FEPALC calls for an international joint action against the killing of Moisés Sánchez in Mexico

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins the Federation of Journalists in Latin America and the Caribbean (FEPALC), to express its deep shock at the news of the assassination of Moisés Sánchez Cerezo, the owner and editor of La Unión newspaper who was missing in the Veracruz state since 2 January. The cruel murder in Mexico, which targets journalists, demands a unified international pressure on the Mexican State, which is responsible for these crimes, by action or by omission. Sánchez Cerezo was the first Mexican newsman to be killed in 2015. This tragedy confirms the crisis in the state of Veracruz where last year another journalist, Gregorio Jiménez de la Cruz, suffered the same fate as Sánchez whose body was discovered three days ’after his disappearance. Sánchez Cerezo’s murder adds to nine killings of journalists recorded in 2014 in the states of Oaxaca, Guerrero, Veracruz, Zacatecas, Sinaloa and Tamaulipas. FEPALC believes that it is high time to stop this circle of violence and to fight impunity. It therefore renews its demand to the Mexican State to solve at least one case , which could show that there is a will to bring to justice the killers of - and master minders of crime against - our colleagues.. This request had already been made during the International Mission to Mexico of last September but still hasn’t been put into action. Furthermore, FEPALC supports its affiliate, the National Union of Press Editors in Mexico, in all its actions to put an end to violence against journalists. The investigation of Sánchez’s murder, which reportedly implicates clearly the mayor of the town of Medellin could represent a significant game- changer in this surge of crime. According to FEPALC, the case could become an emblematic example where justice is done, sending a strong message to the enemies of journalists that their crimes will no longer go unpunished. January 28, 2015 Celso Schroder President of FEPALC Zuliana Lainez Human rights Secretary for FEPALC