One opposition journalist threatened, another pursued by coup general

[Judi Lynn]

One opposition journalist threatened, another pursued by coup general
Published on Monday 26 September 2011.

The concern that Reporters Without Borders expressed about Honduras’ readmission to the Organization of American States is as relevant as ever after the emergence of new media cases involving two TV journalists – Mario Castro Rodríguez and Edgardo Antonio Escoto Amador – who opposed the June 2009 coup and who have information about it.

“The Cartagena Accord is dead and national reconciliation is impossible if censorship, repression and murder continue to be the response to needed information about the coup and its continuing consequences,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The relative protection that Mario Castro is getting and Edgardo Escoto should be granted is necessary but not enough. These cases must be investigated thoroughly even if senior active or retired police and army officers are involved turn out to be implicated.”

“The OAS and the rest of the international community should quickly remind the Honduran authorities of their duty to combat impunity. In this regard, we regret the postponement of the visit by Margaret Sekaggya, the UN special rapporteur for human rights defenders, which was supposed to take place from 27 September to 4 October. It must rescheduled before the end of the year.”

100 threats
Producer of the programme “El Látigo contra la Corrupción” (Lashing Corruption) for Globo TV in Tegucigalpa, Castro told the Committee for Free Expression (C-Libre), Reporters Without Borders’ Honduran partner, that he has received around 100 messages since 8 September warning him of his imminent death. Although he and his brother, fellow journalist Edgardo Castro, are receiving government protection at the request of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, he fears for his safety and even his life.

More:
http://en.rsf.org/honduras-one-opposition-journalist-26-09-2011,41054.html