The Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, has denounced the killing of broadcast journalist Bryan Guerra in the city of Chiquimula in south-eastern Guatemala.
“I condemn the killing of Bryan Guerra,” said the Director-General. “I trust that the Guatemalan authorities will conduct a thorough investigation into this assassination which poses a serious threat to freedom of the press, as do all attacks on media personnel.”
Guerra, a news presenter for local TL-Com Cable News and vice president of the Network of Social Communicators of Chiquimula, died in hospital on 3 March. He had been in intensive care since unidentified gunmen shot him on 27 February. He had reportedly received threats prior to the attack.
UNESCO promotes the safety of journalists through global awareness-raising, capacity building and a range of actions, notably in the framework of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity.
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See also: UNESCO observatory of killed journalists
Media contact: Guilherme Canela De Souza Godoi,