SRFOE condemns the murders of journalists in the region and calls on States to take measures to prevent violence, protect the press and investigate and punish crimes

21 de março de 2025

Washington, D.C. - The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression (SRFOE) of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) condemns lethal violence against the press and calls on the States of the region to investigate the facts in a complete, exhaustive and impartial manner, as well as to punish those responsible for these crimes. It also calls on them to redouble their efforts to prevent these attacks and guarantee the protection of journalists at risk.

According to public information and reports received, so far in 2025, the Office of the Special Rapporteur has recorded the murder of at least 10 journalists in five countries in the region, for reasons that could be linked to their professional work: Calletano de Jesús Guerrero, Alejandro Gallegos León, Kristian Uriel Martínez Zavala, Martín Ruelas Esparza, Raúl Irán Villarreal Belmont (Mexico), Geraldo Gonçalves Duque, Cristiano Luiz Freitas (Brazil)*, Óscar Gómez Agudelo (Colombia), Patricio Ernesto Aguilar (Ecuador) and Gastón Medina (Peru)*.

For the Office of the Special Rapporteur, these facts confirm the situation of risk and vulnerability of journalists and media workers in the Americas, which also reflects an increasingly adverse environment for the practice of journalism in the region. As established by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, "the practice of journalism can only be carried out freely when the persons who engage in it are not victims of threats, physical, psychological or moral aggression or other acts of harassment".

In addition, it reiterates that the murder of journalists and members of the media constitutes the most extreme form of censorship. In its Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression, the IACHR has stated that "[t]he murder, kidnapping, intimidation, threats to social communicators, as well as the material destruction of the media, violate the fundamental rights of individuals and severely restrict freedom of expression. It is the duty of the States to prevent and investigate these acts, punish the perpetrators and ensure adequate reparation to the victims".

These actions not only drastically affect the freedom of thought and expression of the person concerned, but also have a chilling and silencing effect on fellow journalists, and violate the right of individuals and societies to seek and receive information and ideas of any kind. The repercussions for democracy, which depends on the free, open and dynamic exchange of ideas and information, are particularly serious.

In relation to violence against the press, the Office of the Special Rapporteur has highlighted three positive obligations of the States, derived from the rights to life, integrity and freedom of expression of journalists. These obligations imply the adoption of concrete measures to: (i) prevent violence against them, (ii) protect journalists at risk, and (iii) investigate, prosecute and punish crimes against the press. Regarding the obligation of prevention, the SRFOE has emphasized that a simple but highly effective measure is for the highest authorities of the State to publicly reject violence against the press and to constantly, clearly, publicly and firmly recognize the legitimacy and value of journalistic work.

Therefore, the Office of the Special Rapporteur urgently calls on the States of the region to investigate the aforementioned facts in a complete, effective and impartial manner, considering the journalistic activity and the exercise of freedom of expression of the victims as possible lines of investigation, and to punish those responsible for these crimes.

This Office recognizes the measures implemented by various States to strengthen the protection of journalists. However, in view of the facts described above, the Office of the Special Rapporteur urges States to redouble their efforts, in accordance with applicable inter-American standards, to adopt concrete, adequate and sufficient measures to prevent violence against the press and to guarantee the protection of journalists at risk.

The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression (SRFOE) is an office created by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to encourage the hemispheric defense of the right to freedom of thought and expression, considering its fundamental role in the consolidation and development of the democratic system.

*The State of Brazil informed the Special Rapporteurship that the murder of journalist Geraldo Gonçalves Duque is being investigated by the Civil Police of the State of São Paulo, without having found any information to suggest that the crime was related to his professional work. They also pointed out that, so far, the perpetrator of the murder has not been identified. Regarding the case of journalist Cristiano Luiz Freitas, the State indicated that it is being investigated by the Civil Police of the State of Paraná. It also pointed out that the Observatory of Violence against Journalists and Social Communicators does not register in its database any reports of violence against journalists Geraldo Gonçalves Duque or Cristiano Luiz Freitas for exercising their profession.

* The State of Peru informed the Office of the Special Rapporteur that the death of journalist Gastón Medina is being investigated by the Supraprovincial Prosecutor's Office for Human Rights and Interculturalism of Ica and Cañete, a specialized prosecutor's office created to investigate and punish, ensuring compliance with the standards in this area by considering the work of the murdered person as a possible motive and the lines of investigation related to that work.

No. R056/25

8:26 AM