The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today strongly condemned the murder of Diego Rojas Velásquez, reporter and cameraman of Supía TV, who was shot dead on 22 September in Caramanta-Antioquía, Caldas province.

"We condemn this appalling killing of the journalist in Colombia, the fifth since the start of this year," said Eduardo Márquez, president of the Colombian Federation of Journalists (FECOLPER) and vice-president of the Federation of Journalists from Latin American and the Caribbean (FEPALC).  "It is a sad reminder to us and Colombia journalists of the distance we still have to travel until all media workers can exercise their job in full safety and without risking their lives."

The CESO-FI, IFJ office for the safety of journalists in Colombia says that Colombian journalists face threats from armed and paramilitary groups, common criminals and drug traffickers. There are also cases of threats from members of the security forces, civil servants and Government's officials  

"The work CESO-FIP contributes considerably to improving the security of journalists in that country," said Paco Audije, Deputy Secretary General of the IFJ, "But there are still attacks and killings that show a deep rooted culture of impunity. The authorities have to take seriously our calls for protection of our colleagues".  

The mayor of Supía town where the victim lived was quoted in Diario La Patria newspaper as saying that the motive of the murder remains unclear as the authorities knew nothing about any threats to the journalist.

The IFJ and FEPALC are calling for a genuine and speedy investigation in the murder to identify the killers and plotters of this crime and bring them to justice.

For more information contact the IFJ at +32 2 235 2207

The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 123 countries worldwide