21 September 2007
IAPA outraged at journalist murder in El Salvador, urges full investigation
MIAMI, Florida (Sept 21, 2007)The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) today expressed outrage at the murder of journalist Salvador Sánchez Roque in El Salvador and called on the authorities to conduct a prompt and full investigation to identify those responsible.
MIAMI, Florida (Sept 21, 2007)The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) today expressed outrage at the murder of journalist Salvador Sánchez Roque in El Salvador and called on the authorities to conduct a prompt and full investigation to identify those responsible.
Sánchez Roque, 37, a radio reporter, was killed yesterday (September 20) a few yards from his home in the city of Soyapango to the east of the capital, San Salvador, as he was leaving in the morning to go to a local shop. Unknown assailants shot at him several times.
We are dismayed at this act of violence, especially since it happened in a country where attacks on journalists are a frequent occurrence, declared Gonzalo Marroquín, chairman of the IAPAs Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information. We regret the loss of life and we offer our sympathy to the journalists family and colleagues, and at the same time we urge the authorities to look into the incident so as to identify the culprits and bring them to justice.
According to local press reports Sánchez Roque was a correspondent of Radio Maya Visión radio station and a stringer for Radio Mi Gente, Radio YSUCA and Radio Sonora in San Salvador. Although the motive for his murder was not immediately known, his mother said that her son had told her some days earlier that he had received threats.
He had frequently reported on the criminal activity of members of local gangs, whose presence and methods of extortion are well known in the area.