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february 25, 2008
Mr. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
President of Brazil
Planalto Palace
Brasília
Brazil
Mr. President,
The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) has been investigating murders of journalists in the Americas and come to the conclusion in the majority of cases that justice has been slow in being done due to negligence, apathy and irregularities. In many cases the police inquiries and legal proceedings have been inexplicably halted and have instead become obstacles to the action intended to bring the guilty to account.
The IAPA is determined to put an end to such impunity, a task in which it has wide support among the international community. That is why we take the liberty of once again calling your attention to the death of journalist Nicanor Linhares Batista, owner and operator of radio station Vale do Juaguaribe AM in Limoeiro do Norte, Ceará.
A frequent critic of the poor local municipal administration, Linhares Batista was murdered on June 30, 2003 by two hooded men who entered his radio station and shot him 10 times. No one has been brought to trial for this crime. There are two local officials who are believed to have been involved as having instigated the attack, but to date no formal charges have been laid. And those who actually carried out the killing have also gone unpunished.
We draw your attention, Mr. President, to this case which has gone unpunished for five years now. We respectfully call upon your good offices to have the police inquiries and legal process move ahead so that the guilty may be brought to justice. Only in that way will the death of this journalist not become just another statistic in the list of unsolved murders in the Americas.
Sincerely,
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