International human rights monitors are to investigate the murders of journalists in Honduras. Since the beginning of March, seven reporters have been shot dead in the country. A delegation from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights will travel to Honduras in May to determine whether the murders were related to their work. There have been suggestions that the killings may be connected to organised crime in the country.
On 11 April, Mauricio Medina Moreno, director and founding member of the indigenous community radio CRIT 98.0 FM Estéreo, was murdered in his home in the town of Ortega. Medina, 50, died of multiple knife wounds. Although police described the murder as a ‘crime of passion’, some organisations said that this label is often applied in order to avoid investigating links to a journalist’s work. (RSF)
The Chinese government has reportedly invested £4bn to expanding the nation’s news networks and media channels. Newspapers such as the China Daily are to be remodelled to resemble British broadsheets, and China Central Television (CCTV), the country’s largest state television network, is to increase their service to include broadcasts in Russian and Arabic in addition to its English, French and Spanish transmissions. The move comes after President Hu Jintao’s remark on the “increasingly fierce struggle in the domain of news and opinion” in the global media circuit. Click here for an in-depth look at China’s conflicting approaches to international and national news.
On 28 March, Wilmer Azuaje was banned by Venezuela’s highest court from speaking to the media about criminal charges alleging he struck a police official. The measure is meant to protect the “reputation, integrity and honour of the victim.” Azuaje, former Deputy of the National Assembly and an outspoken opponent of President Hugo Chavez, was detained on 25 March after prosecutors accused him of insulting a public official and breaking a law that prohibits violence against women. The National Assembly, which is dominated by allies of Chavez, lifted Azuaje’s immunity as a lawmaker from prosecution Friday — a rare step usually reserved for crimes such as corruption. He was later released on 27 March.