Freedom of Expression
Press release R30/23
The SRFOE condemns the murder of journalist
Alexander Alvarez in Paraguay and urges the State to take measures to prevent
violence against the press
February 28, 2023
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 Alexander Álvarez in the city of Pedro Juan
Caballero, capital of the department of Amambay; in Paraguay, an area bordering
Brazil. Alexander Álvarez would be the ninth journalist to be murdered in this
department since 1991. This Office calls on the Paraguayan State to investigate
the facts in a complete, effective and impartial manner, taking into account
journalistic work as a possible motive for the crime. It also urges the State
to prosecute and punish those responsible.
According to the information available, on February 14, an unknown
individual on a motorcycle fired a gun at journalist Alexander Álvarez, who was
in his car at a traffic light intersection in the city of Pedro Juan Caballero.
The reporter was shot in the head and was rushed to the regional hospital,
where he later died. At the time of the incident, the reporter was accompanied
by a brother, who was unharmed by the attack.
This Office has previously pointed out 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 operating in the area. In September 2022,
the Special Rapporteur´s Office recorded the murder of journalist Humberto
Andrés Coronel Godoy in this same city. According to the Roundtable for the
Safety of Journalists in Paraguay, 21 journalists have been murdered in this
country since 1991, 9 of them in Amambay.
In this context, the SRFOE also noted that the Union of Journalists of
Paraguay urged the State to comply with the commitments made in relation to the
approval of the Law for the Protection of Journalists and Human Rights Defenders.
In view of the previous considerations, the Rapporteur´s Office
emphasizes that violence against journalists compromises the rights to personal
integrity, to life and to freedom of thought and expression, and that it
represents one of the most extreme forms of censorship. According to
Inter-American human rights standards, States have positive obligations in the
face of the phenomenon of violence against journalists, which include the
obligation to prevent, the obligation to protect and the obligation to
investigate, prosecute and punish those responsible for crimes against
journalists. In this regard, the Office of the Special Rapporteur has
emphasized that these obligations complement each other: for there to be a
free, robust and unrestricted democratic debate, it is necessary to combat
violence against journalists through a comprehensive policy of prevention,
protection and prosecution.
This Office particularly emphasizes that the obligation of States is
accentuated in situations or zones in which there is or has been detected a
special risk for journalists working in the media. As highlighted in the report
"Zonas silenciadas: regiones de alta peligrosidad para ejercer la libertad
de expresión" (Silenced zones: regions of high danger for the exercise of
freedom of expression), on many occasions the phenomenon of violence against
journalists is accentuated in border or transit zones, in departments in the
interior of the country and in rural areas or areas far from large urban
centers. In order to prevent the consolidation of silenced areas and to
confront those that already exist, it is necessary that the States commit
themselves to the creation of a favorable environment for the exercise of
freedom of expression, which can only be achieved if there is a comprehensive
policy of protection, prevention and justice.
Therefore, the Special Rapporteur´s Office reiterates its call to the
State of Paraguay to increase its efforts to prevent violence against the
press. It also urges the State to investigate the facts in accordance with
international standards on the matter; in particular, it calls on the
authorities not to rule out Álvarez's reporting as one of the lines of
investigation into the crime.
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.
R30/23