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| Photo: Raúl Pérez / Proceso |
Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat
Journalist and activist Juan José Roldán, 36, became the fifth journalist killed in the last two months after his body was found with signs of torture on a dirt road in the state of Tlaxcala, the Union of Tlaxcala Journalists (UPET) reported.
Members of the UPET reported that Roldán’s body was discovered Sunday morning in the municipality of Calpulalpan, when the 911 emergency service reported finding a man without vital signs.
Therefore, UPET demanded a transparent and immediate investigation to punish those responsible, and in agreement with the state attorney general’s office (PGJE), they have already begun work to clarify the incident.
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| Juan José Roldán |
On April 14, another communicator in charge of the police section of a blog in Baja California Sur was assassinated, while in March, the murder victims were Journalist Ricardo Monlui in Veracruz, Cecilio Pineda in Guerrero, and Miroslava Breach in Chihuahua. In addition, the reporter and director of the newspaper La Opinión de Poza Rica, Armando Arrieta Granados, was seriously injured after being shot in Veracruz, as he is still in recovery. None of the above cases have been solved yet.
Regarding Veracruz, the state continues to be the one that poses the greatest danger to journalists, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (ONU-DH) in Mexico.
Michel Frost, special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, said in January that journalists and advocates in Mexico are working with a “death trend,” making it one of the “most dangerous” countries to work in communication and advocate of rights, while the aggressors enjoy a “worrying impunity of 98%.” He also highlighted the “worrying” situation of women advocates, who are victims of a “pattern of attacks and violence.”
According to Article 19, 99.75% of the attacks and assassinations against journalists remained in impunity, and at least 53% of them were committed on the orders of public officials.
According to the organization, 2016 was the record year with 11 journalists assassinated and over 400 attacks against the press in Mexico were committed.
Source: Desinformemonos