MIAMI, Florida (January 5, 2015)—The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) today expressed concern at the disappearance in Mexico of journalist Moisés Sánchez Cerezo and called on the country’s authorities to determine his whereabouts.
MIAMI, Florida (January 5, 2015)—The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) today expressed concern at the disappearance in Mexico of journalist Moisés Sánchez Cerezo and called on the country’s authorities to determine his whereabouts.
Sánchez Cerezo, 49, is editor and publisher of the community weekly newspaper La Unión in the town of Medellín de Bravo in Veracruz state. According to local media his family reported that on Friday (January 2) a group of armed men in civilian clothes broke into his house and took him out by force, along with his computer, camera and mobile phone.
La Unión is a publication that reports on local activities in defiance of violent acts, an increase in petty crime, a lack of security and action by the local government to deal with these problems.
According to information gathered by the IAPA due to his socio-political and journalistic activities Sánchez Cerezo had received threats on several occasions during the past year from the head of the local municipal government and other people he had not been able to identify. Recently some of his equipment had been stolen. He is also a taxi driver and runs a modest business, which provides financial support for his newspaper.
IAPA President Gustavo Mohme voiced concern at Sánchez Cerezo’s disappearance, adding, “We urge the federal authorities to investigate and ensure the journalist’s prompt and safe rescue.”
Mohme, editor of the Lima, Peru, newspaper La República, recalled that last year five journalists were murdered in Mexico, one of them, Gregorio Jiménez de la Cruz, was killed in Veracruz.
For his part the chairman of the IAPA’s Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, Claudio Paolillo, declared, “We are concerned that the year has begun with indications that acts of violence against journalists are going to continue.”
Paolillo, editor of the Montevideo, Uruguay, weekly Búsqueda, added, “The best tool for violence not to escalate is that the facts be investigated promptly and that mechanisms of protection be activated.”
The IAPA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the defense and promotion of freedom of the press and of expression in the Americas. It is made up of more than 1,300 print publications from throughout the Western Hemisphere and is based in Miami, Florida. For more information please go to http://www.sipiapa.org.
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