| There is serious
concern for the safety of journalists in Mexico after a magazine editor
was shot dead in Miguel Aleman, in the State of Tamaulipas.
Amnesty International
is concerned for the safety of others investigating allegations of corruption
and drug trafficking by past and present state officials in the region.
According to reports,
on 18 January 2002, Felix Alonso Fernandez, the editor of the magazine,
Nueva Opcion, was shot and killed by unidentified attackers as he
left a restaurant in the municipal town of Miguel Aleman.
The magazine had
recently published articles accusing the ex-mayor of being closely linked
to local drug cartels. During the 2001 election campaign, Felix Alonso
also accused another political candidate of being involved with criminal
organisations. After publishing these articles, he reportedly received
death threats. As a consequence of these threats and fearing for his safety,
he hired two bodyguards.
Initial reports
suggest that police have failed to act promptly to identify and pursue
those suspected of the killing.
BACKGROUND
INFORMATION
Mexican journalists
often face attacks and death threats because of their work and many live
in fear of reprisals from people or organisations they have written about.
On 24 March 2001, Saul Adrian Martinez Gonzalez, the Subdirector of the
daily newspaper, El Imparcial de Matamoros, was kidnapped, tortured
and killed. On 9 April 2000, US Border Patrol agents discovered the body
of Pablo Pineda, a reporter and photographer for La Opinion newspaper
in Matamoros, Tamaulipas.
The agents found
the dead journalist had been shot in the back of the head. Pablo Pineda
had reportedly survived a previous attack by gunmen in December 1999 and
was severely beaten three years before. As far as Amnesty International
is aware, the authorities have not, however, identified and prosecuted
those responsible for either killing.
Crimes against
journalists, committed in regions near the border with the United States,
are very often linked to their work reporting on drug trafficking, corruption
and the alleged participation of state officials in these crimes. The authorities
rarely investigate these cases effectively, leaving the perpetrators free
to repeat their crimes. The killing of three journalists in less than two
years in the State of Tamaulipas has raised serious concern for the safety
of journalists carrying out their legitimate work.
In September 1988,
the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights recommended that the Mexican
authorities "adopt the necessary measures to punish the perpetrators of
crimes committed against persons exercising the right to freedom of expression,
including a speedy, effective and impartial investigation into complaints
of harassment involving journalists".
RECOMMENDED
ACTION
Please send appeals,
to arrive as quickly as possible, in Spanish or your own language:-
expressing concern
at the killing of journalist Felix Alonso Fernandez on 18 January 2002
insisting that
the authorities undertake an exhaustive and independent investigation into
the killing, that the results of the investigation be made public and those
responsible brought to justice
expressing concern
for the safety of journalists in the State of Tamaulipas and urging the
authorities to guarantee their safety, ensuring that they can carry out
their legitimate work without fear of reprisal
citing the recommendation
of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, that the Mexican authorities
investigate complaints of harassment of journalists and punish those responsible
for crimes against people exercising their freedom of expression.
APPEALS
TO
(Time difference
= GMT - 6 hrs / BST - 7 hrs):
President of the
Republic: Lic. Vicente Fox Quesada, Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos,
Residencia Oficial de "Los Pinos" Col., San Miguel, Chapultepec, Mexico
D.F., C.P. 11850, MEXICO
Telegrams: President,
Mexico D.F., Mexico
Fax: 00525
55 516 9537
[Salutation:
Senor Presidente / Dear Mr President]
Governor of Tamaulipas:
Lic. Tomas Yarrington, Ruvalcaba Gobernador del Estado de Tamaulipas,
Palacio de Gobierno, Av. Juarez y 5 de Mayo, Ciudad, Victoria 87009, Tamaulipas,
Mexico
Telegrams: Gobernador
del Estado de Tamaulipas, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Fax:
0052 131 887 01 [Salutation: Dear Governor,Senor Gobernador]
Attorney General
of the State of Tamaulipas: Lic. Eduardo Garza Rivas, Procurador General
de Justicia del Estado de Tamaulipas, Palacio de Justicia, Boulevard Fraccedi
Balboa, s/n Col. Centro Ciudad, Victoria 87000, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Telegram: Procurador
General, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Fax:
(0052 131) 28427 [Salutation: Dear Attorney/ Senor Procurador]
President of the
National Commission for Human Rights: Dr. Jose Luis Soberanes Fernandez,
Presidente de la Comision Nacional de Derechos Humanos (CNDH), Periferico
Sur 3469, 5o piso Col. San Jeronimo Lidice Mexico DF., 10200 Mexico
Telegrams: Presidente
de la CNDH, Mexico D.F., Mexico Fax: (0052 55) 5668 0767 (There may be
a message in Spanish. Just send the fax after the tone)
E-mail: correo@cndh.org.mx
[Salutation: Senor Presidente / Dear President ]
PLEASE SEND COPIES
OF YOUR APPEALS TO: Her Excellency Senora Alma Rosa Moreno Razo, Embassy
of Mexico, 42 Hertford St., Mayfair, London W1Y 7TF.
Fax: 020 7495
4035
Email: mexuk@easynet.co.uk
and, if possible, to the following: Human Rights Centre: Centro de Estudios
Fronterizos y Promocion de los Derechos Humanos A.C. (CEFPRODHAC) Zaragoza
N .650 1er piso Desp. 4 Zona Centro C.P. 88500, Cd. Reynosa, Tamaulipas
Mexico
Fax: 00 52 89
222 441
PLEASE SEND APPEALS
IMMEDIATELY.
Please do not
send appeals after 5 March 2002
If you have any
queries about this urgent Action or about the UA scheme in general, please
contact: Ray Mitchell / Becky Hess Amnesty International UK Section 99
– 119 Roseberry Avenue London EC1R 4RE
Email: ua@amnesty.org.uk |
