OFFICE OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR FOR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION VOICES CONCERN OVER THE DISAPPEARANCE OF A JOURNALIST IN MEXICO
Washington, D.C., July 19, 2006. The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) of the OAS expresses its concern over the disappearance of Mr. Rafael Ortiz Martínez, journalist with the newspaper Zócalo and host of the morning news program Radio Zócalo on the local station XHCCG 104.1 FM, in the city of Monclova, state of Coahuila, and urges the Mexican authorities to investigate in a prompt and effective manner regarding his whereabouts.
According to the information received by the Office of the Special Rapporteur, Mr. Ortiz Martínez was last seen early in the morning on July 8, 2006, as he was leaving the installations of the Zócalo newspaper, after having edited journalistic material for that day’s issue. The information also indicated that Mr. Ortiz Martínez had recently published investigations on subjects including activities of organized crime in the city of Monclova.
In this respect, it should be recalled that according to the American Convention on Human Rights, the States have the duty to prevent, investigate and sanction all violations of the rights recognized in the Convention. A prompt, thorough and effective investigation of crimes against social communicators is essential to send a firm message that the State will not tolerate such grave violations of the right to freedom of expression and to assure journalists that they can continue to do their jobs safely.
Additionally, Principle 9 of the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression of the IACHR states that “[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 Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, Ignacio J. Alvarez, stated that “it is especially important that in crimes against journalists the investigations include not only the actual perpetrators, but also the intellectual authors and other individuals whose collaboration and tolerance made the commission of such crimes possible.”
For additional information about the Office of the Special Rapporteur: http://www.cidh.org/relatoria