International Freedom of Expression Exchange: The global network for free expression
28 July 2010
Report
CPJ Special Report: Journalist murders underscore Honduran government failures
(CPJ/IFEX) - New York, July 27, 2010 - Seven Honduran broadcast journalists have been shot to death already this year, an astonishing number of murders, but the government has been quick to minimize the killings and slow to investigate them. In a new report, the Committee to Protect Journalists has found an alarming pattern in which the government has neglected to take obvious steps to investigate the crimes and arrest the perpetrators.
Reporting from Honduras, CPJ's Mike O'Connor writes that "the murders occurred in a politically charged atmosphere of violence and lawlessness. The government's ongoing failure to successfully investigate crimes against journalists and other social critics - whether by intention, impotence, or incompetence - has created a climate of pervasive impunity."
CPJ found that the victims in at least three cases were slain in reprisal for their critical reporting, and that work-related motives could have played roles in the other killings. In one case, the government ignored a directive from the Organization of American States to provide protection to a journalist under threat - a television anchor who was later gunned down.
Click here to read the full report
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