PEN INTERNATIONAL LATIN AMERICAN CAMPAIGN: WRITE AGAINST IMPUNITY 2012
In the first 6 months of 2012, more reporters were murdered in Latin America than in any other region worldwide. Mexico was the second most dangerous country in the world in which to be a writer or journalist, with Honduras and Brazil coming close behind.
The rate at which our colleagues – writers, bloggers and journalists - are being murdered in the region is similar to that of a war zone. The killers are seeking to silence those who investigate or condemn organised crime and political corruption, and they are winning: self-censorship is a growing trend in Mexico, Honduras and Brazil. This is a direct attack on one of our most precious rights, the right to free expression.
PEN is an association of writers and journalists, and we must speak out.
We want to bring together all the voices of PEN centres in Latin America and the Caribbean in a literary campaign to protest the attacks on writers and journalists in the region, and also the state of impunity that exists for those who commit these crimes.
We want our Latin American friends to write poetry and prose commemorating our fallen colleagues and protesting the killings. The information attached should provide inspiration. This includes:
1. Short summaries of the state of impunity in Mexico, Brazil and Honduras
2. Lists and case studies of writers and journalists killed since 2010
The writings we collect will be published online on 2 November 2012 as part of PEN’s campaign, Write Against Impunity 2012. We hope to publish the best ones in an anthology in 2013, dedicated to our fallen colleagues and representing the united voice of Latin American and Caribbean PEN centres.
We hope that PEN centres in Latin America and the Caribbean will be inspired to take part in this campaign, which is the first one of its kind.
As well as producing texts, there are a number of things you can do to protest impunity in the Americas. Please read Suggested Actions below for guidelines.
Suggested Actions for PEN Centres in Latin America:
• Write poetry and prose connected to the theme of impunity in the Americas or in one specific country (not necessarily Mexico, Brazil or Honduras). Please read the information attached, which should provide inspiration.
• Dedicate poems and texts to one or more murdered writers from the lists, or to others that you know of.
• Engage with groups outside your centre: ask local literary groups and schools to get involved in protesting impunity. We will welcome poetry and prose from students and friends of PEN members. We think that this project will have great educational value.
• If you feel inspired, we would also welcome cartoons or art suitable to the theme.
• Where possible, encourage some writers to contribute texts written in a local or indigenous language
• Organize public readings protesting impunity. If you video them, they will appear on the PEN International web site.
Please Note:
1. Text length: poetry not longer than 500 words; prose not longer than 1000 words.
2. Texts must be sent to PEN before 29 October 2012.
3. Texts should have the writers’ names attached, and their centre or group. If a young student, please let us know their age and school.
4. All texts will appear in their original language (Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, indigenous). Some will also be translated.
The State of Impunity in Mexico, Brazil and Honduras
MEXICO
Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world in which to be a writer. Since 2006, at least 44 print journalists, writers and bloggers have been murdered in connection with their work; at least 9 others have disappeared. Few of these attacks have been thoroughly investigated. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, fewer than 10% of attacks against journalists and writers result in convictions.
Despite the introduction of two mechanisms aimed at protecting journalists under threat, and the creation, in 2006, of the office of the Special Prosecutor for Crimes Against Freedom of Expression, the rate at which journalists are being killed in Mexico is accelerating.
Approximately 50,000 people have been killed in Mexico since President Felipe Calderón announced his war against the drug cartels in 2006. In the six years that followed, many reporters and writers were killed in for investigating or for commenting on the violence. But the impunity enjoyed by those who murder or threaten journalists in Mexico owes much of its existence to the corruption and inertia that are so prevalent throughout the Mexican states. Police and employees of local administrations are often implicated in attacks on journalists, and, as the Special Prosecutor for
Crimes Against Freedom of Expression publicly recognised in March 2012, threats to journalists' right to free expression often come directly from the state authorities themselves.
In June 2012, an amendment to the Mexican constitution was signed into law, making any attack on a journalist a federal crime.
