Brazil: Radio Host Slain
4th Journalist Killed This Year
Brazilian authorities should ensure a prompt, thorough, and independent investigation into the killing of the radio host Gleydson Carvalho at the radio station where he worked on August 6, 2015, said Human Rights Watch.
Carvalho, who often criticized local politicians on the air and in social media, was the fourth journalist killed in Brazil this year. The investigation should specifically take into account the likelihood that Carvalho was killed in retaliation for his work as a journalist, Human Rights Watch said.
“Attacks against journalists for their work threaten freedom of expression and the very fabric of democracy,” said Maria Laura Canineu, Brazil director at Human Rights Watch. “It is crucial for the authorities to ensure full accountability for the killing of Carvalho and other journalists to guarantee that reporters in Brazil can work without fearing for their lives.”
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Two men shot Carvalho in the afternoon while he was hosting a program at Rádio Liberdade, which at that moment was broadcasting music, local media reported.
In March, a Paraguayan radio journalist, Gerardo Ceferino Servían Coronel, was shot dead in the Brazilian city of Ponta Porã, on the border with Paraguay. In May, Evany José Metzger, a blogger, was found decapitated in the state of Minas Gerais, and the body of another radio journalist, Djalma Santos da Conceição´s, was discovered on May 23, a day after he was kidnapped in Bahia. Their bodies showed signs of torture. Both journalists were known for reporting on corruption.
