The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is shocked by the brutal murder on January 13 of owner and editor of Inside Phuket,Wisut "Ae" Tangwittayaporn, in Thailand’s southern island of Phuket.

Wisut, 44, in addition to being the driving force behind Inside Phuket, was also a leading member of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, popularly known as the ‘red shirt’ movement, whose protests brought Bangkok to a standstill in 2010.

According to Thai police, Wisut was attacked by two men on motorcycles while driving in the Muang district of Phuket with his wife. The assailants shot four times through the front windshield of Wisut’s car, hitting him twice in the chest and once in the right shoulder. He died from his injuries at nearby Vajira Phuket hospital.

Police are investigating the murder, and have advised the media that they now believe the attacks were a response to Wisut’s reporting of the illegal issuing of land titles in Phuket.

“It is essential that Thailand’s journalists are able to continue reporting safely on matters of great concern to the public,” IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said.

“Thailand’s authorities must therefore follow through on their promise to fully investigate the murder of Wisut Tangwittayaporn, to send a clear message that attacks on journalists will not be tolerated.”

Wisut is the first media worker to have been killed in Thailand this year. On September 24, 2011, another Thai journalist, Phamon Phonphanit, was killed in a bomb blast in the Sungai Kolok district of Narathiwat province in southern Thailand.

For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +612 9333 0919

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