Index on Censorship » journalist murdered

Honduras: Ten suspects arrested in connection with reporter murder

Alice Purkiss — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 10:53:34 +0000

Ten suspects have been arrested as part of the investigation into the murder of Alfredo Villatoro in Honduras, including one policeman. Villatoro was kidnapped earlier this month, and his body was found dumped, dressed in police uniform. He had been shot twice in the head. On Sunday five suspects were arrested, and a number of weapons were seized from their homes. Police also seized two cars believed to be linked to the kidnapping. Other arrests have been made, and two prison inmates are being questioned, after a call from a mobile phone traced back to the prison was made to Villatoro’s family.

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Pakistan: Journalist killed, house of another attacked

Alice Purkiss — Thu, 31 May 2012 10:18:39 +0000

A local TV correspondent has been murdered in Pakistan, while another has had his house attacked. Abdul Qadir Hajizai, a correspondent for a Balochi-language TV channel WASH TV, was shot by men on motorcycles on 27 May as he headed home from work. The journalist later died in hospital. Separatist group Baloch Liberation United Front (BLUF) have taken responsibility for the murder, claiming Hajizai was a government informer reporting against them. In a separate attack, armed men also shot at the home of Irshad Akhtar, president of Turbat Press Club. He and his family were unhurt.

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Mexico: Murdered journalist’s son requests protection for press

Alice Purkiss — Fri, 25 May 2012 16:09:36 +0000

The son of a murdered Mexican journalist has called for protection of journalists in Veracruz. Journalist and photographer Miguel Ángel López Solana, whose father, mother, brother and five colleagues have been murdered in the city, has said “things have to change”. Speaking at a journalism conference he added “We shouldn’t have to suffer from anymore deaths in Veracruz.” The journalist lost his father, journalist Miguel Ángel López Velasco, his brother Misael López Solana, and his mother, Agustina Solana, in June 2011 when gunmen stormed their house and shot them in their sleep.

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Somalia: journalist killed

Alice Purkiss — Fri, 25 May 2012 14:00:01 +0000

A journalist from Radio Shabelle has been murdered in Somalia. Ahmed Ado Anshur was shot dead on his way home from work in Mogadishu yesterday. The young journalist was the host of a popular radio programme Qubanaha Wararka, and was renowned for his outspoken views on the political situation. He was shot several times in the head and chest as he crossed a local market and died instantly. Anshur is the sixth journalist to be murdered in Somalia since the start of the year. Six other journalists from Radio Shabelle have been killed in the last five years.

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Honduras: Five suspects arrested in killing of radio journalist

Marta Cooper — Thu, 24 May 2012 09:46:56 +0000

Arrest warrants were issued this week for five suspects in the kidnapping and murder of Honduran radio journalist Alfredo Villatoro. The suspects are reported to have been in possession of the chip of the mobile phone used to call Villatoro’s family. Testifying before a judge on Tuesday, three of the suspects said they had found the chip on the street. On 17 May Honduran authorities also launched an investigation against two prisoners, with the country’s National Police confirming a call was made to the Villatoro family from a jail cell while the journalist was still captive. Villatoro was a director of HRN radio, one of Honduras’ major broadcast stations.

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Pakistan: Journalist abducted and killed

Alice Purkiss — Tue, 22 May 2012 09:50:03 +0000

The body of a Pakistani journalist has been found, one day after he was abducted. Razzaq Gul, a reporter with the Express News in southern Balochistan, was found dumped near his home in Turbat on Saturday, having been shot 15 times. On Sunday, journalists in Quetta gathered to protest the murder. According to the Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ), Gul was the 21st journalist to die in the area. Pakistan Press International claims six journalists have been deliberately targeted and murdered in Balochistan in the last four years.

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Mexico: Kidnapped reporter found dead in Mexico

Alice Purkiss — Mon, 21 May 2012 13:01:28 +0000

The body of a murdered Mexican crime reporter was found at a roadside on Friday. Marco Antonio Avila Garcia of “Diario Sonora de la Tarde” and “El Regional” newspapers was kidnapped on Thursday while waiting at a car-wash. His tortured body was discovered in a black plastic bag the following day, in the northern state of Sonora, almost 70 miles away from where he was kidnapped. Police found a message signed by a cartel with the body, but refused to reveal its contents. Garcia regularly reported on organised crime in Ciudad Obregon.

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Pakistan: Journalist killed by kidnappers

Alice Purkiss — Tue, 15 May 2012 11:39:18 +0000

The dead body of a kidnapped Pakistani journalist was discovered in Karachi last week. Tariq Kamal was kidnapped on 6 May, along with his friend Fawad Sheikh, who was also murdered. Kamal was visiting a dangerous area of Balochistan for an exclusive report when he was kidnapped. The journalist’s family received a call from him informing them he was going to be killed by his captors. His kidnappers later contacted his family to inform them that Kamal and Sheikh were killed because they were police informants.

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Honduras: Journalist, human rights defender killed

Alice Purkiss — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:58:02 +0000

A journalist and human rights activist has been found dead in Honduras. Erick Martínez Ávila, who worked for the Honduran LGBT group Kukulcán, was found dead in a roadside ditch on 7 May. The journalist was reported missing on 5 May, and had not been seen in public since he attended a demonstration with the LGBT community on 1 May. The motive for the murder remains unclear, but it is believed the journalist was strangled.

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Philippines: Radio reporter murdered

Alice Purkiss — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:07:32 +0000

A radio journalist was murdered in the Philippines on Tuesday. Nestor Libaton, a news reporter for Catholic-run radio station dxHM in Mati City, was shot several times by men on a motorbike. The journalist was on the back of a motorbike being driven by his co-anchor, Eldon Cruz, after the pair had conducted an interview in a nearby city. The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) believe the incident occurred as a result of the journalists work. Libaton is the fourth journalist to be killed in the Philippines since the start of 2012.

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