surrounding the mosque started. The journalist had gone to interview burqa-clad girls students of the mosque. 04 July - Pakistan - Maulana Masud Mehmood Journalists on 4 July held a demonstration in front of the Press Information Department (PID) to protest the government’s inability to provide protection to mediapersons during the coverage of the Lal Masjid stand-off in which two journalists have been killed and another critically injured. They offered their full support to the bereaved families and demanded of the government to conduct an inquiry into the incident and arrest the culprits and bring them to book. They said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had done nothing to provide any group insurance cover to journalists who are turning out to be the most vulnerable segment during conflict situations. They said it was not known as to who was responsible for the death of Maulana Masud Mehmood, a reporter of Daily Islam, who was killed on Wednesday and Javed Khan, a photo journalist of Daily Markaz killed on Tuesday. 04 July - Iraq - Mohammed Hilal Karji Baghdad TV's journalist, Mohammed Hilal Karji was kidnapped on June 8 outside his home while on his way to work in the Yusifiyah region south of Baghdad. His body was later found in the morgue 04 July - Iraq - Sarmad Hamdi al-Hassani Baghdad TV's journalist, Sarmad Hamdi al-Hassani was seized from his home in Baghdad's Al-Jamia neighbourhood on June 27. His body was later found in the morgue 05 July - Guatemala - Jorge Alejandro Castañeda Martínez Photographer Jorge Alejandro Castañeda Martínez, was gunned down in Guatemala City on 5 July. The 35-year-old had just dropped his sons, aged six and four, off at their school when gunmen opened fire, shooting him a dozen times. Castañeda Martínez had worked for the national dailies Nuestro Diario and Siglo Veintiuno and was employed by the local council at the time of his murder. The renowned photographer was awarded a national prize in 2005. 06 July - Eritrea - Paulos Kidane Paulos Kidane died last month in an attempt to flee on foot across the border into Sudan. Paulos, a journalist with the Amharic-language service of state-owned Eri-TV and radio Dimtsi Hafash -- or Voice of the Broad Masses -- had to be left behind by companions after he collapsed during the arduous trek. Several weeks later, government officials informed his family of his "accidental death", the Reporters without Borders statement added. Paulos was amongst nine journalists arrested last November on suspicion of staying in contact with colleagues who have fled the country, or of planning to leave Eritrea themselves, RSF said. All were later released but placed under strict surveillance that included having their telephones tapped, the media watchdog added. Paulos was "a humble man, not overly ambitious, known for his jokes and his loud laugh," the statement said, quoting a friend of the journalist. Leaving Eritrea without permission is highly dangerous, with guards reportedly operating a shoot-to-kill policy on those who try to slip across the border illegally. 06 July - Iraq - Ali Watan Ali Watan, journalist working for Samawa local TV, was killed in the clashes that erupted between security forces and fighters of the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi army in the southern Iraqi city of Samawa. Watan was killed by a sniper's bullet while entering the Samawa TV building. 12 July - Iraq - Namir Noor-Eldeen Photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22, working for Reuters in Iraq was killed along his driver in eastern Baghdad at a time when clashes had been taking place between U.S. forces and militants in the area. The cause of his deaths is unclear. Witnesses spoke of an explosion in the area. Iraqi police said either a U.S. air strike or a mortar attack had occurred. Noor-Eldeen was single. 13 July - Iraq - Khalid W. Hassan Khalid W. Hassan, 23, an Iraqi journalist for The New York Times was shot to death as he headed to work in the southwest Baghdad district of Sadiyah The circumstances of the attack remain unclear at this time. Hassan worked for the paper in Baghdad for four years. 