Last week, two journalists were killed in Brazil.
Radio broadcaster Djalma Santos da Conceição, known as ‘Djalma Batata’, was found dead on 23 May, in rural Conceição da Feira (BA).
Djalma, 54, hosted a programme on a community radio station, and was known for his coverage of crimes committed in the region. The journalist’s brothers said he suffered death threats constantly – one of which occurred via a phone call on the day before the murder.
Around 23:30 Friday 22 May, Djalma was abducted by three armed and hooded men who forced him into the trunk of a car. His body was found the next morning, shot at least 15 times, and showing signs of torture.
Djalma was the second journalist to be murdered in less than a week. On May 18th, the body of blogger and journalist José Evany Metzker was found beheaded in the town of Padre Paraíso, Minas Gerais, where he was working to gather information for a news story on child prostitution.
As with Djalma, the circumstances indicate that the crime may have been motivated by journalistic work.
ARTICLE 19 strongly condemns both murders and calls for a thorough investigation by the authorities, including to clarify whether the deaths are linked to journalistic activity.