New York, January 19, 2017--Honduran authorities should thoroughly investigate the killing of Honduran television reporter Igor Abisaí Padilla Chávez and bring all those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Four unidentified assailants shot and killed Padilla on January 17 in the Suyapaya neighborhood of the northwestern city of San Pedro Sula, according to news reports.

Bogotá, Colombia, August 25, 2016 - Honduran prosecutors should cease pursuing criminal defamation charges against journalists, and lawmakers should swiftly repeal laws allowing for such prosecutions, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. If his recent conviction on defamation charges is upheld on appeal, TV reporter Ariel Armando D'Vicente faces three years in prison and a three-year ban on practicing journalism.

New York, March 17, 2016 -- Honduran authorities should drop all criminal charges against journalist David Romero Ellner, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A court in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa on Monday sentenced Romero, who is free pending appeal, to 10 years in prison on charges he defamed a former prosecutor. CPJ called on authorities not to challenge his appeal and to cease pursuing criminal charges against all journalists for defamation.

New York, December 16, 2014--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder of television station owner and news presenter Reynaldo Paz Mayes, who was shot dead in Honduras on Monday, and calls on authorities to fully investigate the crime and bring those responsible to justice.

New York, October 3, 2014--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the decision by a Honduran appeals court to forbid journalist Julio Ernesto Alvarado from practicing journalism for 16 months as part of a criminal defamation conviction. Alvarado hosts the daily news program "Mi Nación" (My Nation) on Globo TV.

Widespread violence and impunity leave murders unsolved

Amid the violence and instability caused by organized crime and corruption in Central America, Honduras and Guatemala have experienced an alarming rise in the number of murders of, and attacks against, journalists. Near complete impunity for these crimes means the cases go mostly unsolved and the motives unexplained. As fear grips newsrooms in both countries, critical media outlets and journalists find they are reined in by governments increasingly intolerant of dissent. A CPJ special report by Sara Rafsky.

New York, August 19, 2014 -- The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder of broadcast journalist Nery Francisco Soto Torres in Honduras on Thursday and calls on authorities to launch a full investigation, determine the motive, and bring those responsible to justice.

Honduran journalist Julio Ernesto Alvarado was convicted on charges of criminal defamation on December 9, 2013, according to local human rights groups. The Supreme Court of Justice sentenced the journalist, who hosts the news program "Mi Nación" on Globo TV, to 16 months in prison on charges of damaging the reputation of the rector of a local university. 

The Honduran press continued to face violence and intimidation as the country struggled with pervasive crime and general lawlessness. Journalists who covered sensitive topics like drug trafficking, government corruption, and land conflicts were threatened and attacked. A prominent radio talk show host, Aníbal Barrow, was abducted from his car and found murdered weeks later. Authorities said they were investigating to determine if the killing was related to the journalist's work. But the climate of impunity persisted in Honduras, with allegations of law enforcement engaging in corruption and forming police death squads. Allegations also surfaced that journalists engaged in extortion. A standoff between the country's main media companies and President Porfirio Lobo over a proposed telecommunications law was averted when both sides agreed that the press would regulate its own content. The governing party's candidate, Juan Orlando Hernández, was declared the winner of presidential elections in late year, but the second place candidate, Xiomara Reyes de Castro, contested the results, bringing back to the surface intense polarization that has lingered since her husband was ousted in a coup d'état in 2009.

New York, December 9, 2013--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities to launch a full investigation into the murder on Saturday of a Honduran journalist, identify a motive, and bring those responsible to justice.