Citing Miller Jailing, NGO Group Lowers U.S. Press Freedom Ranking

By: E&P Staff In its fourth annual World Press Freedom Index, the Paris-based free-press group Reporters Without Borders (RSF for its initials in French) drops the United States 20 places from last year to 44th of 167 countries.

And U.S. in Iraq is ranked 137th -- below such trouble spots for the press as Colombia, Algeria, and Mexico.

RSF said it dropped the U.S. ranking ""mainly because of the imprisonment of New York Times reporter Judith Miller and legal moves undermining the privacy of journalistic sources."" The survey covered events from Sept. 1, 2004 to Sept. 1, 2005, when Miller was still in jail for what would be an 85-day imprisonment.

Other Western democracies were rated lower in 2005, including Canada at 21st place ""due to decisions that weakened the privacy of sources and sometimes turned journalists into 'court auxiliaries,' the group said. France slipped down to 30th ""largely because of searches of media offices, interrogations of journalists and introduction of new press offenses,"" RSF said of its native land.

At the bottom of the heap were North Korea, ranked dead last, behind Eritrea, ranked 166th, and Turkmenistan.

These nations, RSF declared, are ""black holes for news where the privately owned media is not allowed and freedom of expression does not exist.""

Iraq, ranked 157th, was declared the most dangerous place on earth to be a journalist. RSF noted that at least 24 journalists and media workers such as drivers and translators have been killed so far this year.

Since the invasion in March 2003, a total of 72 journalists and assistants have been killed.

Northern European nations dominated the top spots for press freedom. First place was shared by seven countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, and Switzerland.

""The index ... contradicts the frequent argument by leaders of poor and repressive countries that economic development is a vital precondition for democracy and respect for human rights,"" RSF said. It noted that among the nations ranked in the top 60 are several with per capita gross domestic products of less than $1,000 in 2003, including Benin (25th), Mali (37th), Bolivia (45th), Mozambique (49th), Mongolia (53rd), Niger (57th), and East Timor (58th).

The index was compiled by RSF's network of 130 correspondents and 14 free-press associations who complete a questionnaire on 50 free-press criteria including violations against journalists ranging from threats to assassinations, or to the news media, including censorship, searches, and repressive laws.

""It does not look at human rights violations in general, just press freedom violations,"" RSF said. Some countries are not listed because there was not enough information about the state of press freedom, the group noted.

Here is the complete World Press Freedom Index:

#CountryScore
1Denmark0,50
-Finland0,50
-Iceland0,50
-Ireland0,50
-Netherlands0,50
-Norway0,50
-Switzerland0,50
8Slovakia0,75
9Czech Republic1,00
-Slovenia1,00
11Estonia1,50
12Hungary2,00
-New Zealand2,00
-Sweden2,00
-Trinidad and Tobago2,00
16Austria2,50
-Latvia2,50
18Belgium4,00
-Germany4,00
-Greece4,00
21Canada4,50
-Lithuania4,50
23Portugal4,83
24United Kingdom5,17
25Benin5,50
-Cyprus5,50
-Namibia5,50
28El Salvador5,75
29Cape Verde6,00
30France6,25
31Australia6,50
-South Africa6,50
33Bosnia and Herzegovina7,00
34Jamaica7,50
-Mauritius7,50
-South Korea7,50
37Japan8,00
-Mali8,00
39Hong-Kong8,25
40Spain8,33
41Costa Rica8,50
42Italy8,67
43Macedonia8,75
44United States of America (American territory)9,50
45Bolivia9,67
46Uruguay9,75
47Israel10,00
48Bulgaria10,25
49Mozambique10,50
50Chile11,75
51Dominican Republic12,25
-Taiwan12,25
53Cyprus (North)12,50
-Mongolia12,50
-Poland12,50
56Croatia12,83
57Niger13,00
58East Timor13,50
59Argentina13,67
60Botswana14,00
-Fiji14,00
62Albania14,17
63Brazil14,50
-Tonga14,50
65Serbia and Montenegro14,83
66Ghana15,00
-Panama15,00
68Nicaragua15,25
69Paraguay15,50
70Romania16,17
71Congo17,00
-Guinea-Bissau17,00
-Seychelles17,00
74Moldova17,50
-Tanzania17,50
76Angola18,00
-Honduras18,00
78Burkina Faso19,00
-Senegal19,00
80Uganda19,25
81Lesotho19,50
82Central African Republic19,75
83Cameroon20,50
-Liberia20,50
85Kuwait21,25
86Guatemala21,50
87Ecuador21,75
88Comoros22,00
89Malawi22,75
90Burundi23,00
-Cambodia23,00
-Qatar23,00
-Venezuela23,00
-Zambia23,00
95Togo23,75
96Jordan24,00
97Madagascar24,50
98Turkey25,00
99Georgia25,17
100Kosovo25,75
-United Arab Emirates25,75
102Armenia26,00
-Gabon26,00
-Guinea26,00
-Indonesia26,00
106India27,00
107Thailand28,00
108Lebanon28,25
109Chad30,00
-Kenya30,00
111Kyrgyzstan32,00
112Ukraine32,50
113Malaysia33,00
-Tajikistan33,00
115Sri Lanka33,25
116Peru33,33
117Haiti33,50
118Swaziland35,00
119Kazakhstan36,17
-Morocco36,17
121Djibouti37,00
122Rwanda38,00
123Bahrain38,75
-Nigeria38,75
125Afghanistan39,17
126Sierra Leone39,50
127Mauritania40,00
128Colombia40,17
129Algeria40,33
130Gambia41,00
131Ethiopia42,00
132Palestinian Authority42,50
133Equatorial Guinea44,00
-Sudan44,00
135Mexico45,50
136Yemen46,25
137United States of America (in Iraq)48,50
138Russia48,67
139Philippines50,00
140Singapore50,67
141Azerbaijan51,00
142Bhutan51,50
143Egypt52,00
144C?te d'Ivoire52,25
145Syria55,00
146Democratic Republic of Congo57,33
147Tunisia57,50
148Maldives58,50
149Somalia59,00
150Pakistan60,75
151Bangladesh61,25
152Belarus61,33
153Zimbabwe64,25
154Saudi Arabia66,00
155Laos66,50
-Uzbekistan66,50
157Iraq67,00
158Vietnam73,25
159China83,00
160Nepal86,75
161Cuba87,00
162Libya88,75
163Burma88,83
164Iran89,17
165Turkmenistan93,50
166Eritrea99,75
167North Korea109,00