On February 9, journalist Mario Marques Lopes was killed in the town of Barra do Pirai, in the southern state of Rio de Janeiro. He wrote a political column and, according to testimony from acquaintances, had made enemies because of his work.
On the evening of February 12, in another brutal crime against a journalist, editor Paulo Roberto Cardoso Rodrigues was hit by five bullets in Ponta Pora, Brazil´s border with Paraguay. He died in hospital the following morning. Police have not ruled out political motives for the crime.
Violence against reporters last year was the main cause for the country to plunge 41 positions in the ranking of freedom of expression of Reporters Without Borders. According to the International News Safety Institute (INSI), last year Brazil was the 8th most dangerous country in the world for journalists. Today the country is tied with Syria as the worst in 2012.
"This is a troubling development that will send shock waves through the news community in Brazil," said INSI Director Rodney Pinder.
"INSI calls on the police to bring the killers to justice. Impunity for the killers of journalists must not take hold in such an important country."
