A journalist in Honduras was murdered on Thursday in the city of Danli, east of the capital Tegucigalpa, despite being under police custody following an attack in May.
Francisco Ramirez, 39, worked for the Canal 24 television station in Danli and the prosecutor's office. On Thursday, “kidnapped by gunmen in cars” before being shot dead with “several” gunshotsexplained Lisandro Garcia, a senior police officer.
The police officer assigned to guard him journalist was injured in the attack.
Mr. Garcia initially estimated that the killing of the journalist was probably due to personal differences.
But, on the contrary, the director of the Commission for Freedom of Expression in Honduras, Amada Ponce, emphasized that the order to kill the journalist was given from a Honduran prison and the reason was his journalistic work.
Ms. Ponce also warned that the journalist's family is also at risk.
“This is a murder due to his journalistic work”he insisted. “He was already under attack on May 3 because of his investigation into criminal activity, which led to people being jailed.”explained.
After that attack, Francisco Ramirez was placed under police protection, but the threats continued, Ms. Ponce noted.
The Secretariat for Human Rights and an organization tasked with protecting journalists had requested that a second police officer be made available to strengthen his security, but the authorities had replied that they were facing a shortage of staff.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which condemned the murder, called on Honduras to “strengthen the protection” of journalists and those who exercise “freedom of expression” and to proceed as quickly as possible with the investigation into the case.
The Honduran authorities, for their part, announced that a special team had been set up to investigate the crime and find those responsible.
Francisco Ramirez is the second journalist to be murdered in 2023 in Honduras, which is among the most dangerous countries in the world for media workers, according to non-governmental organizations.
Since 2001, more than 100 journalists have been murdered in the small Central American country, which is plagued by gangs that mainly engage in drug trafficking and for a number of years had systematically infiltrated the state apparatus.
Source: News Beast

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