By Isabela Fraga
In a statement published Friday, July 6, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) lamented the killing of Brazilian sports commentator Valério Luiz, reported the news portal Terra. The journalist was shot and killed on Thursday, July 5, when leaving the building of the radio station where he worked.
In the statement, the president of the IAPA Freedom of Press and Information Commission, Gustavo Mohme, said he lamented the current "violence that shakes Brazilian journalism" and urged authorities to quickly investigate and punish those responsible for the murder.
Although IAPA's release considers Valério Luiz the fifth killed journalist in Brazil in 2012, the consensus among journalism organizations is that there were seven journalists killed from January through July. This number makes Brazil the 5th-highest country where most journalists are killed in the world, according to a report from the Swiss entity Press Emblem Campaign.
IAPA also said that the sports commentator's killing happened while Brazilian authorities discussed ways to protect journalists, such as the federalization of crimes committed against the press.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
