Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Another Journalist Killed In Honduras

By GARY BAUMGARTEN
Paltalk News Network


An Honduras television reporter was gunned down as he left the studios in San Pedro Sula. Police are not saying that the murder of Georgino Orellana is connected with his job. But given the location of the killing, and the fact that he is the sixth Honduran journalist to be killed since last month, there's a likelihood that they will eventually reach that conclusion.

Carlos Lauria of the Committee to Protect Journalists, which has documented six killings since March 1, says reporters in Honduras are working in an atmosphere of "rampant crime" - creating a climate where journalists can be easily targeted.

Most of those killed, he says, had been reporting on organized crime, land disputes or had taken strong political stances. One journalist who was killed was an entertainment reporter but was the driver of a car that also carried a political reporter who was believed to be the actual target of the attack.

Lauria says that in addition to the six journalists killed, a seventh fled the country after armed men invaded his home.

CPJ is still investigating the latest killing, so it's not yet known whether Orellana was murdered because of his work.

Lauria says that the police have made no arrests and have initiated no prosecutions. He calls the lack of progress in the police investigations "very discouraging."

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