Links:
To read more about attacks on Mexican writers and journalists and the corruption that allows this to happen: http://www.utorontoihrp.com/index.php/advocacy/working-groups/working-group- reports/cat_view/10-working-group-and-clinic-reports/28-corruption-impunity-silence-the-war-on- mexicos-journalists (English, Español) http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/cathal-sheerin/mexico-leading-the-g20-in_b_1604260.html (English)
http://www.pen-international.org/06/2012/mexico-lider-del-g-20-en-matar-a-periodistas-y-a- escritores-por-cathal-sheerin-del-comite-de-escritores-en-prision/?lang=es (Español)
In 2011, the majority of writers killed were women: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/cathal-sheerin/murdered-writers-mexico-international-womens- day-_b_1326564.html (English)
The recent surge in killings in Veracruz State: http://cpj.org/pt/2012/06/mexico-quarto-jornalista-morto-em-veracruz-em-dois.php (Portuguese) http://cpj.org/es/2012/06/cuarto-periodista-asesinado-en-veracruz-en-dos-mes.php (Español): http://cpj.org/2012/06/fourth-journalist-killed-in-veracruz-in-two-months.php (English)
HONDURAS
Honduras has the highest murder rate per capita of any country in the world, with 86 killings per 100,000 people. Since 2007, at least 28 journalists have been murdered; 14 of these have been killed since President Porfirio Lobo took office in January 2010. Government officials - including the army and the police – are often implicated in these attacks. According the Committee to Protect Journalists, the authorities have systematically failed to investigate these crimes.
The Honduran coup of 2009 resulted in an illegal regime that ruled by force, suppressed opposition and censored the press. It was eventually succeeded in 2010 by President Porfirio Lobo Sosa's government, which immediately offered an amnesty to all those involved in the coup.
The coup split journalists into two camps: those who supported the coup and those who didn’t. Journalists from both sides have been the target of attacks. However, those who seek to expose
officials (and others) implicated in the coup, and those who have ties to the ousted President Zelaya, are targeted with much greater frequency.
Similarly, newspapers and broadcasters that focus on police corruption, secrecy in the public administration, or criticism of current large-scale privatization projects are also under attack. Unsurprisingly, self-censorship in the Honduran press is a growing trend.
Links
To read more about attacks on free expression in Honduras:
http://cpj.org/blog/2012/06/amidst-violence-lack-of-unity-among-honduran-journ.php (English) http://cpj.org/es/2012/06/en-medio-de-la-violencia-falta-unidad-entre-period.php (Español) http://www.pen-international.org/05/2012/honduras-killing-free-expression-by-cathal-sheerin/ (English) http://cpj.org/pt/2012/05/cpj-condena-ataque-contra-jornalistas-hondurenhos.php (Portuguese)
BRAZIL
Violence against Brazil’s journalists is increasing, especially outside the big cities. The largely lawless border with Paraguay - one of the main drugs and weapons smuggling routes - is particularly dangerous. According to the International Press institute, Brazilian journalists are now being killed at a faster rate than at any time since 1997. Killings are often well-planned executions, carried out on behalf of organized gangs; sometimes, former public officials are implicated. Most of the victims wrote about organised crime or political corruption. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, in the last 20 years, more than 70% of these murders have gone unpunished.
Brazil’s lawmakers are considering a bill that, if passed, would make attacks on journalists a federal crime.
Links
To read more about Brazil, please see: http://www.freemedia.at/index.php?id=288&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=6120&cHash=8af668528f (English) http://www.freemedia.at/index.php?id=237&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=6119&cHash=38e7a7504e (Español) http://cpj.org/pt/2012/02/ataque-a-imprensa-em-2011-brasil.php (Portuguese) http://cpj.org/es/2012/02/ataques-a-la-prensa-en-2011-brazil.php (Español) http://veja.abril.com.br/noticia/internacional/onu-denuncia-os-casos-de-assassinatos-de-jornalistas- no-brasil (Portuguese)
http://noticias.terra.com.br/brasil/noticias/0,,OI5743439-EI5030,00- Em+anos+das+mortes+de+jornalistas+ficaram+impunes+no+Pais.html (Portuguese)
MEXICO CASELIST
IMPUNITY IN THE AMERICAS 2012
Mexico: 26 print journalists and writers killed since 2010
2010
7-8 January 2010
Valentín Valdés Espinosa, co-founder of and journalist for the daily newspaper Zócalo de Saltillo. He was abducted on 7 January 2010 and was found dead the following day in Saltillo, Coahuila state. On the night of his murder he reportedly left the newspaper offices with two colleagues. In the centre of town, their car was intercepted by a group of men who forced Valdés and another, unnamed Zócalo reporter into a vehicle which then drove away. According to the Coahuila state attorney general’s office, Valdés was found dead in front of a hotel in Saltillo early on the morning of 8 January. He had reportedly been tortured and shot several times. A message was found on his corpse: “This is going to happen to those who don’t understand. The message is for everyone.” The attorney general’s office stated that the murder was carried out by organised crime. Valdés covered local news, including crime.
