One of the most emblematic cases was the murder of English journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous man Bruno Pereira, in 2022reproduction
Published 04/23/2024 09:56
Alerting society about the relationship between crimes against the environment and violence against journalists in the Amazon is the objective of the study Frontiers of Information – Report on journalism and violence in the Amazon, launched this Tuesday (23) by the Vladimir Herzog Institute (IVH ), in Belem.
The material provides an overview of the situation in the Amazon region, the scene of a growing wave of violence, directly affecting press professionals.
Data from the National Federation of Journalists (Fenaj) reveal the occurrence of 230 cases of violence against press freedom in the nine states of Legal Amazonia, in the last ten years. According to Fenaj, Para is the most violent state for reporters in Amazonia, with 89 cases recorded in a decade, followed by Amazonas (38), Mato Grosso (31) and Rondonia (20).
According to the coordinator of Journalism and Freedom of Expression at the Vladimir Herzog Institute, Giuliano Galli, the brutal death of the professionals led the institute to pay more attention to cases of violence in the region. The institute develops projects related to the protection of journalists across the country.
“Specifically, in recent years, especially after the murder of Bruno and Dom, we began to receive a much greater volume of complaints from journalists and communicators who work in the Amazon region. So, the main motivation was to produce a document that supported our perception – of having a higher number of cases in that region – so that we could use it for advocacy work with actors from the Brazilian State so that we can adopt measures and create policies public policies to protect journalists and communicators in the Amazon.”, Galli told Agência Brasil.
The report contains several reports of cases in which violence against professionals appears directly linked to investigations into environmental crimes. Another fact present in the document concerns the fact that, in 2022, for example, an election year, the record of violence against journalists in Amazonia more than doubled compared to 2021. There were 45 cases compared to 20 in the previous year, according to a survey by Fenaj .
“The reports we receive are that, specifically in Vale do Javari, the situation is still quite dangerous and little has been done since then. So, it is still a motivation to prevent similar cases like Bruno and Dom from happening again, not only in Vale do Javari, but throughout the Amazon and throughout the country”, added Galli.
For the coordinator of Journalism and Freedom of Expression at the Vladimir Herzog Institute, the report is clear in pointing out the relationship between illegal activities such as mining, mining, occupation of indigenous territories and the absence of public protection policies. He also highlights that violence is not only suffered by journalists and communicators, but also by human rights defenders in general.
