2 Nov 2011 | News
MURDERED 2 NOVEMBER 2005
Journalist, “El Tiempo de Durango” – Durango, Mexico
Join us in demanding justice for crime reporter José Bladimir Antuna Garcían, 39, who was found murdered on 2 November 2009 after he was ambushed by five armed men in the Mexican city of Durango on his way to work. Attached to his body was a note reading, “This happened to me for giving information to the military and for writing too much.” Antuna had been investigating corruption and police crime and had been receiving threatening calls, some from the powerful drug cartel Los Zetas. He reported the threats to the state attorney general’s office; they were never followed up.
Take action and send a letter to the authorities demanding an immediate and open investigation into this case here
International Day to End Impunity is on 23 November. Until that date, we will reveal a story each day of a journalist, writer or free expression advocate who was killed in the line of duty.
1 Nov 2011 | Europe and Central Asia, Index Index, minipost
Turkish publisher Ragıp Zarakolu , recipient of the 2008 International Publishers Association (IPA) Freedom to Publish Prize, was arrested on 28 October in Istanbul. Viewed by many as Turkey’s most prominent free expression and minority rights activist, Zarakolu has been accused of being a member of an illegal organisation under the anti-terror legislation, a press release from IPA said today. University professor Büşra Ersanlı was also arrested and over 40 other individuals were taken into custody on the same day as part of a recent crackdown on the KCK (Union of Kurdistan Communities). Zarakolu’s son, Deniz, was also arrested last month after giving a lecture at the Political Science Academy of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy (BDP) opposition party.
1 Nov 2011 | News
Islamabad Bureau Chief, Pakistan Press International – Islamabad, Pakistan – 1 November 2006
Join us in demanding justice for Mohammad Ismail, last seen on 31 October 2006 when he left his home to go for an evening walk. He was found the next morning near his home, with his skull smashed in. He was carrying little of value when he was assaulted, and his agency was not known for particularly critical reporting of the government. According to the Pakistan Press Foundation, at least 32 journalists have been killed in the country for their work since 2002.
Take action and send a letter to the authorities demanding an immediate and open investigation into this case here
International Day to End Impunity is on 23 November. Until that date, we will reveal a story each day of a journalist, writer or free expression advocate who was killed in the line of duty.
28 Oct 2011 | Americas, Mexico
New reports indicate the murder of two female journalists in Mexico City in September was carried out by a group of Santeria followers, the voodoo-influenced religion.
Online magazine Reporte Indigo, which had access to the investigation, claims Marcela Yarce, 45, and Rocio Gonzalez, 48, were strangled to death after they sought to exchange pesos for dollars with Óscar Jair Quiñonez Emmert, alias “Ogún”, who worked in a parking establishment in downtown Mexico City, near the offices of the magazine Contralinea, where Yarce worked.
The men are reported to have beaten and killed the two women in order to steal one million pesos (5,700 GBP), which the pair wanted to exchange for US dollars. Exchange rates have been fluctuating in Mexico, and according to police reports, the two women wanted a better rate. Both bodies were found nude and there was evidence of sexual assault.
Contralinea replied angrily to the release of the police report, charging that it did double damage to the memory of the two murdered journalists because it implied they had engaged in illegal activities.
According to the magazine report Emmert confessed to the murder. He told the Public Ministry of the Attorney General of the Federal Distritct how he contacted a group of Santeria followers to help him round up the women. The group included his “godfather” or padrino, Lázaro Hernández, known in the world of Santeria as “El Padrino Laza” and his 16-year-old son. The crime was committed on 31 August, when the women contacted Emmert to complete the financial transaction. After the murders, the group of men had a spiritual bath with herbs to get rid of negative vibrations, according to the court records. The men divided the loot and spent it on cars, a sound system, mobile phones and a family vacation in the resort town of Mazatlan.
Santeria is on the rise in Mexico, in the last decade it has begun to overtake traditional shamanism that dates from ancient Mexico. While the rites appeal to Mexicans of all walks of life, many of its followers are youths from a low-income background who wear santeria beads as a necklace or a bracelet.
