"A people's tribunal, which held a series of hearings on journalists killings, condemned Mexico, Sri Lanka and Syria on Sept. 19 and called for an 'independent and comprehensive' review of measures in place to protect the news media. Composed of international jurists, [the tribunal] heard testimonies during six months on the 2009 murder of Lasantha Wickrematunge in Sri Lanka, the 2011 killing of Miguel Ángel López Velasco in Mexico and the 2015 murder of Nabil Al-Sharbaji in Syria.
The three countries are guilty of 'rights violations' by their acts of ‘omission, especially the lack of investigation, the absence of reparations for the victims and impunity,’ Argentine judge, Eduardo Bertoni, said.
The tribunal, located in a 17th century church in The Hague, the Netherlands, judged the inability of these countries to protect the lives of journalists, which 'demonstrates the lack of broad will' to bring to justice those who kill journalists."
