(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 17 December 1998 CPJ letter to Mexican President Zedillo further to the confirmation that the death of journalist Philip True was a homicide: **Updates IFEX alert of 15 December 1998** December 17, 1998 Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon President of Mexico Los Pinos Mexico City VIA FACSIMILE Your Excellency, […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 17 December 1998 CPJ letter to Mexican
President Zedillo further to the confirmation that the death of journalist
Philip True was a homicide:
**Updates IFEX alert of 15 December 1998**
December 17, 1998
Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon
President of Mexico
Los Pinos
Mexico City
VIA FACSIMILE
Your Excellency,
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to condemn the murder
of journalist Philip True, Mexico correspondent for the San Antonio
Express-News. Because of the circumstances of this crime, we fear that True
may have been murdered in reprisal for his work as a journalist. We demand
an exhaustive and impartial investigation.
According to his editors and family members, True left his home in Mexico
City on November 28 for a 10-day reporting trip through the rugged Sierra
Madre Occidental of Nayarit and Jalisco states. After visiting the region
earlier this year, True had filed a memo with his editors at the paper in
April outlining a major project on the local Huichol Indians. True was last
seen alive in the village of Chalmotitia on December 4.
After an intensive search carried out by the Mexican military, True’s body
was located at the bottom of a ravine on December 15. He had been dead for
as many as 10 days. While initial reports suggested that he had been killed
in a fall, forensic evidence made public by the medical examiner in Jalisco
made clear that he had been strangled by a cloth and had sustained a head
injury which was not attributed to a fall. It is believed that he was killed
along a riverbank, and that his body was dragged or carried along the trail
and dumped into the ravine. It was partially covered with rocks in an
attempt to conceal it. Neither True’s wedding ring nor his watch were taken,
making robbery an unlikely motive, according to state officials in Jalisco.
There is forensic evidence that True was sexually assaulted.
While we are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding this
crime, we are concerned that True was targeted because of his work as a
journalist. We fear that True may have either stumbled on sensitive
information, or may have inadvertently offended local villagers by asking
questions or taking photographs. The sexual assault may have been carried
out in an effort to punish or humiliate him.
As an organization of journalists dedicated to the defense of press freedom
around the world, we are calling for an investigation which is not only
exhaustive and impartial, but also exemplary in its application of the rule
of law. Under Article 6 of Mexico’s Constitution freedom of expression is
guaranteed by the federal government. Because True’s murder may have been
related to his work as a journalist, we believe that the investigation
should be referred to federal authorities. Furthermore, in order to ensure
that no questions emerge about the impartiality of the investigation, we
urge that it is as open as possible. Foreign correspondents in Mexico are
assembling a delegation to monitor the investigation. We urge authorities to
meet regularly with the members of this group, and to fully disclose any
advances or setbacks in the investigation.
We would like to take this opportunity to recognize the effort made by your
government in committing the military to search for True in the aftermath of
his disappearance. The timely recovery of True’s body has allowed for the
preservation of forensic evidence which could lead to the arrest and
conviction of his killers.
We join with Mexican journalists, and members of the foreign press corps in
Mexico, in condemning this terrible crime and demanding that you devote the
full resources available to your office to ensure that True’s murderers are
brought to justice.
Sincerely,
Ann K. Cooper
Executive Director
CC Mexican Embassy, Washington D.C.
United States Embassy, Mexico City
Amnesty International
Article 19 (United Kingdom)
Artikel 19 (The Netherlands)
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
Congressional Committee to Support Writers and Journalists
Council on Hemispheric Affairs
Freedom Forum
Freedom House
Human Rights Watch
Index on Censorship
Inter American Press Association
International Association of Broadcasting
International Center for Journalists
International Federation of Journalists
International Federation of Newspaper Publishers
International Journalism Institute
International PEN
International Press Institute
Journalist Safety Service
National Association of Black Journalists
National Press Club
Newspaper Association of America
Overseas Press Club
The Newspaper Guild
Reporters Sans Frontières
The Society of Professional Journalists
World Press Freedom Committee
Similar appeals can be sent to:
Appeals To
Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon
President of Mexico
Los Pinos
Mexico City, Mexico
Fax: +525 271 1764 / 515 1794 / 277 2376
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
