Freedom of Expression
Press Release R 96/14
PRESS RELEASE
R 96/14
OFFICE OF THE
SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR CONDEMNS ATTACK TO JOURNALIST IN MEXICO
Washington, D.C., September
9, 2014 – The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) condemns the attack against
journalist Karla Janeth Silva Guerrero, correspondent for the newspaper El Heraldo de León, which took place in
her office on September 4 in the town of Silao, state of Guanajuato, Mexico. The
Office of the Special Rapporteur expresses its concern and urges the Mexican
authorities to take urgent action to establish the motive of the attack and to
activate all the legal instruments available to punish the perpetrators behind
this crime, and take the necessary measures to protect the journalist.
According to the
information received, during the afternoon several persons reached the
reporter’s office and brutally beat her as they made comments about her news
stories. Earlier that day, several men had been looking for the reporter. The
journalist, who was hospitalized, filed a complaint on the attack before the
Office of the Public Prosecutor. The men also attacked the office assistant and
caused damage to the furniture and equipment of the newspaper. According to available
information, Guerrero Silva’s articles are often critical of the local
government. As a result, she had received complaints.
The State reported
that the Office of the Special Public Prosecutor for Crimes against Freedom of
Expression (FEADLE) at the Office of the Attorney General opened an investigation
on the events.
Violence against
journalists in Mexico has been of particular concern to this Office. The
Special Rapporteur urges the authorities to thoroughly investigate the
hypothesis that the attack could have been associated with the journalist’s
work.
Principle 9 of the IACHR
Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression states: "[t]he 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 occurrences, to punish their
perpetrators and to ensure that victims receive due compensation."
The Office of the
Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression was created by the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to encourage the defense of the right to
freedom of thought and expression in the hemisphere, given the fundamental role
this right plays in consolidating and developing the democratic system.