Freedom of Expression

Press Release R62-10

PRESS RELEASE

No. R62/10

 

OFFICE OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR EXPRESSES ITS CONCERN AT THE LATEST MURDER OF A JOURNALIST IN HONDURAS AND AT THE GRAVE VULNERABILITY OF THE MEDIA THERE


Washington D.C., June 16, 2010—The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) condemns the murder of journalist Luis Arturo Mondragón, on Tuesday, June 14, 2010, in the city of El Paraíso, Honduras. This is the seventh murder of a journalist in that country during 2010, and it once again highlights the serious situation of defenselessness and vulnerability in which the Honduran media finds itself. The Office of the Special Rapporteur strongly urges the state to take all measures necessary to prevent these crimes, protect at-risk journalists, and make quick and decisive progress in the investigations into these crimes.

 

According to the information received, Mondragón was shot four times as he was leaving the offices of the cable television channel Canal 19, where, in addition to being the news director, Mondragón had a program that reported on corruption, crime and environmental issues, among other things. Mondragón died at the location of the incident from the gunshot wounds.

 

According to the information received by the Office of the Special Rapporteur, Mondragón received constant threatening phone calls from anonymous callers during the last two years.

 

Mondragón’s murder marks the seventh time in Honduras so far this year that a journalist has been murdered allegedly due to his or her work. On March 1, 2010, Joseph Hernández Ochoa, a journalist with Channel 51 in Tegucigalpa, was murdered. On March 11, 2010, David Meza Montesinos, a journalist with Channel 10 and radio stations América and El Patio in the city of La Ceiba, was murdered. On March 14, 2010, Nahúm Palacios, the news director of Channel 5 in Aguán, was murdered in the city of Tocoa. On March 26, 2010, Bayardo Mairena and Manuel Juárez, both journalists with Excélsior Television and Radio, were murdered on the highway near the city of Juticalpa, Olancho department. On April 20, 2010, Jorge Alberto (Georgino) Orellana, a journalist with the channel Televisión de Honduras, was murdered.

 

The Office of the Special Rapporteur wishes to reiterate its profound concern over the very serious situation facing Honduran journalists and the fact that the investigations into the aforementioned cases have yet to produce results about the authors of these crimes and the relationship of these murders to the reporting activities of the victims. The Office of the Special Rapporteur urges the state to investigate these cases in a manner that is efficient and diligent, using specialized professional investigative units, and it urges the state to capture and duly punish those responsible for these crimes.

 

The Office of the Special Rapporteur reminds the state that Principle 9 of the IACHR Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression states: "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 occurrences, to punish their perpetrators and to ensure that victims receive due compensation."

 

For more information, please visit http://www.cidh.org/Relatoria/index.asp?lID=1