Journalists in the interior of Brazil are complaining of various attacks and threats involving politicians and their parties during the ongoing election period. Journalist Bruno de Lima, from the small state of Paraíba, in the northeast of the country, said he had received death threats after publishing stories about pedophilia in the state, explained Paraíba Agora.
A driver, a security guard and a technician from TV Brasil were assaulted by a group of 10 armed robbers on Tuesday, Aug. 10, in the Tijuca National Park in Rio de Janeiro, reported O Globo. The victims were in the park repairing a broadcast antenna.
The office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expressed “deep concern” over threats received by Fausto Rosario Adames, the editor of the now-closed newspapers Clave and Clave Digital, after he had published articles about drug trafficking.
Faced with systematic attacks against journalists and the media in parts of Mexico, the United Nations (U.N.) and the Organization of American States (OAS) have proposed a new risk category for reporters who work in conflict zones that aren't within the definition of war outlined by international treaties, reported La Jornada.
The following account is a testimony from Marcela Turati, of the Red de Periodistas de a Pie (On-the-ground Journalists Network), one of the organizers of the unprecedented demonstrations in Mexico protesting the violence against journalists.
More than 1,000 reporters, editors, camera operators and photographers took to the streets in Mexico City and other towns in 11 states in defense of freedom of expression, calling for an end to violence against journalists, which has claimed at least 64 lives in the last decade, and left another 11 missing, reported the Latin American Herald Tribune and CBS News.
Rodolfo Flórez, who has been missing since July 9, was found in Cali on Aug. 5 in good health, but confused and upset, reported the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) via IFEX.
As Mexican journalists are finalizing the details of their protest this Saturday against violence and threats against the country’s media workers, President Felipe Calderón met with media owners and editors to pledge federal government support, El Universal and La Jornada report.
The Prosecutor’s Office has opened a case into this week’s molotov cocktail bomb attack against the offices of the newspaper Las Noticias, El Universal reports.
Federal police announced the arrest of suspected gang members who allegedly kidnapped three TV journalists in northern Mexico last week, The Associated Press reports.
Drug-related violence in Mexico has not only left more than 28,000 dead since 2006, it has also plunged the local press into a crisis, one that has laid bare the chronic weaknesses of Mexican journalism.
Luis Valdez Villacorta, acquitted in February because of a lack of evidence for the killing of Alberto Rivera, was released from prison in Lima, where he had been incarcerated for 21 months, in order to wait for another trial while under house arrest, reported EFE and La República.