UNESCO calls for probe into murder of Brazilian journalists

[News_Editor]

UNESCO calls for probe into murder of Brazilian journalists

2012-02-21 16:46:45 GMT+7 (ICT)

BRASILIA, BRAZIL (BNO NEWS) -- Officials at the United Nations (UN) on Monday condemned the murders of two journalists in Brazil earlier this month and have called for a thorough investigation to find those responsible.

Earlier this month, on February 12, Paulo Roberto Cardoso Rodrigues was shot and killed by two unidentified men on a motorcycle while he was driving home in Ponta Porá, which is near the border with Paraguay. Cardoso served as the editor of Jornal Da Praça, a daily newspaper, and the website Mercosul News.

Just four days earlier, on February 8, journalist Mario Randolfo Marques Lopes was abducted and shot dead along with his girlfriend in Barra do Piraí in the state of Rio de Janeiro. He was the editor-in-chief of the Vassouras na Net website.

Irina Bokova, Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), issued a statement in which she deplored the murders of the two journalists and called for a thorough investigation into the killings.

"These killings are an intolerable attack on the profession of journalism and on an individual's basic human right to free speech," Bokova said, adding that thorough investigations of the deaths are needed "to enable journalists to continue reporting without having to fear for their lives and for the safety of their relatives."

At least eleven journalists or media professionals have been killed in Brazil since 2002, and a UNESCO-backed research project is currently examining the issues facing community media operating in violent or difficult areas in Rio de Janeiro.

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