The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Latin American
regional group, FEPALC, today condemned the killings of journalists in Mexico,
following the murder of Juan Carlos Hernández, director of El Quijote newspaper published in the Guerrero region, on February 27th.
Hernández was shot several times by two people driving a pickup
truck through the town of Tehuilotepec.
The victim's family refused to provide further details for fear of reprisals
against them.
"The worse we can do is to remain silent as the gravestone under which
the murdered Mexican journalists are buried", says Paco Audije, Deputy
Secretary General of the IFJ. "We demand a real investigation and reject the
declarations of certain authorities who avoid their responsibilities by
claiming these murders have nothing to do with their work as journalists".
Two other Mexican
journalists have been killed in February. Jean-Paul Ibarra Ramírez, reporter in
El Correo, city of Iguala, state of Guerrero, was killed on 13
February as well as Luis Daniel Méndez Hernández, who was shot dead on 22
February . Méndez Hernández was a journalist in Radiorama, station which
broadcast in Veracruz, east of Mexico.
The IFJ and FEPALC support the demand to federalize the crimes against
freedom of expression, including of course the killing of journalists, and to create
an attorney post dedicated to investigating attacks against journalists.
For more
information contact the IFJ at +32 2 235 2207
The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists
in 123 countries worldwide