The body of "Pepe Galindo" was discovered at his home in Guadalajara, in the western state of Jalisco, on 24 November 2009.
(RSF/IFEX) – The body of José Galindo Robles, the head of Radio Universidad de Guadalajara, was discovered at his home in Guadalajara, in the western state of Jalisco, on 24 November 2009, after it was noticed that several days had gone by with no word from him. His body was found wrapped in a blanket and with the hands tied with a cable. The prosecutor’s office said the cause of death was a “deep contusion and fracture to the skull.”
“This is sad news and, as is so often the case, it comes from a country that has been bled dry by organised crime and drug trafficking,” Reporters Without Borders said. “We offer our condolences to the family and friends of José Galindo Robles, who had received Mexican and Latin American prizes for his work as a journalist.”
The press freedom organisation added: “With a murder motive yet to be established, we urge the authorities to consider the possibility that the crime was connected to his work. He was sometimes very outspoken and he was committed to defending human rights and the environment.”
Generally known as “Pepe Galindo,” the journalist had received various prizes at the Latin American Radio Biennals. In 2004, he was awarded the National Prize for Environmental Journalism for a report about the impact of the pollution of the River Santiago, Mexico’s most contaminated river, on the inhabitants of El Salto and Juanacatlán (in Jalisco state).
Even if it remains to be established whether Galindo was killed in connection with his commitment to the environment, it is certainly the case that environmental journalists are being increasingly targeted. In a report published on 17 September, Reporters Without Borders highlighted the dangers for journalists who expose environmental problems.
The western hemisphere’s most dangerous country for journalists, Mexico was ranked 137th out of 175 countries in the 2009 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index. Galindo’s death brings the number of journalists murdered since 2000 to 57.
Listen to Galindo’s report on the Santiago river (in Spanish)
