MIAMI, Florida (May 25, 2010)—With all legal resources in Brazil exhausted the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), in conjunction with the international community, today expressed hope that with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) acting as intermediary before the South American country’s authorities justice will be done concerning the murder of journalists Nivanildo Barbosa Lima and Jorge Vieira da Costa.
In a note to IACHR Executive Secretary Santiago Cantón signed by hundreds of readers of the print and online versions of more than 400 newspapers throughout the Americas a call by the press freedom organization to the IACHR Is underscored, with the objective of putting an end to the impunity surrounding the murders, committed in 1995 and 2001, respectively.
“We take the liberty of calling your attention to the results of these two latest investigations, submitted to the Honorable Commission that you head, all us trusting that your agency will intercede before Brazil for the guilty to be duly punished,” the note declares.
The IAPA has been waging a hemisphere-wide campaign titled “Let’s Put an End to Impunity” in a bid to see that more than 350 crimes against journalists committed in the last 22 years, as well as a dozen disappearances, do not remain unpunished. The initiative is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Readers wishing to join the campaign by adding their signature to the note can do so by going to the Web site www.impunidad.com
