Miami (July11, 2013) – The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) expressed deep concern at the murder of journalist Aníbal Barrow, “a case that once again demonstrates the precarious environment in which journalists operate” in Honduras and the need to create a system of protection for journalists.
Honduras Public Ministry officials confirmed on Wednesday that they found Barrow’s dismembered and burnt body in a locality in the interiors of the country, after his kidnap on June 24 in San Pedro Sula. According to the authorities, Barrow had been killed on the same day of his kidnapping.
Claudio Paolillo, President of the Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, expressed “the solidarity of the institution with the victim’s family and colleagues,” and demanded “an in-depth investigation into Barrow’s killing,” especially with regards to shedding light on who was the intellectual mastermind of the crime.
Paolillo, director of the weekly newspaper Busqueda, Montevideo, Uruguay, expressed astonishment at a case that demonstrates once again “the precarious environment in which journalists operate” in Honduras. Paolillo recalled that the IAPA, in conferences and delegations sent to the Central American nation, had insisted that the country adopted certain measures, including the reform of public policies that would impose tougher penalties for crimes committed against journalists and the creation of special prosecutor offices with the appropriate resources to investigate crimes against freedom of the press.
Yesterday, responding to IAPA’s direct request to President Porfirio Lobo, the Sub-Secretary of Justice and Human Rights, Martha Sabillón, announced that the government is about to send to Congress a bill for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, Journalists, Social Communicators and Justice Operators. Ms. Sabillón also indicated that the appropriate budgetary resources for the implementation of protection programs are being sought.
The IAPA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the defense and promotion of freedom of the press and of expression in the Americas. It is made up of more than 1,300 print publications from throughout the Western Hemisphere and is based in Miami, Florida. For more information please visit http://www.sipiapa.org
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