Luiz Carlos Barbon Filho

New York, March 30, 2010—The conviction on Saturday of four men, including three members of the military police, in the 2007 murder of Brazilian journalist Luiz Carlos Barbon Filho is an important step forward in the global campaign to combat impunity in journalists’ murders, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.    

CPJ’s Impunity Index spotlights countries
where journalists are slain and killers go free

New York, March 23, 2009 -- The already murderous conditions for the press in Sri Lanka and Pakistan deteriorated further in the past year, the Committee to Protect Journalists has found in its newly updated Impunity Index, a list of countries where journalists are killed regularly and governments fail to solve the crimes. Colombia, historically one of the world’s deadliest nations for the press, improved as the rate of murders declined and prosecutors won important recent convictions.

With 15 journalists killed for their work in as many years, Brazil is one of the region’s deadliest countries for the press, but court-imposed censorship and official antagonism have also emerged as major issues for the news media. Time and again, local courts issued rulings that barred journalists from reporting on malfeasance, while high-ranking officials routinely assailed the media for their coverage.

New York, November 26, 2007—Brazilian radio host João Alckmin, who reports on corruption in eastern São Paulo state, was shot twice on Thursday; he is in stable condition. The Committee to Protect Journalists today calls on Brazilian authorities to investigate the attack.  

Alckmin, host of the weekly talk show “Showtime” onlocal Rádio Piratininga, was walking his dog at around 6:30 p.m. in the city of São José dos Campos, 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the state capital of São Paulo, when a man riding a motorcycle approached him, he told CPJ. The assailant shot Alckmin in the neck and abdomen and sped away, according to family members. The journalist was taken to a local hospital, where he had a bullet removed from his neck. Alckmin’s family members who spoke to CPJ said he is in stable condition.

New York, May 7, 2007—Brazilian journalist Luiz Carlos Barbon Filho, known for investigative reporting that exposed political corruption, was gunned down on Saturday evening in the southern state of São Paulo. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Brazilian authorities today to thoroughly investigate the murder and bring those responsible to justice.

“We offer our deepest condolences to Luiz Carlos Barbon Filho’s family, colleagues and friends,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “We call on Brazilian authorities to conduct a prompt and thorough investigation into Barbon’s murder, find all those responsible, and punish them with the full extent of the law.”