Diponkar Chakrabarty, executive editor of the Bangla-language daily “Durjoy Bangla”, was murdered by assailants on the evening of 2 October in Sherpur, a town the northeastern Rajshahi Division. Chakrabarty’s attackers ambushed and decapitated the journalist, reportedly using knives and traditional axes to carry out the attack. Witnesses reportedly heard Chakrabarty’s cries and the sound of motorcycles as the assailants fled the scene. No known motive has been established for the attack, but international sources have reported that the killers were likely professionals.

Kamal Hossain was abducted and killed on 22 August in the city of Manikcchari, eastern Chittagong District. Hossain was a correspondent for the daily “Ajker Kagoj” and secretary general of the Manikchhari press club. According to reports, armed men broke into the journalist’s home early on the morning of the 22nd. Hossain reportedly hid from his attackers, but gave himself up after they threatened to kill his two-year old son. His body was found a few hours later two kilometres from his home. The journalist had recently written several articles about criminal activity, and had also reportedly helped police identify some members of a local gang only a few days before his death. In addition to his journalistic activities, Hossain was the head of the local youth wing of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, and had reportedly also recently had a dispute with a neighbour concerning land.

Humayun Kabir was killed by a blast from a handmade bomb in Khulna city on 27 June. Kabir, who was editor of Dainik Janmabhumi, a Bengali-language regional newspaper, and president of the Khulna press club, was attacked by an unidentified assailant as he stepped out of his car with his family at the gate of his home/newspaper office. The editor suffered from fatal injuries to the abdomen and the legs. According to local reports, the terrorist group Janajuddha (People’s War), a faction of the Purbo Banglar Communist Party, has claimed responsibility for the killing.

Manik Saha was killed in a bomb attack in the city of Khulna on 15 January. Mr Saha, a bureau chief of the English-language daily New Age and a stringer for the BBC, was travelling in a rickshaw when unknown assailants threw a home-made bomb at him, killing him instantly. The driver of the rickshaw was also injured and taken to hospital. Some of Mr Saha’s colleagues reported that he had been the target of intimidating telephone calls several years ago but they did not believe that he had recently been threatened. Saha had published articles highlighting the illegal activities of armed Maoist groups and criminal gangs in Bangladesh. According to l reports, the terrorist group Janajuddha (People’s War), a faction of the Purbo Banglar Communist Party claimed responsibility for the killing.

Dilip Mohapatra, editor of “Aji Kagaj”, was found dead by the side of a highway near the village of Bhagirathipur, on the East coast of India, on 9 November. The journalist was found with his hands and legs bound with plastic tape and his skull smashed. According to police reports, his head injuries were sustained either with a heavy object or he had been run over by a car. Mohapatra had been reported missing the previous day. It has not yet been determined whether the editor’s death was linked to his work as a journalist.

Asiya Jeelani died en route to the hospital after a van carrying an elections monitoring team detonated an explosive device on a rural road in northern Kashmir on 20 April. A freelance journalist, Jeelani regularly contributed to local newspapers and was also a human rights activist who worked with several non-governmental organizations. Local sources say she was helping a local umbrella organization, the Coalition of Civil Society, prepare an account of its monitoring activity, and may have been reporting on the election herself.

Veeraboina Yadagiri, a veteran journalist and correspondent for the local, Telugu-language daily “Andhra Prabha”, was stabbed to death near his home in the town of Medak, in India’s southern Andhra Pradesh State on 21 February. Local journalists reportedly believe that his murder was in reprisal for his articles investigating the illegal sale of home-brewed liquor, known locally as toddy. Yadagiri had written a series of articles detailing the dangers of consuming toddy and accusing local politicians of being involved in its trade. The journalist had also registered a police complaint after he received threats from a local contractor involved in the illegal toddy business. According to local reports, on the evening of his murder, Yadagiri was invited to a meeting with several people involved in the toddy trade. After the meeting, the journalist was accompanied home by at least three of the men who had been present. One of those accompanying Yadagiri, reportedly stabbed him multiple times before fleeing the scene.

Badri Khadka was killed on 29 August in the district of Morang, eastern Nepal. At the time of his murder, the journalist was working as a regional correspondent for "Janadesh Weekly", a publication which is disseminated via the Internet and is believed to have links with the CPN-Maoist rebels. Reports concerning those responsible for his murder vary. According to some eyewitnesses, Khadka was reportedly arrested by security forces in the Kalyanpur department, and tortured while in their custody. Government security forces reportedly denied having arrested Khadka, and allege that the journalist may have been killed in crossfire between them and the CPN-Maoists.

Dakendra Raj Thapa was reportedly killed on 11 August at an undisclosed location in the far western district of Dailekh. The journalist and human rights worker had been abducted by Communist Party of Nepal (CPN-Maoist) rebels on 26 June. He had reportedly been accused by the rebels of spying on their activities and working as an informer for the security forces. Thapa worked as a reporter for the state-owned Radio Nepal and was an advisor to Human Rights and Peace Society (HURPES), a Kathmandu-based human rights organisation. Local journalists are reportedly trying to recover Thapa’s body.

The body of Stephen Omaois, a writer for the community newspaper “Guru Press”, was found in a garbage bin on the outskirts of Tabuk in remote Kalinga Province on 27 November. Omaois, who was stabbed to death, had reportedly been investigating a public works project in a nearby town. According to reports, police have not determined a motive in the killing, but are investigating relatives’ reports that Omaois was abducted on the day before he was killed. In addition to his work as a print journalist, Omaois was a broadcast journalist for the government-run radio DZRK.

