Press enemies

Iran China Liberia Zimbabwe Russia Colombia Ukraine Cuba Tunisia Malaysia

Last year, he supervised a major clampdown on Iran's once independent media, imprisoning several reformist editors, and banning more than 30 newspapers.

Chinese President Jiang Zemin is accused of presiding over the world's most elaborate system of media control, whilst Liberian President Charles Taylor has used censorship, imprisonment and threats of violence to silence virtually all independent media, say the CPJ.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin, a new entrant on their annual list, pays lip service to press freedom while working behind the scenes to control the independent media, the committee says.

Another new entrant, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, has launched an all-out war against the independent media in the past year.

Others making up the top 10 are: Leonid Kuchma of Ukraine, Fidel Castro of Cuba, Colombia's Carlos Castano, Zine al-Abdine Ben Ali of Tunisia and Malaysia's Mahathir Mohamad.

Freedom 'fragile'

The United Nations says that over the past decade, press freedom has generally grown throughout the world. But it says that freedom is fragile.

Chinese President Jiang Zemin: In the list every year

Speaking from the Windhoek conference, Mark Chavunduka, editor of the Standard newspaper in Zimbabwe, said independent journalists there now worked in fear of violence and arbitary arrests.

"I don't think that there can be a much worse of a working condition than what we are facing at the moment," he says.

However, the rapid growth of the internet is being highlighted by journalists as an aid to press freedom, as it is so difficult to censor.

Asian intolerance

Meanwhile, international media and human rights organisations have called on governments in South Asia to mark the World Press Freedom day by making a public commitment to uphold freedom of expression.

Iran has cracked down on the liberal press

The day is being observed in Bangladesh with special importance, as at least three journalists have been killed and more than 50 others injured in attacks on media professionals in the past year.

The international media pressure group, Reporters Without Borders, has recorded a growing trend of intolerance against journalists in South Asia.

It says journalists in countries such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan and India have fallen victim to separatist groups and political gangsters.