Abraji concerned with violence against journalists in Brazil

 

The Brazilian Association for Investigative Journalism is concerned with the raise of violence against journalists in Brazil.

On February 9th, journalist Mario Marques Lopes Randolfo was killed in Barra do Piraí, a town in Rio de Janeiro state. According to friends, he had conquered enemies because of his work as a politics reporter.

In the evening of February 12th, another brutal crime against a journalist: the editor Paulo Roberto Cardoso Rodrigues was hit by five bullets in Ponta Porã, Brazil´s border with Paraguay. Rescued, he died in the hospital the following morning. Police is still working with a political motivation for the crime.

"Crimes that aim to silence a journalist are a serious attack on freedom of expression and need quick action to ensure they do not go unpunished," said Marcelo Moreira, presidente of ABRAJI.

According to International News Safety Institute (INSI), Brazil was the 8th most dangerous country for journalists in 2011. With these two shootings, Brazil is now leading the 2012 ranking, together with Syria.