Nicanor Linhares Batista

By Carlos Lauría and Sauro González Rodríguez

Political influence permeates radio news in Brasil's remote northeast. Radio hosts and independent journalism are its victims.

Although Brazilian media outlets generally operate in a free environment, they have increasingly been targeted with defamation lawsuits that seek to silence them. Judicial interference and censorship, under the guise of protecting privacy and honor, continues unabated.

New York, January 2, 2004—A total of 36 journalists were killed worldwide as a direct result of their work in 2003, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). This is a sharp increase from 2002, when 19 journalists were killed. The war in Iraq was the primary reason for the increase, as 13 journalists, more than a third of this year's casualties, were killed in hostile actions.

In fact, according to CPJ's statistics, the death toll in Iraq was the highest annual total from a single country since 24 journalists were killed in Algeria in 1995 at the height of civil strife between the government and Islamist militants.

New York, July 2, 2003—At least two unidentified men killed Nicanor Linhares Batista, host of a radio show and owner of a radio station in Brazil's northeastern state of Ceará. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is investigating whether the murder was related to Nicanor's journalistic work.

Nicanor, 42, was the owner of Rádio Vale do Jaguaribe, based in the city of Limoeiro do Norte. He was murdered around 8 p.m. on Monday, June 30, while recording his daily show "Encontro Político" (Political Encounter). According to the daily Diário do Nordeste, based in Fortaleza, the capital of Ceará, gunmen came into the studio, shot Nicanor several times at close range, and fled on a motorcycle. A sound technician who worked for the radio station witnessed the murder. Nicanor was taken to Limoeiro do Norte's Public Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.

Nova York, 2 de junho de 2003—Ao menos dois sujeitos não identificados mataram Nicanor Linhares Batista, apresentador de um programa de rádio e proprietário de uma emissora de rádio no estado do Ceará. O Comitê para a Proteção dos Jornalistas (CPJ, por sua sigla em inglês) investiga se o assassinato está vinculado com o trabalho jornalístico do comunicador.

Nicanor, de 42 anos de idade, era proprietário da Rádio Vale do Jaguaribe, da cidade de Limoeiro do Norte. O radialista foi assassinado por volta das 20 horas da segunda-feira, 30 de junho, enquanto gravava o seu programa diário "Encontro Político". Segundo o jornal Diário do Nordeste, da cidade de Fortaleza, capital do Ceará, os pistoleiros irromperam no estúdio e dispararam vários tiros à queima-roupa em Nicanor, e fugiram numa motocicleta. Um operador de rádio presenciou o assassinato. Nicanor foi levado ao Hospital Público do Norte, mas foi declarado morto ao chegar.