16 July - Iraq - Mustafa Gaimayani 16 July - Iraq - Majeed Mohammed Mustafa Gaimayani, editor of Kirkuk al-Yawm, and Majeed Mohammed, a sports reporter for the paper, were killed when a suicide attacker driving a truck packed with explosives detonated the vehicle near one of the offices of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani’s party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, in central Kirkuk. At the time of the blast Mohammed and Gaimayani were working on the weekly in preparation for its publication. Mohammed was also a correspondent and Gaimayani a writer for the Kurdish-language weekly Hawal. Gaimayani, who was also known as Mustafa Darwish, was in his mid-40s. He was a dual national with Swedish citizenship. Majeed Mohammed was in his mid-30s. 17 July - Brazil - Joao Roberto Brito 17 July - Brazil - Luiz Pinto Joao Roberto Brito, journalistn and Luiz Pinto, editor, of SBT broadcaster died in the TAM plane crash in Sao Paulo airport of Congonhas. The journalists were commuting to a work meeting in Sao Paulo. 27 July - USA - Jim Cox 27 July - USA - Rick Krolak 27 July - USA - Scott Bowerbank 27 July - USA - Craig Smith KTVK-TV photojournalist Jim Cox and pilot Scott Bowerbank, KNXV-TV photographer Rick Krolak and reporter-pilot Scott Craig were killed when their helicopters collided while tracking a police chase through the streets of downtown Phoenix. Witnesses said the KTVK helicopter appeared stationary when the KNXV helicopter struck it. 27 July - Iraq - Adnan al-Safi Adnan al-Safi, 40, a journalist working for Al-Anwar, a Kuwaiti-owned satellite channel died after being shot in the head by a sniper on his way home from work. Safi died from nerve damage more than 24 hours after the incident, which took place in the Otaifiyah area of northern Baghdad. Safi, who also worked as an adviser to the Iraqi journalists' union and as a reporter for Sawt al-Iraq (Voice of Iraq), is survived by his wife and three children. AUGUST 01 August - Sri Lanka - Nilakshan Sahapavan Nilakshan Sahapavan, 22, of the Jaffna Media Resource Training Centre and a part-time reporter, was shot by gunmen who stormed his home during a night-time curfew in the region. Nilakshan is the eighth media worker or journalist killed in Jaffna since May 2006. 02 August - USA - Chauncey Bailey A 19-year-old man has confessed to killing prominent African-American journalist Chauncey Bailey, who was gunned down in Oakland as he walked to work. Devaughndre Broussard, a handyman at Your Black Muslim Bakery, told authorities he killed Bailey, police Sgt. Tony Jones said. Authorities later said they found evidence linking the business to Bailey's death along with two other slayings. The Oakland Tribune said Broussard told police he killed Bailey because he was angry about Bailey's past stories about the bakery and concerned about future articles he might be working on. Bailey reportedly was working on a story about a bankruptcy filing by the business at the time he was killed. 09 August - DR Congo - Patrick Kikuku Armed men in military uniform shot dead a Congolese photographer in the eastern city of Goma, the national press union said on Friday. Patrick Kikuku, 34, a freelance photojournalist and reporter, was approached on his way home at around 7.30 pm (1730 GMT) on Thursday by several men in military uniform, union officials said. 11 August - India - Shobhana Singh A Zee TV reporter was killed and two others were injured in a mudslide in Himachal Pradesh while driving to film a rare meteor shower, it was announced Sunday. The victim has been identified as Shobhana Singh, 27, a senior correspondent. Her body has been recovered and attempts are being made to fly it out to Hindon air base on Delhi's outskirts, Indian Army spokesman Col. S.K. Sakhuja said. The cameraman and driver who were injured would also be flown out on the same aircraft, he added. The accident occurred Saturday evening when a two-vehicle Zee convoy, including an outside broadcast (OB) van, was on its way to Chandratal in the Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh to film a rare meteor shower that is visible from the spot. At Chhatru, some 40 km from Chandratal, the convoy encountered a landslide. While the OB van managed to get across, the vehicle carrying Shobhana Singh and her two colleagues stalled. The driver then requested the other two to push the vehicle across, Sakhuja said. As they were doing so, a huge mudslide suddenly rolled down the mountainside. The driver and the cameraman managed to jump to safety but the young woman wasn't so lucky, and the mudslide carried her and the vehicle down a 30-foot gorge. Defence Minister A.K. Antony was immediately informed and he directed the army and the air force to launch a rescue operation, the spokesman said. By then, however, night had fallen and it was raining, making it difficult to mount a rescue operation. As soon as day broke Sunday morning, Lt. Col. Ahlawat, who commands an army transit camp in the area, led a group of men to the spot and discovered the body between the vehicle and a boulder. 