European Union condemns murders of three journalists in Mexico in less than a week

The European Union lamented the murders of journalists Enrique García, Gustavo Sánchez and Saúl Tijerina, which occurred on June 16, 17 and 22, 2021

MEXICO, (June 25, 2021).- The delegation of the European Union (EU) in Mexico, as well as the embassies of Norway and Switzerland, condemned this Thursday 24th, the murders of three Mexican journalists that occurred in just six days in the country.

Through a statement, the EU recalled the murders of journalists Enrique García, Gustavo Sánchez and Saúl Tijerina, which occurred on June 16, 17 and 22, 2021 in the State of Mexico, Oaxaca and Coahuila, respectively.

He pointed out that García worked for the newspaper El Sol de Toluca and headed communication bodies for government agencies.

Sánchez was editor of the information portal La Policiaca del Istmo and had already suffered attacks against him in July 2020 and death threats since 2014, in addition to being a beneficiary of the government mechanism for the protection of journalists.

While Tijerina collaborated with various media in Ciudad Acuña.

The EU noted that although the link between their work as journalists and their murders has not yet been fully clarified, “the deaths demonstrate once again the disturbing degree of violence and intimidation that many journalists face in Mexico.”

In addition, it expressed its concern about the lack of results in the investigations opened to clarify previous cases of murders of journalists in Mexico.

He said that he has been taken note with interest of the recent convictions that were pronounced against the material authors of the murders of journalists Miroslava Breach and Javier Valdez.

He also called on the Mexican authorities to make all possible efforts “and carry out expeditious and transparent investigations in order to identify and prosecute those responsible so that there are no ‘zones of silence’ where no journalist dares to work.”

He also described the recurrence of attacks against journalists in the country as “alarming”, for which he asked the Mexican authorities to make use of all the means at their disposal to guarantee the protection of all journalists in Mexico and that crimes do not go unpunished. .

Mexico is one of the most violent countries in the world for the journalistic union and every year there are numerous murders, attacks and intimidations against the press by organized crime and authorities.

The National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) has pointed out that Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries to practice journalism in Latin America and so far it has counted 170 journalists and media workers killed since 2000.

Meanwhile, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) last year registered eight murders against Mexican journalists related to their information work.

Source: El Sol de México