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Alert

IAPA calls for action on unpunished murder of journalist

(IAPA/IFEX) - The following is a 28 December 2005 IAPA press release:

IAPA CALLS FOR ACTION IN MURDER OF BRAZILIAN JOURNALIST

MIAMI, Florida (December 28, 2005) -The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) called on newspaper and magazine readers in the Western Hemisphere to add their signatures to a public letter sent to Brazilian President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva requesting his help to solve the July 11, 2004 murder of journalist Jorge Lourenço dos Santos.

Four gunshots took the life of this commentator with radio station Criativa FM in Santana do Ipanema, Alagoas state, Brazil. Police believe he was killed in reprisal for his criticism of local politicians' actions. The Public Prosecutor's Office has not taken up the case yet, awaiting the outcome of the ongoing investigation. No one has been arrested and the only suspect in the crime remains at large.

The IAPA is waging a hemisphere-wide campaign, titled "Let Us Put an End to Impunity," which seeks to ensure that those responsible for the murder of 280 journalists over the last 17 years do not continue to go unpunished. Interactive ads are being published in more than 300 newspapers and magazines throughout the Americas, inviting readers to join the campaign by adding their signatures to a petition posted on the website http://www.impunidad.com.
Since the beginning of this campaign in March of 2003, participating newspapers have published 32 ads on this campaign, which have generated approximately 22,000 monthly visits to the website.

The IAPA's hemisphere-wide campaign against impunity, which is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, also includes investigative reporting programs, training for reporters working in hazardous environments, and the monitoring of the state of press freedom in the Americas.