Brazil had 44 journalists killed.
From 2006 to 2019, 1,167 journalists were murdered in 63 countries and 15% of cases were resolved or closed. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), which presented the data to mark the International Day for the End of Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, celebrated today (2), the cases take average three years to be resolved.
As detailed by Unesco in a report, one-third of the murders will end within two years, but there are exceptions, with a very long duration. One case, for example, took 12 years to clear up.
When sending the response to Unesco’s demand, 27 countries said they were promoting “positive or innovative measures” to guarantee security or fight impunity. One of them was Brazil, where 44 journalists, all men, were executed. Of this total, 32 remain unresolved, either because they are not properly clarified or because the investigation is open. One of the victims, Gerardo Ceferino Servían Coronel, was Paraguayan, despite having been murdered in Brazil.
Unesco points out that government officials have ceased to provide information on the situation of 366 homicides, which undermines their ability to accurately report the progress of court proceedings. One consequence of this is the fact that it cannot say whether the perpetrators of the crimes went unpunished or not.
“While journalists continued to lose their lives because of the reports they produce, freedom of expression will remain under siege,” writes the organization in the 87-page report.
Also on the occasion of the date celebrated on Monday, the secretary general of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, said that the authorities must ensure that attacks against journalists are properly investigated and that those responsible are penalized for their actions. . “I am shocked by the continuing and growing number of attacks against journalists and media workers around the world,” he said in a Twitter post.
