The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today urged the authorities in the Peruvian city of Casma, to leave no stone unturned in the hunt for the killers of TV journalist Pedro Alfonso Flores Silva, who was gunned down last week by armed on a motorbike.

"This appalling crime designed to bully journalists into silence must not go unpunished," said Jim Boumelha, IFJ President. "We demand that the authorities follow the evidence wherever it takes them and bring our colleague's killers and anyone behind this cold blood crime to justice."

According to the National Association of Journalists of Peru (ANP), an IFJ affiliate, Silva was shot dead by two gunmen riding a motorbike on the night of 7 September 2011 who blocked his way a few feet away from his home. One of the attackers shot him twice from a close range. His wife, Mercedes Cave Abanto, also a journalist, who was with Silva rushed him to the hospital where he died of his wounds a few hours later.

Silva, a presenter with Channel 6 TV had reportedly received death threats warning him to stop criticising the policies of the city administration headed by Mayor Marco Rivero Huerta.

The journalist's final words to his wife are said to have been "You know who ordered my death. Please take care, keep safe and ask for justice."

The ANP has also condemned the Silva's killing, calling on the country's Ministry of Interior to launch a thorough and immediate investigation into his murder.

The IFJ supports ANP's demand and says the pursuit for justice must not rest with his family alone but is the responsibility of the journalists' community in the country and the region.

"We stand shoulder to shoulder with Silva's widow and family in their resolve to secure justice for him," added Beth Costa, IFJ General Secretary. "This is the time to show solidarity and to send out a strong message that violence against journalists has no place in a democratic society."

For more information, please contact IFJ on + 32 2 235 22 07

The IFJ represents more than 600.000 journalists in 131 countries