For immediate release – 26 February 2010
Brazil: Special Commission Passes Right to Information Bill
A draft bill on the right to information was approved by consensus by a Special Commission in the Lower House of the Brazilian Congress on Wednesday. The Special Commission had been specially organised to review and pass the bill. To become law, the bill must be passed in both the Lower House and the Senate, and then be signed by the President.
ARTICLE 19 urges Brazilian legislators to bring the bill into line with international standards, including by taking into consideration civil society recommendations, and to concentrate efforts to adopt a final text of the Brazilian Right to Information Act during 2010.
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For immediate release – 16 February 2010
Mexico: New Special Prosecutor Must Focus Political Will in One of World’s Deadliest Places for Journalists
ARTICLE 19 calls on Gustavo Salas Chávez, newly appointed Special Prosecutor for Crimes Against the Media, to promote and guarantee effective investigation of aggression against journalists and combat Mexico’s prevailing culture of impunity.
Chávez replaces Octavio Orellana, who was widely regarded as ineffective at stemming the number of attacks and murders of media workers in Mexico. Orellana claimed that the frequent murders of journalists, eleven in 2009, were not related to their work.
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PRESS RELEASE For immediate release – 12 February 2010
Brazil: Arson Attack Destroys Radio’s Broadcasting Studio
The studio of radio broadcaster Nova Coari, based in Coari, Amazonas state, was completely destroyed by an arson attack on 8 February 2010. The broadcaster had been a vocal critic of the city mayor, and the local press and blogosphere has suggested that the crime might have been politically motivated. The attack is an example of the very difficult situation faced by journalists working for small media outlets in the northern areas of Brazil, highlighted in ARTICLE 19’s 2007 Brazil Mission Statement on the State of Freedom of Expression.
On the morning of 8 February, two gunmen subdued Nova Coari’s employees and then set the station’s only studio on fire. According to press reports, the station had been already the target of two attempted arson attacks. Antônio Maduro, the civil police commissioner in Coari, said he is investigating the attack, but that no suspects have so far been apprehended.
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For immediate release – 3 February 2010
Mexico: Three Journalists Murdered in First Weeks of 2010
ARTICLE 19 calls on the Mexican authorities to fully and immediately investigate the killings of another three journalists in recent weeks. A total of 904 killings took place across the country in January 2010, making this the bloodiest month in a decade.
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Article19, news | claireatwaves | 
February 26, 2010 4:44 pm | 
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