Mexican authorities announced the arrest of former director of the Municipal Police of Silao (in Guanajuato state), Nicasio Aguirre Guerreros, who is accused of ordering the 2014 attack against journalist journalist Karla Janeth Silva Guerrero, according to El Universal.
At least 27 journalists and other media workers were murdered in the Americas for reasons that could be tied to their work during 2015. This was documented by the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in their 2015 Annual Report released on March 23.
At least 27 journalists and other media workers were murdered in the Americas for reasons that could be tied to their work during 2015. This was documented by the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in their 2015 Annual Report released on March 23.
“On Freedom of Expression and Protection of Journalists and Press Workers” was the bill presented on April 27 in Paraguay, a day after the country celebrated the Day of the Journalist, according to newspaper La Nación. The bill was announced at a press conference given by congresswoman and head of the Commission of Human Rights, Olga Ferreira de López and legislator Pastor Vera Bejarano, the newspaper added.
A new documentary about Mexican activist Atilano Román Tirado, who was killed on-air in 2014 during his weekly radio show, is the first in a series of short films by Mexican directors showcased by The New York Times’ Op-Doc Series.
The driver of a former Paraguayan mayor is the first person to be convicted in the case of the murders of journalist Pablo Medina and his assistant Antonia Almada. His former boss, Vilmar Acosta Marques, is accused of masterminding Medina's murder.
Guatemalan journalists have condemned the murder of a 32-year-old radio director in the country and called for renewed attention to the construction of a protection program for journalists.
UPDATE (3/21/16): A former Colombian paramilitary fighter accused in the May 2000 kidnap, torture and rape of journalist Jineth Bedoya Lima has been sentenced to 28 years in prison. Mario Jaimes Mejía, known as 'El Panadero,' accepted charges against him on Feb. 2. He was sentenced on March 18.
In 2015, Mexico saw one attack against journalists every 22 hours, making that year the most violent for the country’s press since 2009, according to an annual report from freedom of expression organization Article 19 Mexico. This violence, along with the pervasive impunity that follows, an unresponsive state, weak democracy and inaccessible protective agencies, have created a culture of fear among the country's journalists, the report said.
Almost 17 years after the murder of Colombian journalist and humorist Jaime Garzón, one of the country’s head prosecutors finally identified the killing as a crime of the state due to the participation of members of the Army and the defunct department of intelligence (known as DAS) along with a criminal organization.
A Salvadoran communication worker's recent murder is directly linked to his work, according to communications groups that have called on the government for a thorough investigation of the crime and protection for media workers.
The former mayor of Silao (in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico), Enrique Benjamín Solís Arzola, was arrested on March 11 for alleged involvement in the attack against journalist Karla Silva from newspaper El Heraldo de León in 2014. After a long hearing, the local court ordered Solís to be taken into custody for two months, a period in which to conclude the investigation against him.