SRFOE condemns the killings of journalists Fernando Núñez and Mitzar Castillejos and warns of a deterioration of guarantees for freedom of expression and of the press in Peru

January 9, 2026

Washington, D.C. – The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression (SRFOE) of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) condemns the killings of journalists Fernando Núñez and Mitzar Castillejos and warns of a context of increasing attacks against the press in Peru. The Office urges the Peruvian State to fully comply with its international obligations to prevent violence, protect journalists, and ensure diligent, effective, and timely investigations that lead to the punishment of those responsible.

According to publicly available information, on December 6, 2025, journalist Fernando Núñez—reporter for the digital outlet Kamila TV and Secretary for Internal Affairs, Records, and Archives of the Provincial Association of Journalists—was killed in the district of Guadalupe, province of Pacasmayo, La Libertad region. The journalist was traveling by motorcycle with his brother after carrying out a journalistic assignment when they were intercepted by armed individuals who fired at least three shots before fleeing the scene. According to reports from civil society organizations, Núñez died at the scene, while his brother was seriously injured and taken to a health facility.

Likewise, on December 26, 2025, the death of journalist Mitzar Castillejos was recorded. He was host of Radio Latín Plus 107.7 FM and director of the news portal Bato a Informarte Noticias. Reports indicate that the journalist remained under medical care for 14 days after being the victim of an armed attack on December 12, perpetrated by individuals riding a motorcycle in the city of Aguaytía, province of Padre Abad. During the attack, Castillejos sustained three gunshot wounds: two to his right arm and one to the abdomen. With these cases, the Special Rapporteurship records a total of four journalists killed in the country in 2025, following the cases of Gastón Medina in Ica and Raúl Celis in Iquitos.

The Special Rapporteurship recalls that violence against journalists has a triple effect: it violates the victims’ right to express and disseminate their ideas and opinions; it generates intimidation and silencing among their colleagues; and it affects society’s right to seek and receive information of all kinds. These actions have particularly serious consequences for democracy, which depends on a free, open, and dynamic exchange of ideas and information.

It also observes with concern that the aforementioned events are part of a context of deterioration of guarantees for the exercise of the freedoms of association, expression, and the press in Peru, marked by an alleged increase in death threats and attacks against the press—some linked to organized crime—as well as by smear campaigns and online harassment, particularly against women journalists. Reports also persist regarding restrictions on access to public information and the use of judicial proceedings as alleged reprisals for investigative journalism, including requests to lift the secrecy of communications and orders to remove reports on matters of public interest. Added to this is stigmatizing rhetoric attributed to some public officials that discredits journalistic work, as well as the approval and advancement of legislative initiatives that could seriously affect freedoms of association and expression, as warned by the IACHR.

In response to this press release, the Peruvian State reported that, in its view, it is fulfilling its duty to investigate, prosecute, and punish crimes committed against journalists throughout the national territory, including those allegedly perpetrated by private actors linked to organized crime. It likewise maintained that its internal jurisdictional processes and procedures constitute suitable and adequate avenues for the protection of journalists’ rights, and emphatically denied the existence of a context of “systematic or generalized deterioration” of freedom of the press in the country.

The SRFOE reiterates the recommendations contained in the Special Report on the Situation of Freedom of Expression in Peru, which urge the State to ensure that journalists can carry out their work without threats, intimidation, or pressure of any kind. This entails adopting immediate and significant measures to prevent, protect against, and investigate, prosecute, and punish violence against the press, in accordance with international human rights standards. It also urges the authorities to investigate diligently, promptly, and thoroughly the killing of journalists Fernando Núñez and Mitzar Castillejos, considering their journalistic work as a possible motive for the crimes and ensuring the identification and punishment of those responsible.

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

No. R005/26

9:21 AM