In a new move in its hemisphere-wide campaign to raise public awareness of the need to end the impunity surrounding crimes against journalists the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) today called on Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to order a speed-up in the investigation into the death of Nicanor Linhares Batista, owner and operator of radio station Vale do Jaguaribe AM in Limoeiro do Norte in the Brazilian state of Ceará.

A frequent critic of the poor local municipal administration, Linhares Batista was murdered by two hooded men who entered his radio station on June 30, 2003 and shot him 10 times. Two local officials are believed to have been involved as having instigated the attack, but to date no formal charges have been laid. Those who actually carried out the killing have also gone unpunished – no one has been brought to trial.

For five years now the IAPA, in ads published in more than 380 newspapers throughout the Western Hemisphere, has been inviting readers to go to its Web site, www.impunidad.com, and join the campaign titled “Let’s Put an End to Impunity” in crimes against men and women of the press.

The initiative is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.