The Brazilian government told the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) of the Organization of American States that it will not reopen the case of the killing of reporter Vladimir Herzog for further investigation due to the amnesty law, reported the G1 on Thursday, June 21.
A public official from the Brazilian state of Maranhão was accused masterminding the killing of journalist Décio Sá, according to the hit-man's statement, which was leaked out on to the internet on Thursday, June 21, reported the Agência Estado.
Nearly two months after the killing of Mexican journalist Regina Martínez, authorities of the state of Veracruz leaked information to the local press indicating that the killing was a crime of passion and not related to her journalistic work, reported the newspaper Imagen del Golfo.
A month has passed since a freelance photojournalist from Texas working in Mexico has been heard from, reported the television station Fox 29 of San Antonio the night of Thursday, June 21.
A Mexican journalist was reported missing in the central state of San Luis Potosí, according to the news agency Notimex.
Authorities in the Mexican state of Veracruz, the most dangerous place in the country for journalists, reported that the criminal cartel Los Zetas claimed responsibility for the killing of a reporter from the newspaper Milenio, Víctor Báez, who was killed June 14, according to Univision.
The Brazilian police of Maranhão declared the case of the killing of journalist Décio Sá solved, adding that he was killed for his reporting. The killing happened on April 23, 2012, in a bar in São Luís, capital of the state, reported the newspaper Estado de São Paulo.
Another journalist was killed in Veracruz, México; his body was found inside of plastic bags in the early morning of Thursday, June 14, in the city of Xalapa, reported the Associated Process and the weekly Proceso. The search started the night before after the journalist was kidnapped while leaving his office, according to Reuters. It is believed that the journalist was probably a victim of organized crime, reported the newspaper El Economista.
A Colombian activist and journalist said that a "narco-paramilitary" team plans to kill him as soon as possible and will pay $200,000 for it to happen, reported the news agency EFE.
Six years after U.S. Indymedia cameraman Brad Will was shot to death in Oaxaca, Mexico, Mexican authorities have announced the arrest of a former public education employee, Lenin Osorio Ortega, charged with killing Will, reported Milenio. Still, media monitoring groups like Reporters Without Borders remain suspicious about who really killed Will, who was shot while covering a Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO) protest on Oct. 27, 2006.
In the Mexican state of Veracruz, one of the 10 most-dangerous places in the world to practice journalism, fear is surging that more journalists are going to be killed. According to the digital newspaper El Arsenal, a new list is circulating with the names of journalists slated to be killed in coming days, and the warning comes from an official in the state prosecutor's office.
Sunday, May 3, marked 10 years since the death of Brazilian investigative journalist Tim Lopes, who was tortured and killed while reporting on a favela, or slum, in Rio de Janeiro. A decade later, 2012 has become the most violent year for Brazilian journalists, according to the newspaper Estado de São Paulo. In just five months, four journalists have been killed for their work.