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MEXICO: Another Journalist Murdered in Sonora State
PEN International WiPC | RAN 26/12 21 May 2012
The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of PEN International is appalled by the news that yet another journalist has been murdered in Mexico. Marco Antonio Ávila García, a reporter for newspapers Diario Sonora de la Tarde and El Regional de Sonora, was found dead on 18 May 2012. He had been tortured and then strangled to death. Ávila’s body was discovered in a plastic bag which had been dumped on a road near the city of Empalme, Sonora State. The WiPC calls on the Mexican authorities to carry out a thorough investigation into this horrific crime, bringing those responsible to justice.
Marco Antonio Ávila García, 39, reported on organized crime for two regional newspapers. On 17 May 2012, while waiting at a car wash in Obregon, Ávila was approached by three armed men. According to witnesses, the men asked Ávila if he was a journalist. When Ávila replied that he was, they bundled him into a waiting truck and drove off. Less than 24 hours later, his body was discovered at the side of a road just outside Empalme.
Police reportedly found a message signed by a cartel near the journalist’s body, but have not revealed its contents.
Sonora’s State Attorney General has begun an investigation into Ávila’s abduction and murder. Mexico’s National Commission on Human Rights has also announced that it will launch an investigation.
Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world in which to practise journalism. Since December 2006, at least 43 print journalists and writers have been killed. The vast majority of these crimes have been investigated at state level, where investigations are rarely thorough. There have been less than a handful of convictions.
Since January 2012, seven print journalists and writers have been murdered in Mexico. Among these are:
Investigative reporter Regina Martínez Martínez, poet and translator Guillermo Fernández García, journalist Raúl Régulo Garza Quirino and ex-reporter René Orta Salgado .
In March 2012, the Mexican Senate passed an amendment that would make all attacks on journalists federal crimes. This represented a crucial step towards tackling the problem of impunity in Mexico, as federal investigators are considered less susceptible to the corruption that plagues state authorities. The amendment needs to be ratified by 17 states for it to become law.
Please send appeals:
- Calling for a full and impartial investigation into the death of journalist Marco Antonio Ávila Garcia;
- Urging the Attorney General of the Republic to take up the case;
- Urging the Mexican authorities to do more to tackle the widespread local state corruption that slows and often prevents proper, objective investigations into the murders of writers and journalists;
Appeals to:
President
Lic. Felipe De Jesús Calderón Hinojosa
Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos
Residencia Oficial de los Pinos Casa Miguel Alemán
Col. San Miguel Chapultepec, C.P. 11850, DISTRITO FEDERAL, México
Fax: (+ 52 55) 5093 4901/ 5277 2376
Email:felipe.calderon@presidencia.gob.mx
Salutation: Señor Presidente/ Dear Mr President
Attorney General of the Republic
Lic. Marisela Morelos Ibáñez
Procuradora General de la República
Av. Paseo de Reforma No. 211-213, Piso 16
Col. Cuauhtémoc, Defegacion Cuauhtémoc>
México D.F. C.P. 06500
Tel: + 52 55 5346 0108
Fax: + 52 55 53 46 0908 (if a voice answers, ask "tono de fax, por favor")
E-mail: ofproc@pgr.gob.mx
Salutation: Señora Procuradora General/Dear Attorney General
Please also send copies of your appeals to the Mexican Embassy in your country.
***Please send appeals immediately. Check with International PEN if sending appeals after 21 July 2012.***
For further details please contact Cathal Sheerin at the Writers in Prison Committee London Office: PEN International, Brownlow House, 50-51 High Holborn, London WC1V 6ER Tel: +44 (0) 207 405 0338 Fax +44 (0) 207 405 0339 email: cathal.sheerin@pen-international.org
Cathal Sheerin | Africa and Americas Programmes PEN International
t. +44 (0)20 7405 0338 | e. cathal.sheerin@pen-international.org | www.pen-international.org
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