11 August - Somalia - Mahad Ahmed Elmi Mahad Ahmed was killed by unknown men with pistols around 7:20am while walking on Ifka Halan Road in Gubta Village on his way to the Radio station. Capital voice is owned by HornAfrik Media Incorporation. The assailants shot Mahad several times at the head. He was rushed to Madina hospital where he died. Both Capital Voice and HornAfrik Radios were shutdown for the burial. 11 August - Somalia - Ali Iman Sharmarke Managing Director of HornAfrik Radio, Ali Iman Sharmarke, was killed after a vehicle that he was riding was blown up by a remote-controlled mine laid by unknown assailants as vehicle was part of a convoy that came back from the burial of journalist Mahad Ahmed Elmi, who was killed this morning in Mogadishu. Journalist Sahal Abdulle who works with Reuters News Agency was injured in the detonation, as he was in same vehicle with Ali Iman Sharmarke. According to journalists from the burial, Ali's vehicle was in the middle of the convoy and the mine did not blow up with the vehicles that were ahead of the Ali's vehicle. 22 August - Paraguay - Tito Alberto Palma Radio reporter Tito Alberto Palma was shot to death at a friend’s house in Paraguay’s southeastern city of Mayor Otaño. Palma, a reporter for the local radio station Mayor Otaño and correspondent for the Asunción-based Radio Chaco Boreal, was having dinner at a friend’s home when two armed individuals in camouflage broke in at 10:40 p.m. Without saying a word, the two assailants began to fire their weapons, the owner of the house, Aparicio Martínez, told local reporters. Palma was shot in the head, neck, arms, and legs. Palma, 48, a Chilean national, often denounced organized crime, illegal smuggling of gas, and local government corruption in the southeastern province of Itapúa. Palma had also reported recently on the existence of illegal radio stations in Mayor Otaño, a small city on Paraguay’s border with Argentina, 285 miles (460 kilometers) from Asunción. Palma had received death threats for years. Anonymous calls threatening the reporter and his family had intensified in the last month. A week prior to his death, Palma announced on the air that he was returning to Chile because of the threats. Palma had lived in Paraguay since 1991. According to Paraguayan press reports, local police issued a statement saying they were investigating the murder but not speculating on a motive. Palma’s colleagues believe he was murdered in retaliation for his work. 24 August - Somalia - Abdulkadir Mahad Moallim Kaskey Abdulkadir Mahad Moallim Kaskey, the regional correspondent of Radio Banadir in the south-western province of Gedo, died after unknown gunmen opened fire on the minibus that he was riding in this morning in the village of El Ilan. Another passenger was wounded in the attack. SEPTEMBER 3 September - Iraq - Amir al-Rashidi A cameraman working for state-run Al-Iraqiya television in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul has been shot dead. "Unidentified gunmen killed Amir al-Rashidi, a cameraman who works for Al-Iraqiya, in the centre of Mosul on Monday night," said Brigadier General Saeed Ahmed, spokesman for Mosul police. 9 September - Mexico - David Herrera 9 September - Mexico - Carlos Antonio Ballesteros 9 September - Mexico - Andrés Ramírez Monclova-based reporters David Herrera from the daily Zócalo, Carlos Antonio Ballesteros from the daily El Tiempo, and Andrés Ramírez from the daily La Prensa were killed during a highway explosion 18 miles (30 kilometers) south of Monclova. The explosion occurred minutes after reporters had arrived at the scene to cover a collision between a truck carrying 20 tons of mining explosives and a smaller vehicle, according to Mexican press reports. Cisneros said journalists were not aware of the truck’s heavy load of explosives. Controversy has arisen in Coahuila, a center for mining, over the extent of explosives being transported by truck for use in local mines. 