(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has expressed shock over the brutal murder of the correspondent of the weekly “Haïti Progrès”, Johnson Edouard, in the northwestern city of Gonaïves on 12 April 2007. “He may have been killed because of his work,” the press freedom organisation said, noting that “Haiti is still one of the most […]
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has expressed shock over the brutal murder of the correspondent of the weekly “Haïti Progrès”, Johnson Edouard, in the northwestern city of Gonaïves on 12 April 2007.
“He may have been killed because of his work,” the press freedom organisation said, noting that “Haiti is still one of the most dangerous countries for journalists in the Americas.” Edouard was the local spokesperson of the Fanmi Lavalas party.
Gunmen broke into his home on the night of 12 April while he was sleeping and shot him in the head and chest before escaping through a window. Police in charge of the investigation have not yet identified any suspects or a motive in the killing but a regional party official said Edouard had been “executed” and claimed it was “not an isolated crime.”
The killing comes two months after freelance photographer Jean-Rémy Badiau was shot dead at his home in Martissant, a southern suburb of the capital, Port-au-Prince, on 19 January after taking pictures of gang members (see IFEX alert of 23 January 2007).