29 January 2010
Jorge Alberto Ochoa Martínez, editor and publisher of local Guerrero State newspapers, El Oportuno and El Sol de la Costa. He was killed on 29 January 2010, after being shot several times in the face when leaving a birthday party for a local politician at a restaurant in Ayutla de los Libres. Ochoa, 55, had not reported receiving any threats. According to a colleague, his newspapers rarely covered in depth sensitive stories about drug trafficking or corruption, due to the poor security situation in Guerrero for journalists. However, his family believes it possible that his murder was connected to his work.
2 March 2010
Jorge RÁBAGO VALDEZ, journalist for the daily newspaper La Prensa and two radio stations
Location of murder: Reynosa, Tamaulipas state
12 March 2010
Evaristo PACHECO SOLÍS, reporter for the weekly newspaper Visión Informativa
Location of murder: Chilpancingo, Guerrero state
5-10 April 2010
Enrique VILLICAÑA PALOMARES, columnist for the daily newspaper La Voz de Michoacán, as well as a teacher
Location of murder: Morelia, Michoacán state
28 June 2010
Juan Francisco RODRÍGUEZ RÍOS and María Elvira HERNÁNDEZ GALENA: husband- and-wife, both journalists
Location of murders: Coyuca de Benítez, Guerrero state
5-6 July 2010
Hugo Alfredo OLIVERA CARTAS, owner and editor of the Apatzingán-based local daily newspaper El Día de Michoacán
Location of murder: Apatzingán, Michoacán state
5 November 2010
Carlos Alberto GUAJARDO ROMERO, reporter with Expreso newspaper
Location of murder: Matamoros, Tamaulipas
2011
1-6 January 2011
Susana Chávez Castillo, a 37-year old prominent poet and activist, who led protests against the unsolved murders of women in Ciudad Juárez since the early 1990s. She was active in organisations supporting the families and friends of the deceased women, and took part in poetry readings that she dedicated to the victims. She was found strangled, with a bag over her head, and her left hand cut off, in the city centre of Ciudad Juárez on 6 January 2011. She was identified only five days later. The authorities denied that her murder was related in any way to her activism and poetry, or to organised crime, despite the recent murder and harassment of numerous other local rights defenders.
8 March 2011 – 1 June 2011
Noel López Olguin, columnist for La Verdad de Jáltipan newspaper, was abducted in Jáltipan, Veracruz State, by armed men on 8 March 2011. His body was found buried in a shallow grave on 1 June, after an arrested drug gang leader - who was found in possession of López’ camera - confessed to killing the journalist. No motive was given for the killing, but it seems likely that it might have been linked to López’ journalism. He was sharply critical of local corruption in his articles, and had appealed to the public to report abuses carried out by the authorities and organised crime groups.
13 June 2011
Pablo RUELAS BARRAZA, journalist for the regional daily newspapers Diario del Yaqui in Huatabampo and El Regional de Sonora in Hermosillo, both in Sonora state
Location of murder: Huatabampo, Sonora state
20 June 2011
Miguel Ángel LÓPEZ VELASCO, columnist and former editor for the daily newspaper Notiver
Location of murder: Veracruz, Veracruz State
3 July 2011
Angel CASTILLO CORONA, press officer for the municipality of Ocuilan and journalist, writing about regional politics for the daily newspapers Portal and Diario de México
Location of murder: Ocuilan, Mexico State
24-26 July 2011
Yolanda Ordaz de la Cruz, crime reporter and columnist for the regional daily newspaper Notiver, was abducted by gunmen as she left her house on 24 July 2011. Her decapitated body was found two days later, near the building of the newspaper Imagen. A note found with the body seemed to connect her murder with that of another Notiver columnist, Miguel Ángel López Velasco, who was shot dead along with his wife and son in their home in Veracruz state on 13 July. The note said: “Friends can also betray you” and was signed “Carranza”. A former traffic police officer named Juan Carlos Carranza Saavedra has reportedly been identified as the main suspect in López’ murder. Ordaz, who had worked as a journalist for 20 years, covered the war on drugs and the police beat for Notiver. The state attorney general’s office stated that investigators were working on the theory that the journalist’s murder was related to her alleged “links to organized crime”. Notiver has strongly denied these allegations and said that Ordaz was killed for her journalism, adding that the newspaper was itself under continuous threats.