11 September - USA - Thomas Newby 11 September - USA - Mark Copeland A helicopter, flying low to photograph a model in a speeding Cigar Boat, plunged into the Gulf of Mexico near Casey Key on Tuesday morning, killing two photographers and critically injuring the pilot. The helicopter's skids may have grazed the water, causing the aircraft to flip over and crash into calm Gulf waters about one mile offshore, said Lt. Chuck Lesaltato, spokesman for the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office. Killed were Thomas Newby, 50, of Manhattan Beach, Calif., the chief photographer for Powerboat Magazine, and Mark Copeland, 44, of North Carolina, an Emmy-winning video photographer. The crew was on assignment for Powerboat Magazine when the crash occurred at about 10 a.m. 14 September - Nepal - Shankar Panthi Shankar Panthi, a correspondent of the local pro-Maoist "Naya Satta Daily" newspaper, in Sunawal, in the western district of Nawalparasi, was found by police at a roadside near a petrol station on 14 September 2007. His body, which bore the signs of injuries to several parts of his body. Aged 34 and known to be a Maoist supporter, Panthi was killed on his way back from covering the destruction of an office of the Young Communist League, a pro-Maoist organisation. The police initially claimed he was knocked off his bicycle by a vehicle and died on the spot. They later said he died on the way to hospital. A bus driver's arrest supported the road accident story. Panthi's suspicious death has sparked a wave of outrage. The Association of Revolutionary Journalists does not rule out the possibility that he was murdered. The YCL has called for an autopsy by a team of three doctors to ensure impartiality. Residents of Sunawal blocked a road and closed a market on 15 September to put pressure on the local authorities. 20 September - Iraq - Muhannad Ghanim Ahmed Unidentified gunmen have killed an Iraqi radio journalist in Mosul in the second such attack in Iraq's main northern city this month, police said on Friday. Muhannad Ghanim Ahmed, who worked for the privately owned Radio Dar al-Salam, was gunned down late Thursday in the eastern Al-Muharibeen district of the city, police Brigadier General Abdul Karim Khalaf al-Juburi said. 20 September - El Salvador - Salvador Sánchez Roque Sánchez, a freelance radio reporter, was shot while on his way to buy milk at a nearby shop, according to press reports and CPJ interviews. Sánchez, 38, covered social movements and protests in Florencia, a town four miles (7 kilometers) from the capital, San Salvador, said David Rivas, director of local Radio Mi Gente, for which Sánchez often reported. Protesters had told Sánchez to be careful about his coverage, Rivas told CPJ. Weeks prior to his death, Sánchez told Rivas that he had received repeated death threats from the local arm of the Salvadoran gang Mara Salvatrucha. Sánchez did not cover gang-related news, colleagues told CPJ. Rivas said the callers did not specify why they were threatening Sánchez. Salvadoran police arrested José Alfredo Hernández, a member of Mara Salvatrucha, on October 11. During a press conference that day, Héctor Mendoza, deputy director of police investigations, said Hernández had confessed to killing the journalist, whom he believed to be a police informant. Police were looking for two other suspects, the Salvadoran press reported. 23 September - Iraq - Jawad al-Daami Gunmen ambushed and killed an Iraqi television presenter working with the private Al-Baghdadiyah channel. The journalist, Jawad al-Daami, was ambushed in the western Baghdad neighbourhood of Al-Qadisiyah as he was driving through the area on Sunday. Gunmen opened fire on his car and Daami was killed instantly. Daami, 40, and a father of four, is the second journalist to be killed in Iraq within a week. 27 September - Burma - Kenji Nagai Kenji Nagai, 50, was working for APF News, a video and photo agency based in Tokyo, a spokesman for the company said. He said Nagai worked on a contract and was dispatched in the past to trouble spots. He had entered Myanmar two days ago on the eve of the crackdown against the mass protests led by thousands of Buddhist monks, he said. "The foreign ministry informed us today that the passport bearing the name of our journalist, Kenji Nagai, was found with the body and right now the foreign ministry is trying to make the final assertion it is him," he said. OCTOBER 4 October - Nepal - Birendra Shah The body of journalist Birendra Shah, who was murdered by Maoists after abduction, was found on 8 November. The body was dug out by journalists, local villagers and a police search team in Dumrabana village, Bara, according to our correspondent. Shah's skeleton was dug out along with bullet shells and clothing from a spot very different from where the Maoists had indicated that the body was. Shah was abducted by Maoists from Pipara Bazaar, Bara on 18 Asoj [4 October] and he was murdered the same day. The Maoist leadership which had been feigning innocence about the abduction and murder accepted the crimes of its party workers only after a month. Local journalists have charged the Maoists of not cooperating in searching for the body despite their acceptance of the crime. 8 October - Pakistan - Mohammad Farooq Pakistan Television’s veteran cameraman Mohammad Farooq (46) was among the three others who were killed in a military helicopter’s crash-landing near Muzaffarabad. The Puma helicopter, carrying President’s spokesman General (Retd) Rashid Qureshi, PTV cameraman and security personnel, was escorting President’s helicopter to Chakothi from Muzaffarabad. Farooq served the state-owned television for 22 years, covering various Pakistani and international heads of states and governments, besides various significant events. His colleagues and fellow reporters describe Farooq as a professional and creative cameraman, who always had fresh ideas. Mohammad Farooq an ever-smiling face, had lots of friends and was known to be a very cooperative and innovative person who was most sought after for any type of coverage. 10 October - Brazil - Elisandra Lucotti 10 October - Brazil - Evandro Troian 10 October - Brazil - Valdir Lucas Rupulo Elisandra Lucotti with daily Folha d´Oeste, Evandro Troian journalists with RBS TV and Valdir Lucas Rupulo a radio journalist presenter with Rede Peperi, were killed by a truck while covering a crash between a truck and a bus on a highway in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina. 20 more people suffered the same fate as the journalists among them firemen and rescue personnel. 14 October - Iraq - Salih Saif Aldin A reporter for the Washington Post was fatally shot while on assignment in Iraq, the newspaper wrote on its website. The Post said that reporter Salih Saif Aldin, 32, who had been reporting on clashes between militiamen and insurgents in Baghdad's Sadiyah community, was the first reporter for the newspaper to be killed during the Iraq war. The daily wrote that he died after being shot in the forehead Sunday, apparently at close range, while taking photographs on a street in the notoriously dangerous neighborhood. Sudarsan Raghavan, the Post's Baghdad bureau chief hailed Salih's "courageoud" reporting in Iraq. "Courageous beyond imagination, Salih was determined to unveil the truth," Raghavan said. "He was instrumental to The Post's coverage of Iraq. He will be sorely missed by his friends and colleagues." The Post said Salih began work for the paper in early 2004 as a stringer in his hometown of Tikrit, and later moved to Baghdad, where he repeatedly braved the city's most dangerous neighborhoods during his reporting. 15 October - Iraq - Jasim Mohhamed Nofaan 15 October - Iraq - Khaled Hamed Nofaan 15 October - Iraq - Tariq al-Dibo Jasim Mohhamed Nofaan, Khaled Hamed Nofaan and Zeyad Tariq al-Dibo, who all worked for Al Watan newspaper, were ambushed and killed by an unidentified armed group on the public road leading to Kirkuk. Two security guards were injured in the attack. 18 October - Honduras - Carlos Salgado Unidentified individuals shot and killed Honduran radio journalist Carlos Salgado as he was leaving the offices of Radio Cadena Voces in the capital city of Tegucigalpa. Salgado, 67, host of the radio program “Frijol el Terrible,” left the station’s studio at 4 p.m. after recording his show, which combines news and humor. Two individuals intercepted Salgado and shot him at close range, the local press reported. The assailants fled in a gray Toyota Four Runner, according to witnesses cited in press reports. Dagoberto Rodríguez, director of Radio Cadena Voces, believes the attack was retaliation against the station’s investigative reporting on official corruption. 