SRFOE condemns the murder of journalist Gastón Medina in Peru and urges an investigation into the crime, considering his journalistic work as a possible motive

January 30, 2025

Washington, D.C. - The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression (SRFOE) of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) strongly condemns the murder of journalist Gastón Medina, which took place on January 20, 2025 in the Ica region of Peru. The Office urges the Peruvian authorities to carry out a complete and impartial investigation, which considers the work of the media as one of the lines of investigation and a possible motive for the crime, and to identify and punish all those responsible.

According to public information, the journalist Gastón Medina, owner and director of Cadena Sur TV, was murdered by an armed man on a motorcycle, who shot him repeatedly as Medina was leaving his home to edit his midday program. After the attack, Medina was reportedly taken to a health center, where he died due to the severity of his injuries. As the SRFOE learned, in the same incident, Edwin Uchuya Lazarte, administrator of Radio Nova and driver of the vehicle that was waiting for Medina outside his house, was also injured.

Peruvian civil society organizations point out that the journalist was murdered after he reported alleged irregularities in the Regional Government, the Provincial Municipality and the Superior Court of Justice of Ica, as well as extortion in public transport. In addition, it is reported that the journalist had received threats on at least three previous occasions, and that the headquarters of Cadena Sur TV had been attacked with an explosive in September 2022.

For its part, the State informed the Special Rapporteur that no report on risk situations had been registered with the Intersectoral Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders. However, after the murder of the journalist on January 25, 2025, the Intersectoral Mechanism adopted measures, such as sending an alert to the Senior Prosecutor, Coordinator of the National Superior Criminal Prosecutor's Office and the Supraprovincial Criminal Prosecutor's Offices.

In this context, the Supraprovincial Criminal Prosecutor's Office Specializing in Human Rights and Interculturality of Ica and Cañete initiated an investigation to clarify the facts and determine the criminal responsibilities that may apply, arranging for various procedures to be carried out with the support of the Expertise Management and the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences of the Public Prosecutor's Office. As part of the investigation, statements have been taken from relatives and eyewitnesses, electronic equipment has been seized and security videos have been collected, in addition to viewing information on social networks published by the journalist in order to contextualize the events, among other proceedings that are still ongoing.

In addition, the State reported that, on January 20 and 21, 2025, it made contact with relatives of the deceased journalist and, on January 24, requested legal assistance from the General Directorate of Public Defense of the MINJUSDH in the context of the investigations; as well as the granting of personal guarantees to Gastón Medina's wife, his youngest son and other members of his family against possible attacks as a result of the activities carried out by Gastón Medina in his work as a journalist.

In the face of the murder of the journalist Gastón Medina, the Special Rapporteur emphasizes that the murder of journalists constitutes the most extreme form of censorship and violates the right to freedom of expression in both its individual and collective dimensions. These crimes not only violate the right of the victims to express and disseminate their ideas, opinions and information, but also violate the right of individuals and societies to seek and receive information and ideas of all kinds. In addition, they generate an intimidating effect and encourage self-censorship among media professionals.

According to Principle 9 of the IACHR Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression, “the murder, kidnapping, intimidation of and/or threats to social communicators, as well as the material destruction of communications media violate the fundamental rights of individuals and strongly restrict freedom of expression. It is the duty of the state to prevent and investigate such acts, to punish their perpetrators and to ensure that the victims receive due compensation.”

The Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression takes note of the information provided by the State and urges the Peruvian authorities to continue with the investigations, ensuring that they are carried out in a thorough, diligent and impartial manner, considering Gastón Medina's journalistic work as a possible motive for the crime, with the aim of identifying and punishing those responsible.

The Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression is an office created by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) with the aim of stimulating the hemispheric defense of the right to freedom of thought and expression, considering its fundamental role in the consolidation and development of the democratic system.

No. R029/25

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