Press Release 147/06

OFFICE OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR FOR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION INITIATES A STUDY OF THE STATUS OF THE INVESTIGATIONS OF 172 CASES OF JOURNALISTS MURDERED IN THE REGION

Washington, D.C., August 1, 2006. The Office of the Special Rappporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) of the OAS has initiated a special study on the status of the investigations into the murders of journalists in the region from 1995-2005, for reasons that could be related to the exercise of their profession.

Accordingly, the initial recompilation developed by the Office of the Special Rappporteur – which includes the names, dates and circumstances of the murders – indicates that in the period studied there have been 172 murders of journalists, distributed as follows: Argentina (2), Bolivia (1), Brazil (24), Canada (2) Colombia (83), Costa Rica (2), Dominican Republic (2), Ecuador (1), El Salvador (1), United States (1), Guatemala (9), Haiti (6), Honduras (1), Mexico (24), Nicaragua (4), Paraguay (2), Peru (4), Uruguay (1) and Venezuela (2).

Based on that preliminary recompilation, the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression is requesting information from the respective States, as well as from non-governmental organizations and other institutions, about the status of the investigations of such crimes. The goal of the study is to produce a final chart showing the concrete results of the investigations of each murder and a general analysis of the situation in the region.

The concrete information requested includes the following data: whether individuals are currently charged or convicted as perpetrators, intellectual authors, accomplices or accessories after the fact with respect to these murders; the current procedural stage of the respective proceedings; whether there are individuals in custody in relation to these murders and the determination as to whether the murders were related to the journalistic activities of the victims. 

The Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expresión, Ignacio J. Alvarez, stated that the Rappporteurship has decided to carry out this study taking into account that “the murder of journalists constitutes the most brutal means of restricting freedom of expression and the lack of an adequate investigation and sanction can lead to the occurrence of new murders.”

For additional information about the Office of the Special Rapporteur: http://www.cidh.org/relatoria/