18 October - Pakistan - Muhammad Arif Muhammad Arif, cameraman for ARY One World TV, was among the more than 130 people killed in the Thursday bombing in Karachi, according to the official Associated Press of Pakistan. Several other journalists were injured in the twin blasts, which took place during a political rally for the return from exile of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in Karachi. 19 October - India - K. Nagaraju The herd of wild elephants that are on the rampage in the forest areas of Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts claimed yet another victim, this time a reporter working for a Telugu daily. K. Nagaraju of Andhra Prabha was suspected to have been trampled to death while three other reporters narrowly escaped the wrath of the nine pachyderms which have been playing havoc in several villages. Disregarding the advice of forest officials, the four scribes had gone to take photographs of the herd in the Hussainapuram reserve forest area, near Veeraghatam in the early hours. According to one of the reporters, they suddenly came almost face to face with the elephant herd. One journalist triggered a flash on his camera which proved to be a red rag for the pachyderms. With a deafening roar, they immediately charged at the fear-stricken journalists who ran helter-skelter. Only three managed to escape. Photos taken from a distance revealed a highly mutilated body, suspected to be that of Nagaraju. 19 October - Somalia - Bashir Nor Gedi Unknown gunmen killed a radio station manager outside his home in the Somali capital. Radio Shabelle's Bashir Nor Gedi had left work and was returning home to southern Mogadishu late on Friday when unknown men shot him three times in the head and chest, said Abdinasir Nor Gedi, his younger brother. 24 October - Kyrgyzstan - Alisher Sayipov Alisher Sayipov, a young freelance journalist and founder of the newspaper Sayasat (Politics), was gunned down outside the premises of Radio Free Europe in the southern city of Osh at about 7 p.m. The police have began a criminal investigation and the president’s office has said it is following the case. Sayipov was often covering sensitive issues in his articles. Aged 26, Sayipov was critical of the way Uzbekistan is governed in the analyses he wrote for several news media including Sayasat, which was published and distributed on a regular basis inside the country. Sayipov worked for various news media including fergana.ru, Radio Free Europe and Voice of America. He was married and was the father of a baby girl just a few months old. 27 October - Iraq - Shehab Mohammed al-Hitti The body of Shehab Mohammed al-Hitti, a 27-year-old journalist was found in a northern district of the capital on 27 October 2007. He had been abducted the same day in al Jami'a in the east of Baghdad while on his way to work. He had worked for Baghdad News since 2003. He worked for several dailies, including al-Zaman and Babel under the previous regime. NOVEMBER 10 November - Ivory Coast - Traoré Gaoussou 10 November - Ivory Coast - Kossou Jean-Marc Traoré Gaoussou of Le Jour Plus and Kossou Jean-Marc of Nord Sud, were killed on the road Adzopé - Abidjan on their way back from a tour with a political leader. Three other media workers and one soldier were seriously wounded but their life is not in danger. 23 November - Pakistan - Zubair Ahmad Mujahid Zubair Ahmad Mujahid, Bureau Chief of daily Jang, Mirpurkhas was shot dead by two unidentified persons on Friday night. Zubair was returning home when two unidentified persons riding on a motorcycle fired at him. Zubair had been working for the Jang newspaper for the last 36 years. A hospital source said Zubair had suffered injury in the stomach. The police said hectic efforts were being made to arrest the culprits. 25 November - Bolivia - Lola Almudevar Lola Almudevar was travelling in a taxi in the early hours of Sunday as she made her way to Sucre to cover ongoing political unrest in the city. The taxi collided with two trucks which had already crashed. Four others, including the lorry drivers, also died. Ms Almudevar, 29, joined the BBC in 2002, and worked on docu-dramas and for BBC Midlands before moving abroad. Paying tribute to Ms Almudevar, the BBC said: "Lola was only 29 years old and had been making a major impression on everyone who'd heard her lively and original journalism. She was building a great reputation and will be terribly missed by us all." DECEMBER 6 December - USA - Ralph Binder ABC cameraman Ralph Binder was driving with soundman Dan Johnson from Denver to Omaha to cover the mall shooting. They were in an accident on Interstate 80 near Grand Island, Nebraska. According to police, their vehicle swerved to avoid a car that had lost control in front of them. Ralph was killed; Dan was treated and released from the hospital. Ralph started at ABC News in 1974. 