24 August 2011 Humberto MILLÁN SALAZAR: editor of the online newspaper A Discusión and news presenter for Radio Fórmula Location of murder: Culiacán, Sinaloa State
31 August-1 September 2011
Ana María Marcela YARCE VIVEROS (f): founder, reporter and head of public relations of the bimonthly political magazine Contralinea
Location of murder: Mexico City, Federal District
24 September 2011
María Elizabeth MACÍAS CASTRO, editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper Primera Hora and blogger
Location of murder: Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas state
9 November 2011
‘RASCATRIPAS’ (pen-name), web site moderator for a site that reporting on narco-related crimes. Location of murder: Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas state
2012
6 January 2012
Raúl Régalo Garza Quirino, reporter for the weekly newspaper La Ultima Palabra
Location of murder: Nuevo León State.
31 March 2012
Guillermo Fernández García, 79-year old poet and translator, was found dead at his home in Toluca on 31 March 2012. His murderers had bound his feet and hands, and had taped his mouth before killing him with a blow to the head. Computers and other valuables had been left untouched, and the motive for the murder is unknown. He was a noted poet and had published twelve volumes of poetry, including Visitaciones (1964), La palabra a solas (1965), La hora y el sitio (1973), El reino de los ojos (1983) and Imágenes para una piedad (1991). He was also regarded as one of the Mexico’s finest translators of Italian literature and had translated works by Italo Calvino, Antonio Tabucchi, Cesare Pavese and Guiseppe Tomasi de Lampedusa.
20 April 2012
Héctor Javier Salinas Aguirre & Javer Moya Muñoz, respectively director of local news website Futuro.mx and press spokesman for the city of Chihuahua
Location of murder: Chihuahua State
28 April 2012
Regina Martínez worked as a journalist for 30 years, ten of which she spent reporting for the investigative news magazine Proceso. She was known for her in-depth reporting on the drug cartels and on the links between organized crime and government officials. Police entered Martínez’s home in Xalapa on the afternoon of 28 April 2012, following a call from a concerned neighbour. The attending officers found the journalist dead in her bathroom. She had been badly beaten around the face and ribs and had been strangled to death. Although the Mexican authorities have not suggested a motive for her murder, they have confirmed that they will be investigating a possible link with her work. The day before her murder, Martinez reported on municipal police officers arrested for alleged links to organized crime.
13 May 2012
Ren é Orta Salgado, 43-year old former reporter for El Sol de Cuernavaca and political activist, was reported missing by his family and friends on 12 May 2012; he was last seen early Saturday morning at a bar in Cuernavaca, the capital of Morelos. His body was found in the trunk of his car on 13 May 2012. A scarf had been taped over his face using industrial adhesive tape. The body showed signs of having been beaten, most notably with blows to the abdomen and head. There were also markings from asphyxiation. Authorities said that no firearms had been used in the killing, nor had any blood been drawn, thus distinguishing this murder from most others. Orta was a vocal supporter of PRI (the Institutional Revolutionary Party). In December 2011 he set up Emprendedores Por la Nación (EPN), a political group supporting Enrique Peña Nieto, the PRI candidate in the upcoming presidential elections.
18 May 2012
Marco Antonio Ávila García reported for two regional newspapers, Diario Sonora de la Tarde and El Regional de Sonora. On 17 May 2012, while waiting at a car wash in Obregon, Ávila was approached by three armed men. According to witnesses, the men asked Ávila if he was a journalist. When Ávila replied that he was, they bundled him into a waiting truck and drove off. Less than 24 hours later, his body was discovered wrapped in a black plastic bag, beside a highway in the northern state of Sonora near the port city of Guaymas. A note signed by a drug cartel was found at the site.
