UNESCO chief denounces murder of Honduran cameraman

The head of the United Nations agency defending press freedom today denounced the murder of Honduran cameraman Manuel Murillo Varela, who was found shot dead last week in the capital city of Tegucigalpa.

“Such acts must not go unpunished,” stressed Irina Bokova, the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). “I urge the authorities to thoroughly investigate this crime and bring the perpetrators to justice.”

Mr. Varela, 32, worked as an official cameraman for several public personalities and, more recently, for TV Globo, the Paris-based UNESCO stated in a news release.

According to IFEX, a non-governmental organization defending freedom of expression, he had been kidnapped and tortured in 2010 by men searching for some of his video footage. Since then, the authorities had provided him with special protection.

He is the 8th Honduran journalist whose death has been condemned by UNESCO since 2012.