8 December - Mexico - Gerardo Israel Garcia Pimentel Reporter Gerardo Israel Garcia Pimentel was assassinated on Saturday as he was entering the hotel where he lived in Uruapan, the second largest city in the central state of Michoacan. The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating possible links between García's death and his work as a journalist. On Saturday afternoon, unidentified individuals chased García on his motorcycle through Uruapan, according local press reports. Garcia sought refuge at the Hotel Ruan. As he entered the hotel, two gunmen shot him at close range at least 20 times, police told local reporters on Saturday evening. Police added that some 50 shell casings, nearly all from AR-15 semiautomatic rifles, were found at the scene. Michoacán state police have yet to announce possible motives for the murder. Calls to the federal special prosecutor for crimes against journalists were not immediately returned. Garcia, 28, worked for five years as a reporter for La Opinion de Michoacán, the largest daily newspaper in Uruapan. He covered agriculture and sometimes stepped in to report on crime, Garcia's colleagues told CPJ. Reporters at other newspapers in Michoacan told CPJ that Garcia was considered a low-key reporter, not likely to aggressively pursue sensitive stories or those related to organized crime. 14 December - Iraq - Ali Shafeya Al-Moussawi Aged 23, Moussawi was founded dead in his home in the northeast Baghdad district of Habibiya after an Iraqi military raid on his street. According to an autopsy, he was shot 31 times in the head and chest. “Moussawi was killed when the Iraqi security forces carried out a raid in his neighbourhood,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The fact that he was shot so many times suggests this was a targeted murder. It is essential that the Iraqi authorities order an investigation to establish the circumstances of his death and the role of the military personnel who were present.” Alive in Baghdad founder Brian Conley told Reporters Without Borders that Moussawi had working for several months on sensitive stories that could be linked to his death. Since 2005, the website has been offering videos showing the situation of Iraqis, both those in Iraq and those who have fled abroad. On 15 November, it won the best videoblog prize in this years’s Best of the Blogs (BOBS) awards, which are organised by the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle in partnership with Reporters Without Borders. 24 December - Philippines - Ferdinand Lintuan Unidentified gunmen fatally shot a hard-hitting radio commentator in the southern Philippines Monday, police and the victim's colleagues said, in the fifth deadly attack on Philippine journalists this year. At least two men wearing helmets and riding a motorcycle shot Ferdinand Lintuan of DXGO Radio at close range as his car slowed at an intersection in southern Davao city, said police Senior Inspector Ranulfo Cabanog. Lucio Ceniza, another DXGO anchorman, said he, Lintuan and another colleague had just left the radio station when the assailants shot Lintuan several times. He and the other colleague were unhurt, Ceniza said. Cabanog said investigators have not determined a motive for the attack. National Police Chief Avelino Razon said he ordered an investigation into the killing and a manhunt for the killers. Lintuan, 51, had used his radio show to criticize several officials and recently attacked the city government for alleged corruption in the development of a park, his colleagues said. 24 December - Somalia - Abdulkadir Ali Hosh Journalist Abdulkadir Ali Hosh (Jilbis) was killed in a car crash near the southern checkpoint of Garowe, capital of Puntland. The journalist was a passenger in a car carrying Jama Hassan Karshe, A member of Puntland Parliament, who also died in the accident, while three other persons were wounded including the driver. Mr. Hosh traveled from Galkayo town, where he is based, to cover events in Garowe. Mr. Hosh was an online journalist and was the editor of AllDarwiish.com top