Honduran radio journalist Alfredo Villatoro was kidnapped and killed this past week. His body was discovered Tuesday night. CNN reports he was the 22 journalist killed in the country since 2010.

The English language website Honduras News reports President Porfirio Lobo Sosa has offered a financial reward for anyone who has information concerning Villatoro’s murder. He worked for National Radio Honduras.

Carlos Lauría, the Committee to Protect Journalists‘ senior program coordinator for the Americas, said the flow of news in Honduras is being restricted by “a climate of unrelenting hostility toward Honduran journalists.”

SPJ’s International Journalism Committee joins its professional colleagues worldwide in condemning Villatoro’s kidnapping and murder.

Al Jazeera English reported on May 8 that China has refused to renew its correspondent’s press credentials and visa.

Melissa Chan has been AJE’s China correspondent since 2007, but the news organization has been forced to close its bureau in Beijing.

Salah Negm, director of news at Al Jazeera English, said AJE is “committed to our coverage of China. Just as China news services cover the world freely we would expect that same freedom in China for any Al Jazeera journalist.”

A 35-year-old French journalist is being held by Colombian guerrillas as local and international demands for his release grow.

The Colombian and French governments said Romeo Langlois was out with government  troops in a remote area of southern Colombia when they were attacked by the rebels leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.  According to reports, Langlois took a bullet in the arm, then ran toward the rebels, shouting that he was a journalist. He apparently feared being taken for a soldier. Four Colombian soldiers died in the attack.

An alleged FARC member said Langlois is being held as “a prisoner of war.”

The Colombian and French governments, the European Union and the Committee to Protect Journalists say journalists are non-combatants and under international law.

Colombia’s Foundation for Press Freedom or FLIP says Langlois’ capture is another demonstration of “the difficult conditions and the danger faced by journalists covering the armed conflict” in the country.

The FARC announced in February that it would no longer kidnap people and hold them for ransom. Last month, the FARC released 10 soldiers and police officers, some of whom had been held as long as 14 years.

An online newspaper in El Salvador is facing threats because of its stories about alleged negotiations between the government and criminal gangs.

The publication, El Faro, ran an article last week detailing a government deal to give certain benefits to jailed gang leaders like transfers to better prison facilities or even money if they would cut back on the violence.
El Salvador has the second highest homicide rate in the world (after Honduras) at 66 per 100,000 people and much of the killing is attributed to gangs.
In its stories, El Faro reported that after the alleged agreement was reached, only three murders were reported, down from an average of 14 per day.
In its article, El Faro reporters gave details of their conversation with a gang leader still on the streets. The gang member said murders planned for the very day that got the order to “calm down” were cancelled.
Imprisoned gang leaders did get transferred to another prison, but government officials deny striking any deal.
El Faro editor and founder Carlos Dada said in an email published by Spain’s El Pais newspaper that government sources have said that by publishing the article “El Faro’s risk level has greatly increased.”
Gangs have targeted journalists. In 2009, French documentary filmmaker Christian Poveda was killed in El Salvador after finishing an award-winning documentary, “La Vida Loca” on gang life in El Salvador.

This happened earlier in the week, but it’s worth mentioning briefly.

Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa said on Monday he would pardon the four newspapermen who were convicted of libeling him. The New York Times reported the president also plans to forgive $42 million in fines against the men and El Universo.

Correa said he never planned to bankrupt anyone but was simply seeking the truth. But one of the convicted men, Emilio Palacio, said Correa was forced to respond to mounting pressure from other governments and free press organizations.

The president of the Society of Professional Journalists, John Ensslin, has expressed his sorrow over the recent journalist deaths in Syria.

He did so on his SPJ blog, Freedom of the Prez, to which the International Journalism Committee is pleased to provide this link.

David Carr of The New York Times has taken an interesting look at what happens when journalists are the ones targeted in a war zone.

“The last thing wanted by lawless regimes who govern through might is transparency and the free flow of information,” he wrote in Thursday’s (2/23) Media Decoder column. “Journalists, in this context, are no longer neutrals, but targets unto themselves.”

Carr says Syria is dangerous — and much thought should go into any decision to go there — but journalists are a vital component in explaining what is happening and providing appropriate context.

“The video coming out of Syria is important, but without the lens of journalism, it is not sufficient,” he wrote. “War requires witness that goes beyond clicking on a YouTube video.”

Follow stories about journalism from across the globe on Twitter at @SPJ_IJC

Two journalists were killed Feb. 22 when Syrian forces shelled the city of Homs.

Marie Colvin was an American war correspondent, and Remi Ochlik was a French photojournalist.

This particular report comes from MSNBC, but news outlets across the world began reporting their deaths early this morning.

SPJ’s International Journalism Committee expresses its condolences to Colvin’s and Ochlik’s families and colleagues.

Ecuador’s highest court has upheld a $40 million libel verdict against the three owners and an employee of El Universo, one of the country’s largest daily newspapers.

President Rafael Correa sued the newspaper over some of its criticism of him. The court also upheld the three-year prison sentences against the men.

Human rights and free expression groups across the world have condemned the decision.

The Society of Professional Journalists’ International Journalism Committee wishes to expresses its sadness over the loss of Anthony Shadid yesterday (2/16) while he was on assignment in Syria.

The Washington Post describes Shadid as one of the most incisive and honored foreign correspondents of his generation.

The two-time Pulitzer Prize winner was working for the New York Times when he apparently suffered a fatal asthma attack. He was 43.