Unesco condemns murders of two journalists in Brazil

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) Monday condemned the murders of two journalists in Brazil.

Mario Randolfo, the editor of the Web site Vassouras na Net was shot to death along with his wife in Rio de Janeiro state Feb 8 and Paulo Roberto Cardoso Rodrigues, editor-in-chief of the Jornal da Praca newspaper was fatally shot last week in Ponta Pora, a town on the Paraguayan border.

The crimes “are unacceptable” and constitute “an intolerable attack on the profession of journalism and the basic human right to freedom of speech”, said UNESCO chief Irina Bokova in a communique.

She called for “an exhaustive investigation into both crimes” because “it is essential that journalists be able to continue reporting without fear for their lives and the safety of their relatives”.

According to UNESCO calculations, 11 journalists and press employees have been murdered in Brazil since 2002.

The organization last year supported an investigative effort into the characteristics and functions of the news media in the European Union that are operating in violent or difficult areas in Rio de Janeiro, the results of which should “help the professionals of those community media to carry out their work with greater safety”.