14 June 2012
Víctor Manuel Báez Chino, crime reporter for the daily newspaper Milenio El Portal de Veracruz and editor of the website reporterospoliciacos.mx. He was kidnapped by a group of armed men as he was leaving his office late at night on 13 June 2012. The men forced him into a grey van and drove away. Báez Chino’s body was later found dumped in a street near where the offices of the newspapers Oye Veracruz, Gráfico de Xalapa and Diario de Xalapa are located. Authorities said a note was attached to Baez Chino's corpse signed by the Zetas. "This is what happens to those who betray us and be clever, Sincerely the Zetas," the letter reportedly said. His murder followed a pattern often seen in attacks on journalists in Mexico. Local and federal authorities have said they believe Báez Chino to be a victim of organised crime.
HONDURAS CASELIST
IMPUNITY IN THE AMERICAS 2012
Honduras: 20 Journalists murdered since 2010
2012
Erick Martinez Avila - well-known spokesman for the lesbian and gay rights group Kuculnan, was politically active in Libertad y Refundación, (the party of Manuel Zelaya, the former Honduran president who was deposed by a military coup in 2009). He was found dead in Tegucigalpa on 7 May 2012, after having been reported missing for two days. The activist's body showed up in a sewer close to a highway that leads to the Honduran capital. The forensics doctor determined the cause of death to be strangulation. Preliminary investigations have still not determined if the killing was related to Martínez's work as a journalist.
Alfredo Villatoro - Villatoro, 47, was a prominent host and news coordinator at HRN, one of Honduras' best-known radio stations. His body was found on a sidewalk in Tegucigalpa on 15 May 2012 (he had been kidnapped 6 days earlier). He was dressed in a police uniform and had a red handkerchief covering his face, according to news reports. The journalist had received two gunshot wounds to the head. Neighbours reported hearing gunshots in the area a few hours before the body was discovered. Days before, President Porfirio Lobo himself had said that the journalist was still alive.
Noel Alexander Valladares, presenter for Maya TV, shot to death along with two others in Tegucigalpa, on 24 April 2012.
Fausto Flores Valle, presenter for La Voz de la Noticia in Radio Alegre de Colon, was hacked to death on 11 March, 2012.
2011
Luz Marina Paz - Paz, 38, was the host of the morning news program "3 en la noticia" (Three on the News) on the Cadena Hondureña de Noticias (Honduran News
Network). She had also worked for Radio Globo, a radio station known for its criticism of the 2009 ouster of former President Manuel Zelaya. On 6 December 2011, unidentified gunmen fired at least 37 times at Paz, who was in a car near her home. Héctor Iván Mejía, a spokesman for the Ministry of Security, told reporters that investigators were considering ‘attempted carjacking’ as a possible motive. Mejía added that "another question [was] the journalistic work."
Medardo Flores - Radio journalist of Radio Uno in San Pedro Sula who supported former President Manuel Zelaya, was gunned down on the night of 8 September 2011. Regional finance manager of the pro-Zelaya Broad Front for Popular Resistance (FARP), Flores was killed just two days after another leading FARP figure was shot. “It will be very hard for the authorities to rule out the possibility that Flores was killed for political reasons or because of his work as a journalist,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Aside from being a FARP member, he worked for a radio station that supports Zelaya so he was doubly exposed”.
Adan Benitez veteran host and journalist who worked for more than 16 years in radio and television, was shot to death on his way home in the city of La Ceiba on Monday, July 4.
Nery Jeremías Orellana – Nery Jeremias Orellana, 26, was the manager of Radio Joconguera in the town of Candelaria, a member of the Broad Front of Popular Resistance (FARP) opposition movement, and correspondent for Radio Progreso. Nery was stopped and shot in the head by masked gunmen as he rode home from work on a motorcycle on 14 July 2011. He died soon after he was taken to a local hospital.
Hector Francisco Medina Polanco, provincial television TV news host for the local cable company Omega Visión, gunned down on 11 May, 2011.
Luis Ernesto Mendoza Cerrato, journalist for Channel 24, gunned down by three hooded assailants armed with AK-47s on May 19.
2010
Henry Suazo - Correspondent for Tegucigalpa-based Radio HRN and news presenter for Cablevisión del Atlántico. Suazo was shot to death on 27 December 2010, as he was leaving his home in La Masica, a town in Atlántida province. Two unidentified gunmen fired multiple times at Suazo and then fled on motorbikes.
