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BRAZIL: Web journalist and editor shot dead
PEN International WiPC | RAN 76/12 28 November 2012
The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of PEN International is shocked by the murder of Última Hora News website editor Eduardo Carvalho, who was shot dead in Mato Grosso do Sul state on 21 November 2012. Carvalho frequently criticised local police and politicians in his articles and had reportedly received threats prior to the shooting. The WiPC calls on the Brazilian authorities to carry out a thorough investigation into the journalist’s murder.
Eduardo Carvalho (52), editor and owner of the website Última Hora News, was arriving home with his wife in Campo Grande, capital of Mato Grosso do Sul state, when an unidentified man on a motorcycle shot him three times then fled.
According to Última Hora News, Carvalho, a retired military police officer, often criticised the local police and politicians and denounced local corruption in his articles. He had reportedly been receiving threats since last year in connection with his journalism and had also survived an assassination attempt. His last article, published on the day of his murder, accused an unnamed military police official of abusing his authority to intimidate local citizens.
The police reportedly intend to focus their investigation into on whether the murder was related to Carvalho's journalistic work. According to the police, Carvalho had been the subject of numerous libel lawsuits related to his reporting.
Carvalho is the fourth print journalist to be killed in Brazil this year and the tenth since 2010. In April 2012, journalist and blogger Décio Sá was shot dead in a bar in what police say was a contract killing. In February 2012 Paulo Roberto Cardoso Rodrigues and Mario Randolpho Marques Lopeswere killed in separate incidents.
PEN International has recently published the anthology Write Against Impunity: Latin American Writers Commemorate their Fallen Colleagues, a literary protest highlighting the escalating violence against journalists, writers and bloggers in Latin America – in particular Mexico, Honduras and Brazil – and the impunity enjoyed by those who seek to silence them. For more information, see http://www.pen-international.org/write-against-impunity-2012-2/
Please send appeals:
- Protesting the murder of editor and owner of the news website Última Hora News, Eduardo Carvalho;
- Noting that Carvalho is the tenth print journalist to be murdered in Brazil since 2010;
- Calling on the Brazilian authorities to carry out a full and impartial investigation into Carvalho’s killing and all other unsolved journalist murders as a matter of urgency, and to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.
Appeals to:
Federal Minister of Justice
Exmo. Ministro
Sr. José Eduardo Cardozo
Ministério da Justiça
Esplanada dos Ministérios, Bloco T, Edifício sede 70064-900 Brasília/DF Brasil
Fax: + 55 61 3322 6817/ 3224 3398
Eamil: faleconoscomj@mj.gov.br
Salutation: Dear Minister
Federal Human Rights Secretary
Secretaria Especial de Direitos Humanos
Exmo. Secretário Especial
Sra. Maria do Rosário Nunes
SCS Bloco B, Quadra 09, Lote C,
Ed. Parque da Cidade, Corporate,
Torre A, 10°Andar CEP: 70308-200
Brasília/DF, Brazil
Fax: + 55 61 2025 9414
Salutation: Dear Secretary
Please also send copies of your appeals to the Brazilian Embassy in your country. Details of some Brazilian embassies can be found here: http://embassy.goabroad.com/embassies-of/brazil
***Please send appeals immediately. Check with International PEN if sending appeals after 28 January 2012.***
For further details please contact Tamsin Mitchell at the Writers in Prison Committee London Office: PEN International, Brownlow House, 50-51 High Holborn, London WC1V 6ER Tel: +44 (0) 207 405 0338 Fax +44 (0) 207 405 0339 email: tamsin.mitchell@pen-international.org