Allan Dizon was fatally shot by an unidentified gunman on 27 November in the central city of Cebu. The gunman reportedly fired on Dizon at point black range, shooting him again in the back as he tried to run away. The gunman then escaped the scene with the help of an accomplice who was waiting for him on a motorbike. Dizon was a correspondent for "The Freeman" and the tabloid "Banat News". The motives for his murder have not been confirmed, however the journalist had recently written a report about drug-trafficking in a local neighbourhood. Police have set up a task force to investigate the murder.

Herson Hinolan, a station manager and commentator for Bombo Radiyo in Kalibo, central Aklan Province, was shot on 13 November in the toilets of a local store. Suffering from extensive wounds to the arms and stomach, the journalist died two days later in hospital. Although there is no known motive for his murder, Hinolan was known as a “hard-hitting” commentator.

Gene Boyd Lumawag was fatally shot by a unidentified gunman while on assignment for the local news agency Mindanews on Jolo island, southern Philippines, on 12 November. Lumawag, a photographer, was preparing a report on Aid al-Fitr, the Muslim festivity that marks the end of Ramadan. Army investigators reportedly told Mindanews they thought the shooting was the work of members of an "urban terrorist group" linked to Abu Sayyaf, an Islamist group fighting for an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines. Local authorities have also suggested that the journalist’s slaying could have been linked to his investigations on corruption.

Eldy Sablas, a radio commentator in the province of Surigao del, on the southern island of Mindanao, was fatally shot on 19 October. Sablas, also known as Eldy Gabinales, was shot three times from behind as he rode a three-wheeled motorcycle away from a supermarket in the town of Tandag. Local journalists noted that Sablas, who hosted "Singgit sa mga Lungsuranon" ("Cry of the People") on Radio DXJR-FM, was a strident critic of the drug trade and illegal gambling. Regional Police chief Rene Elumbaring told international media that police were investigating the murder.

Romeo (Romy) Binungcal, a correspondent for two national Manila-based tabloids, "Remate" and "Bulgar", was fatally shot by unidentified gunmen on 29 September while riding home on his motorcycle in Bataan Province, central Luzon Region. According to reports, local journalists believe Binungcal’s murder came in retaliation for his reporting on corrupt provincial police. Binungcal was a businessman in addition to working as a journalist, but he was well-known for his reporting on corrupt officials.

Fernando Consignado was found dead from a single gunshot wound to the head, in his home on 12 August in the town of Nagcarlan, approximately 75 kilometres south of Manila. The journalist was a correspondent for the Manila-based Radio Veritas, for which he reported on community affairs. The motive for his death is not yet known. Local authorities are investigating the case.

Arnel Manalo was shot in his vehicle by unidentified men as he returned from dropping his children off at school early in the morning of 5 August in Bauan, a city located approximately 100 kilometres south of Manila. According to an eye-witness report, two men approached Manalo’s vehicle on motorcycle, and the back-rider shot the journalist twice in the left side of the face and neck. The police reportedly found two .45 calibre shells inside Manalo’s vehicle. Upon arrival at a local hospital, the journalist was pronounced dead. The motive for his murder has yet to confirmed.

Rogelio "Roger" Mariano was shot by unidentified gunmen on 31 July in Laoag City. Mariano, a commentator for DZJC Radyo Natin-Aksyon Radyo radio station, was riding home on his motorcycle after completing a broadcast at the station, when assailants reportedly shot him several times in the back and head. Although no motive has been confirmed, local journalists reportedly believe that Mariano’s death may have been connected to his commentaries, through which he denounced illegal jueteng gambling operations in the city as well as financial irregularities in a local electric cooperative. The local authorities have launched an investigation into the murder.

Eliseo ("Ely") Binoya, a radio journalist with Radyo Natin, was gunned down on 17 June. The journalist was ambushed on a highway at the outskirts of the city of General Santos, on the southern island of Mindanao, by two unidentified gunmen on motorcycle. The assailants reportedly followed Binoya, who was also riding a motorcycle, and shot him several times from behind. It has not been confirmed whether Binoya’s assassination was linked to his radio commentaries. Local authorities are investigating the murder.

Ruel Endrinal was shot by two unidentified gunmen as he was leaving his house for the radio station on 11 February in Legazpi City, eastern Philippines. The journalist hosted a political commentary show on the DZRC radio station, in which he spoke out against local politicians and criminal gangs. He also published a regional newspaper, Bicol Metro News. The journalist had reportedly received death threats prior to his murder.

Kandasamy Iyer Balanadarajah was fatally shot by two unidentified assailants on 16 August in the capital city of Colombo. Kandasamy, who also went by the pseudonym Sinna Baia, was a correspondent for the Tamil weekly newspaper "Thinamurasu" and a spokesman for the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP). The motivation behind his murder is not yet known, however local sources reportedly suspect that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) may have ordered his assassination in retaliation for the EPDP’s support of the efforts of an LTTE splinter group to form a political party.

Aiyathurai Nadesan was shot and killed on 31 May by unidentified assailants in Batticaloa, a town on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka. The journalist was on his way to work when he was gunned down. Nadesan, a veteran Tamil journalist who used the pen name Nellai G. Nadesan, had been with the national Tamil-language daily Virakesari for 20 years. The journalist was an active critic of the government and security forces and had reportedly been harassed and threatened prior to his murder. No group has claimed responsibility for his killing.

Lanka Jayasundara was killed in a December 11 grenade attack at a music concert that had drawn controversy because it was held on the anniversary of a Buddhist cleric’s death. Jayasundara was on assignment for Wijeya Publications, a sponsor of the event and publisher of several English- and Sinhala-language newspapers and magazines. According to local news reports, he was standing in the area between the stage and the VIP enclosure when the grenade exploded. No group took responsibility for the attack.