The freedom of expression organization Article 19 said that the recent killing of two Mexican photographers was not necessarily an attack against freedom of expression, according to a statement published on Monday, Aug. 20.
According to the organization, photographers José Antonio Aguilar López and Arturo Barajas took photos for private and tourist parties, but Barajas also worked occasionally as a freelancer for the newspaper Diario de Zamora, where he took pictures about organized crime, according to the news agency AFP.
However, Article 19 said that Diario de Zamora quit publishing stories and images on police issues after the kidnapping of their reporter María Esther Aguilar Cansimbe in 2009, and the newspaper denied having Barajas on file as a freelancer or having any work relationship with the reporter in the recent past.
"However unfortunate is the loss of lives, with the information gathered until this moment, and unless investigations continue in another direction, ARTICLE 19 cannot confirm that these events add to another killing related to freedom of expression" and the practice of journalism, said the release by Article 19.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
