23 February 2011

A New Form of Freedom of Expression

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H.E. President of Mexico Felipe Calderón We are taking the liberty of reminding you that still pending is your carrying out the commitment you made in September last year, before a delegation of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), in the sense that you would redouble efforts to ensure the safety of reporters and pursue legal reform to make crimes against journalists federal offenses.
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H.E. President of Mexico Felipe Calderón We are taking the liberty of reminding you that still pending is your carrying out the commitment you made in September last year, before a delegation of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), in the sense that you would redouble efforts to ensure the safety of reporters and pursue legal reform to make crimes against journalists federal offenses. There was mention also of implementation of a centralized system of protection for journalists, with civil society participation, which would assess risks and provide preventative measures. What is certain is that the international community is shaken by the persistent wave of violence unleashed against journalists and news media in Mexico, without there being any advance in investigations to identify those responsible and therefore such crimes remaining unpunished. In recent months we have written to you asking you to encourage the police and the courts to show due diligence in advancing the relevant proceedings so as to bring those responsible for these crimes to justice, mentioning to you by way of example the death of Armando “El Choco” Rodríguez, the disappearance of Alfredo Jiménez Mota, and the case of Rafael Ortiz Martínez and those of so many others. We trust, Mr. President, that your commitment to press freedom and against lack of punishment in crimes against journalists does not become just one more statistic.

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