Mexico: Three Journalists Murdered

Washington

In response to the murder of three journalists in one week— Filadelfo Sanchez Sarmiento, Juan Mendoza Delgado, and Gerardo Nieto Alvarez— Freedom House issued the following statement:

“Mexican officials should immediately conduct thorough and transparent investigations into these murders, including the connections between their reporting and the crimes commited against them,” said Carlos Ponce, director for Latin America and Caribbean programs. “With attacks on journalists reaching alarming numbers, the government has even more of a duty to protect its citizens, safeguard freedom of expression, and ensure that those who commit crimes against journalists are held to account.”

Background:
Gerardo Nieto Álvarez, an editor of a Guanajuato local newspaper, El Tábano, was found dead June 26 with his throat cut. On June 30th, Juan Mendoza Delgado, director of the news website Escribiendo la Verdad, went missing. He was found dead July 1 in a morgue in Veracruz, appearing to have been run over by a car. On July 2nd, radio presenter Filadelfo Sanchez Sarmiento was shot and killed by gunmen waiting outside of his radio station in Miahualtan de Porfirio Diaz, Oaxaca.  

Mexico is rated Partly Free in Freedom in the World 2015, Not Free in Freedom of the Press 2015, and Partly Free in Freedom on the Net 2014.