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