Israel Zelaya Diaz - Zelaya, 56, a radio reporter for the San Pedro Sula-based broadcaster Radio Internacional, was found shot to death on 24 August 2011, on a rural road near the northern city of San Pedro Sula. He had received two bullet wounds to the head and one to the chest, according to press reports. Honduran authorities have not yet disclosed possible motives or identified any suspects in the case. Zelaya reported on a wide range of local topics, including politics and crime, but he was not involved in investigative work, his colleagues told the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Luis Arturo Mondragon Morazan – Mondragon, 51, director of the Canal 19 station and the news programme "Teleprensa", was shot four times by two men who had been waiting for him outside the station building on the night of 14 June 2010. The murder occurred between 9:30 and 9:45 p.m., as Mondragón was leaving work, in the central neighbourhood of Santa Clara, in El Paraíso, eastern Honduras.
Luis Antonio Chevez, Radio W105 presenter, was gunned down in San Pedro Sula on 11 April, 2010.
Jose Alberto “Georgino” Orellana, programme producer and presenter for Televisión de Honduras, was slain by a single shot to the head fired by an unidentified person in San Pedro Sula, on 20 April 2010.
Joseph Hernandez Ochoa, TV host for Channel 51, gunned down by two unidentified men in Tegucigalpa on 1 May, 2010.
David Meza Montesinos, Radio journalist for El Patio and correspondent for Abriendo Brecha TV station and Radio America, killed by unidentified gunmen on 11 March, 2010.
Nahum Palacios Arteaga, news anchor for Channel 5 and host of a news programme on Radio Tocoa, whose car was riddled with bullets by two gunmen on 14 March in Tocoa, northern Honduras.
Bayardo Mairena, presenter for Radio Excelsior and colleague Manuel Juarez, whose car was intercepted by two gunmen and fired on at least 26 times in Jutipalca, on 26 March 2010.
BRAZIL CASELIST
IMPUNITY IN THE AMERICAS 2012
BRAZIL: 9 Print Journalists murdered since 2010
Décio Sá, reporter for newspaper O Estado do Maranhão and blogger at Blog do Décio, was murdered in a contract killing on 23 April 2012. Forty-two year old Sá reported on politics and crime. On the day that he was murdered he had gone to eat at a local bar in the city of Sao Luis, north-eastern Brazil. According to reports, he received a phone call at the bar, went outside to answer it, and was gunned down by his killer when he returned. Sá was shot 6 times in the head and back. His killer escaped on a motorbike. Sá’s reporting, both for his newspaper and in his blog, had made him several enemies. In June, police arrested a number of people including a former local politician and an ex- police officer in connection with the murder. The motive for the killing is said to be Sá’s reports on the former politician’s alleged involvement in illegal money-lending and racketeering.
Mario Randolpho Marques Lopes, editor-in-chief of the news website Vassouras na Net was murdered alongside his girlfriend on 8 or 9 February 2012. The couple were abducted from his home in the city of Barra do Piraí in Rio de Janeiro state on 8 February. Both were found dead the following day; Randolpho had been shot in the head. Randolpho, 50, wrote articles that frequently accused local officials of being corrupt; his most recent report had accused local judges and courts of corrupt practices. The journalist had been the victim of violence previously. In July 2011, an unidentified gunman entered the
Vassouras na Net newsroom and shot Randolpho five times in the head. The attack left him in a coma for three days, but miraculously, he recovered.
Paulo Roberto Cardoso Rodrigues – better known as Paulo Rocaro – was shot to death in Ponta Porá on 12 February 2012. He was the editor of the local daily Jornal Da Praça and the news website Mercosul News. Rocaro had been driving home when he was attacked by two armed men riding a motorcycle. They fired at least five bullets into him. Rocaro, 51, reported on politics. According to local reports, he had been critical of the local mayor and had publicly lent his support to a rival mayoral candidate. On the night he was killed, the journalist had been returning home after a meeting with the opposition candidate. The killing took place near the Paraguayan border, a region of Brazil known for organized criminal activity and for political corruption. Shortly after his murder, police began investigating the crime as a possible contract killing, and were looking into political motives.
