(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 22 September 2000 IAPA press release: IAPA SPEAKS OUT ON JOURNALIST’S ARREST IN MEXICO Miami (22 September 2000)- Today, the Inter American Press Association expressed its concern to the governor of the State of Chihuahua, in Mexico, over the imprisonment of a journalist on charges of defamation, calling the […]
(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 22 September 2000 IAPA press release:
IAPA SPEAKS OUT ON JOURNALIST’S ARREST IN MEXICO
Miami (22 September 2000)- Today, the Inter American Press Association expressed its concern to the governor of the State of Chihuahua, in Mexico, over the imprisonment of a journalist on charges of defamation, calling the incident an infringement on freedom of expression.
The president of the Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, Rafael Molina, sent an official letter to Patricio Martínez García, governor of the State of Chihuahua, in northwestern Mexico, in which he expressed the institution’s position on the Tuesday 19 September arrest of Antonio Pinedo Cornejo, journalist and editor of Semanario magazine, in Ciudad Juárez.
Following is the text of the letter signed by Molina, of Ahora magazine, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic:
Dear Governor,
The Inter American Press Association expresses its concern over what it deems an infringement on freedom of expression, the imprisonment of journalist and editor of the Semanario magazine in Ciudad Juárez, Antonio Pinedo Cornejo, who is accused of defamation.
Pinedo Cornejo was detained and accused of defamation this week, following a complaint filed against him and journalist Luis Villagrana by then Commissioner of Public Security, Javier Benavides González. The journalists were targeted because of the contents of an article published in the 7 March edition of the weekly.
The aforementioned article reported that Benavides González and other local police chiefs had allegedly played a role in protecting drug traffickers, information which had already been publicised by other media.
Governor, these kinds of incidents should be carefully analysed, and we are concerned that when certain information which potentially links government officials to illicit activities is brought into the public arena/revealed to the public, the response is to attack the messenger, rather than investigate the allegations.
I would like to refer to Article 4 of the Declaration of Chapultepec, the document on freedom of the press and expression, which stipulates that “the unjust imprisonment of journalists is a severe restriction of freedom of expression and the press, and such acts should be promptly investigated and severely reprimanded”.
We appeal to you to ensure that the appropriate measures are taken such that there is a resolution of this matter, which goes against the free exercise of the journalistic profession and citizens’ right to information.
