Freedom of Expression
Press release R211/22
SRFOE condemns
the murder of journalist Humberto Coronel in Paraguay and calls on the State to
reinforce prevention and protection measures for the press.
September 22, 2022
Washington D.C. - The Office of the Special Rapporteur
for Freedom of Expression (SRFOE) of the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights (IACHR) condemns the murder of journalist Humberto Andrés Coronel Godoy
in the city of Pedro Juan Caballero, capital of the department of Amambay and
on the border with Brazil. This Office urges the State to investigate the crime
fully, effectively and impartially, taking into account the informative work as
a possible motive for the crime, and to punish those responsible.
According to available information, journalist
Humberto Andrés Coronel Godoy was murdered on September 6, 2022 when he was
about to get into his car in front of the Amambay
AM 570 radio station, where he worked as a reporter. The journalist also
worked for Mbykymi Noticias. Reports received by this office indicate that Humberto
Coronel was attacked with eight gunshots by an unknown subject who fled. The Attorney General
of the State indicated that the Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating the
facts to clarify the crime, and assured that a working group had already been
formed for this purpose. Also, in this context, the Prosecutor's Office
announced that a person had already been charged for the possible perpetration
of the crime.
According to public
information, in recent months the journalist and his colleague Gustavo Baez had
reported death threats to the police, which could be related to their coverage
of organized crime in the area. At the time, they referred to a message that
had been left on the door of Baez's house, in which he was accused of
"knowing many things". The information reported to SRFOE indicates
that the authorities had offered police custody to the journalists, which was
accepted by Gustavo Báez but rejected by Humberto Coronel; and that the assigned
police custody used to guard outside the media premises. The Attorney
General's Office of the Republic of Paraguay informed that the two
police officers in charge of the security of the place where the murder took
place will be investigated since "they were not near the journalist at the
time of the attack".
After the murder,
prosecutor Katia Uemura - then in charge of the case - publicly stated that
neither the police nor the prosecutor's office could be held responsible
because "a person under direct threat must protect himself" and
"not give himself away", referring to the reporter's alleged refusal
to accept protection measures. As far as this Office was able to learn,
Prosecutor Uemura was reportedly removed from the investigation. The Special
Rapporteur’s Office is particularly concerned about this type of accusations,
which have the potential to generate new acts of violence and increase the risk
inherent to the journalistic function. In this regard, the Office of the
Special Rapporteur has also pointed out that the State's obligation to prevent
such acts includes the obligation to adopt a public discourse that refrains
from stigmatizing journalists and, instead, recognizes the fundamental role
they play in democratic societies. Notwithstanding the above considerations,
the Rapporteur’s Office appreciates the apology of the prosecutor, who stated
that she had expressed herself erroneously and acknowledged her respect for the
work of press workers and journalists.
Civil society
organizations and journalists' associations have denounced that the city of Pedro Juan Caballero is one
of the most dangerous in the country to practice journalism due to the
organized crime networks that operate in this area. In this context, SRFOE was
also informed that last May the mayor of Pedro Juan Caballero was murdered,
whose family was the owner of the radio station where Humberto Coronel worked.
Likewise, this Office was informed that journalist Gustavo Báez publicly stated
that he is analyzing the possibility of leaving the country with his family,
after the murder of his co-worker and the climate of threats and insecurity for
the practice of his profession. The Special
Rapporteur’s Office considers it crucial that the authorities urgently take the
necessary measures to protect the life and personal integrity of Gustavo
Báez.
The Rapporteur’s Office reiterates that the murder of
journalists and communicators constitutes, in addition to a violation of the
right to life, the most serious attack on freedom of expression and a form of
direct censorship. This Office urges the State to investigate the facts promptly, with due
independence and impartiality, and considering the practice of journalism as
the motive for the crime. In this regard, this Office has previously indicated
that "the existence of an adequate institutional framework is crucial for
the State to be able to investigate, judge and criminally punish crimes against
journalists" and that, in this sense, the State has the obligation to
"assign the responsibility to investigate and judge these crimes to the
authorities that are in the best conditions to resolve them and that have the
autonomy and independence to act". On the other hand, the IACHR and the Inter-American
Court have insisted that the obligation to investigate requires States to
exhaust the logical lines of investigation linked to freedom of expression,
since the contrary diminishes the possibilities of achieving effective justice
for the crime.
In light of the
foregoing considerations, The Special Rapporteur’s Office calls on the State to
increase its efforts to prevent violence against the press. As previously
noted, this obligation is particularly important in places where there is a
risk of such acts occurring and in concrete situations in which the authorities
know or should have known that there is a real and immediate risk of such
crimes being committed.
The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of
Expression is an office created by the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights (IACHR) to encourage the hemispheric defense of the right to freedom of
thought and expression, considering its fundamental role in the consolidation
and development of the democratic system.
R211/22