Jorge Enrique Urbano Sánchez, 55-year-old radio and television journalist two unidentified attackers shot four times while he was celebrating his birthday with friends in a park in the coastal city of Buenaventura. Urbano had apparently devoted his final radio broadcast to denouncing a local criminal gang called "Tumba Puertas" (Knock Down Doors). Before his murder, he had received death threats that he attributed to his public campaign to relocate street vendors and remove drug addicts from the park.
COSTA RICA: 1
Parmenio Medina Pérez, producer and host of the weekly radio program "La Patada" ("The Kick"), was shot and killed by unknown assailants. Medina's 28-year-old program often denounced official corruption. Two months before his murder, Medina received death threats in connection with his on-air discussion of alleged fiscal improprieties at a local Catholic radio station. Unknown attackers also fired bullets at his house.
GEORGIA: 1
Georgy Sanaya, 26-year-old television journalist, was shot once in the head at close range with a 9mm weapon. Although Sanaya's colleagues were not aware of any threats against him, they firmly believe that the murder resulted from his professional work. The murder could have been intended to intimidate the station, which is known for its investigative reporting on state corruption and misuse of power in Georgia.
GUATEMALA: 1
Jorge Mynor Alegría Armendáriz, Radio Amatique host of a call-in show called "Línea Directa," was shot at least five times outside his home. The Ombudsman's Office for Human Rights determined in September that the murder was politically motivated and most likely masterminded by local officials in retaliation for Alegría's coverage of corruption in Puerto Barrios.
HAITI: 1
Brignol Lindor, news director of the private station Radio Echo 2000, was hacked to death by a machete-wielding mob. Lindor was host of the political talk show "Dialogue." He had received numerous threats from local officials after inviting members of the 15-party opposition coalition Democratic Convergence (CD) to appear on his show.
INDIA: 1
Moolchand Yadav, a free-lance reporter who regularly contributed to Hindi-language dailies including Jansatta and Punjab Kesari, was shot dead on the street in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh. Colleagues said that Yadav had been murdered at the behest of two powerful landowners that were angered by his exposés of local corruption.
LATVIA: 1
Gundars Matiss, a crime reporter for the Liepaja-based daily Kurzeme Vards, was attacked and severely beaten in the stairwell of his apartment. After undergoing three operations, he fell into a coma and died from a brain hemorrhage. Though the police cited robbery, personal revenge, and retaliation for his journalism as possible motives, Matiss had not been robbed, and does not seem to have been involved in any serious personal dispute. Matiss knew a lot about the criminal world. He was one of those reporters who went deep. Police investigation is still ongoing.
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