Ednaldo Figueira, a blogger, owner of local newspaper O Serrano, and leader of the Serra do Mel branch of the Worker’s Party (PT), was gunned down on 15 June 2011 in Serra do Mel, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte. Figueira was shot six times by three unidentified men on a motorcycle as he was leaving work. According to reports, Figueira had received several threats in the past. He was a leading opponent of mayor Josivan Bibiano de Azevedo and had just posted an investigative report on Serra Do Mel’s municipal finances on his blog. On 8 July 2011 five suspects were arrested. Police said that they belonged to a gang of contract killers and that they had seized several weapons and large quantities of ammunition during the arrests.
Auro Ida, a well-known columnist and political reporter of Olhar Direto website was shot dead on 21 July 2011 by two gunmen. Ida was in his car with his girlfriend when two men approached them on a motorcycle. The men asked the woman to leave the car and they then shot dead the journalist before fleeing the scene. According to a reporter from Olhar Direto, Ida had been investigating local political corruption. Police have said that the murder was a "crime of passion". According to police, Ida’s girlfriend’s ex-husband paid a gunman to shoot him. Both the alleged gunman and the man who contacted him about the assassination plan were arrested. The ex-hsuband has not been found.
Valério Nascimento, journalist and owner of the newspaper Panorama Geral, was shot dead outside his home in Rio Claro,
Rio de Janeiro state, on 3 May 2011. The motive for the crime is still to be determined but recent editions of the paper had reportedly covered alleged irregularities implicating the mayor of the neighboring town of Bananal. Panorama Geral had only published four editions, according to a local news report. Police are still establishing a motive for the killing, and haven’t ruled out that it could have been politically motivated, press reports said. The paper had also criticized the management of Bananal’s public services including sewage treatment, public parks, and health clinics. Active in local politics, Nascimento, was president of his local residents’ association.
Wanderley dos Reis, journalist and owner of local free newspaper Popular News, was shot by three gunmen at his home on 16 October 2010. He died in hospital the next day. According to dos Reis’ housemate, the gunmen knocked at the door asking to see dos Reis and then took him to the kitchen after which a gun shot was heard. No theft was recorded which raised the possibility of dos Reis having been killed for his journalistic work. Dos Reis specialized in politics and urban infrastructure and covered the Ibitinga area. Popular News, which appeared irregularly, was reportedly opposed to Ibitinga’s current municipal authorities. In April 2011, the Inter- American Press Association reported that to date no suspect had been arrested for dos Reis’ murder six months after the crime took place.
Francisco Gomes de Medeiros, contributor for newspaper Tribuna do Norte, internet writer and news director of a local radio station, was shot dead by a man on a motorbike in front of his house in Caicó, Rio Grande do Norte state, on 18 October 2010. Gomes had reported on a variety of local topics, including government corruption, crime and drug trafficking. He had recently received death threats after publishing a piece on his blog accusing local politicians of being involved in buying votes in exchange for drugs during the first round of the Brazilian general elections on 3 October. On 19 October the police arrested a man who reportedly confessed to the killing. In May 2012 it was reported that a group of four men, including a businessman, two military police officers and a church pastor had ordered the attack. Police said that the motive was anger at the journalist’s reports exposing and condemning drug crime and other illegal activity.
José Rubem Pontes de Souza, owner and editor of the local newspaper Entre-Rios Jornal, was shot dead in Paraíba do Sul, Rio de Janeiro province, on 30 October 2010. According to witnesses, an unidentified gunman shot Souza twice in the neck before fleeing. On 12 November 2010 it was reported that the police had claimed to have arrested the person who shot Souza. The suspect was a former member of the military police, wanted in the past for suspected robbery, drug-trafficking, two murders and forming an armed organization. According to the police, he shot Souza for refusing to enter into a business relationship with him. In April 2011, the Inter-American Press Association reported that the suspect had yet to be put on trial.
All campaign materials will be available shortly on the website www.pen-international.org
PEN International would like to thank all those involved in the campaign. Cathal Sheerin would especially like to thank the artist Maxine Young for her fine work on the campaign image, Jens Lohmann from Danish PEN, Tony Cohan from San Miguel Allende PEN, Ana Zárraga, Katriina Lepänjuuri and Paulo Paladino.
For further details please contact Cathal Sheerin at the Writers in Prison Committee London Office: PEN International, Brownlow House, 50-51 High Holborn, London WC1V 6ER Tel: +44 (0) 207 405 0338 Fax +44 (0) 207 405 0339 email: cathal.sheerin@pen- international.org