Honduran radio reporter Israel Zelaya Diaz was shot dead yesterday, becoming the ninth journalist killed in Honduras this year.

According to the Associated Press, national police say gunmen kidnapped the veteran journalist in the northern city of San Pedro Sula on Tuesday. His body was found hours later in a sugar cane plantation near the city of Villanueva.  Zelaya had been shot three times in the head.

The 56-year-old commentator, known as Zagatay, worked for Radio International, in San Pedro Sula, Honduras’ second largest city. According to local reports his home was the subject of an arson attack in April.  No one was injured, but Zelaya lost most of his possessions.

Although he had reported on many controversial topics, colleagues told La Tribuna newspaper in Honduras that Zelaya had not received threats.  Police have no suspects or a motive in the killing.

In March this year, following the deaths of three journalists in two weeks, IPI wrote an open letter to President Porfirio ‘Pepe’ Lobo Sosa, who came to power after a June 2009 coup, raising concerns about the targeting of journalists from across the political spectrum. IPI has yet to receive a response.

IPI Press Freedom Manager Anthony Mills said: “Whilst the motive behind the attack on Mr. Zelaya is not yet known, we would like to again underscore the fact that Honduras has become one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists. It is vital that the authorities fully investigate the killings, so that a culture of impunity is not allowed to thrive.”

Honduras has seen a spate of attacks against journalists following a breakdown in law and order after the ouster of former president Manuel Zelaya in June 2009. Since then, ten journalists have been killed – a worrying statistic given that only seven had been killed prior to the coup, since IPI started its Death Watch in 1997.

Honduras remains the second most dangerous country in the world for journalists this year, with nine journalists killed, behind Mexico, where 10 journalists have been killed so far this year.

Latin America is the most deadly continent for journalists so far this year. So far in 2010, 20 journalists have been killed in the Americas, compared to 17 in Asia – against the backdrop of ongoing conflict in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and bouts of violence in Thailand.