Three Mexican journalists murdered in separate incidents
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Version 0 of 1. Three journalists were murdered within a week in Mexico: Filadelfo Sanchez Sarmiento, Juan Mendoza Delgado, and Gerardo Nieto Álvarez Álvarez, editor of a Guanajuato local newspaper, El Tábano, was found dead on 26 June with his throat cut. Four days later, Delgado, director and crime reporter with the news website Escribiendo la Verdad (Writing the truth), went missing. He was found dead on 1 July in a morgue in Veracruz. He appeared to have been run over by a car. On 2 July, radio host Sarmiento was shot and killed by gunmen waiting outside his radio station, 103.3 FM La Voz de la Sierra Sur, in Miahualtan de Porfirio Diaz, Oaxaca. He had just finished presenting his morning news show. Sarmiento, who also worked with local newspapers, had reportedly received several telephone threats. Press freedom groups regard Mexico as unsafe for journalists where impunity has been common in recent years, most obviously since December 2006 when the military intervened in the government’s struggle with drug cartels. One of the groups, Freedom House, has issued the following statement through Carlos Ponce, director of its programmes for Latin America and the Caribbean: “Mexican officials should immediately conduct thorough and transparent investigations into these murders, including the connections between their reporting and the crimes commited against them. With attacks on journalists reaching alarming numbers, the government has even more of a duty to protect its citizens, safeguard freedom of expression, and ensure that those who commit crimes against journalists are held to account”. Sources: IPI/CPJ/Freedom House |