(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned the slaying of Gregorio Rodríguez Hernández, a photographer with the daily “El Debate”, in Escuinapa (northwestern state of Sinaloa), who was gunned down on 28 November 2004 while dining in a restaurant with his wife and two children. “In view of the increasing violence in Mexico, especially against the press, […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned the slaying of Gregorio Rodríguez Hernández, a photographer with the daily “El Debate”, in Escuinapa (northwestern state of Sinaloa), who was gunned down on 28 November 2004 while dining in a restaurant with his wife and two children.
“In view of the increasing violence in Mexico, especially against the press, all aspects of this murder must be investigated thoroughly, including the possibility that it was linked to the victim’s work as a journalist,” RSF said in a letter to Sinaloa Governor Juan S. Millán. The organisation asked to be kept informed of the investigation’s progress.
Several witnesses said the killers arrived on foot and shot Rodríguez at point-blank range before fleeing. The photographer was shot in the head, neck and chest and died instantly. Other accounts referred to two individuals using a pickup truck. “El Debate” said one of the presumed killers had already been identified.
Rodríguez covered various local beats, including sports, society and crime. “El Debate” news editor Juan Carlos Ramírez said the killing might have been linked to a brief published on 24 November about a physical attack by two suspected drug traffickers on a doctor who refused to treat an injured person they brought in for surgery. Ramírez stressed, however, that he did not want to speculate, and that the killing may have been the result of mistaken identity.
“El Debate” editor-in-chief Laura Bejar added that Rodríguez was often asked to take photographs of violence linked to drug trafficking.
Although none of “El Debate”‘s reporters have previously received threats, the newspaper has requested police protection for two journalists working in Escuinapa. With 25 murders in the past four months, Sinaloa is one of Mexico’s most violent states.
