(PFC/IFEX) – On 4 March 2003, journalist Isabel Arvide was arrested for a second time in less than one year. She was charged with defaming Chihuahua State Prosecutor Jesús José Solís Silva. According to Arvide, whose version of events was broadcast by Chihuahua’s ABC Radio, she was arrested by a group of 15 heavily armed […]
(PFC/IFEX) – On 4 March 2003, journalist Isabel Arvide was arrested for a second time in less than one year. She was charged with defaming Chihuahua State Prosecutor Jesús José Solís Silva.
According to Arvide, whose version of events was broadcast by Chihuahua’s ABC Radio, she was arrested by a group of 15 heavily armed police officers. The charge against her arises from reports in which Arvide accused Solís of having drug-trafficking connections.
In August 2002, Arvide was arrested after a complaint against her was filed by “Diario de Chihuahua” newspaper owner Oswaldo Rodríguez Borunda. Arvide had accused Rodríguez and state authorities of corruption and drug connections. She was later released on bail (see IFEX alert of 21 August 2002).
At the time of her 2002 arrest, Arvide was neither informed of the charge against her, brought before the proper judicial authority, nor shown the warrant for her arrest, all in violation of her rights.
Despite some institutional progress, Mexican legislation still punishes crimes against the honour of officials or public figures. Inter-american human rights bodies have declared that these laws violate free expression. In the interior of the country, a number of attorneys and judges interpret these laws in an arbitrary fashion and as a result commit excesses, as in the Arvide case.
In a letter to Chihuahua Governor Patricio Martínez García, PFC expressed its concern and condemned Arvide’s arrest.
For this alert, PFC’s letter to Governor Martínez García and further information on the case, see: http://portal-pfc.org/perseguidos/2002/067.html
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the Chihuahua state governor:
– asking that he use the means at his disposal to end the persecution of Arvide
Appeals To
C.P. Patricio Martínez García
State Governor
Calle Aldama # 901 Zona Centro, C.P. 31000,
Chihuahua, Chihuahua
Fax: +52 614 429 3464
E-mail: particip@chihuahua.gob.mx
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
