In Mexico, Impunity Prevails for Attacks on Journalists, Says Article 19 Dylan Baddour - Journalism in the Americas
go to original July 17, 2014

A new report by press advocacy organization Article 19 - Mexico attributed a continuing trend of attacks against journalists to the Mexican government’s routine failure to prosecute attackers.

It said that attacks on the Mexican press this year were characterized by chronic repetition and government inaction.

“There is no punishment for those who attack journalists or for public servants whose inaction or negligence permits attackers to continue without sanction while attacks meant to silence the press continue to increase,” the report said.

Mexico is notoriously dangerous for journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists ranked it seventh, behind Afghanistan, in a list of nations where murders of journalists go unpunished.

In 2012, Mexico enacted bold laws to protect media from violence, including pledging to provide threatened journalists with bodyguards, security cameras, bulletproof vests and armored cars, but the government has still struggled to reign in attacks. A recent UNESCO report called Mexico’s initiative just moderately effective.

Article 19 said it documented at least 10 cases since April in which journalists who were attacked sought governmental help and suffered repeated aggression anyway.

Addressing the UN Human Rights Council last month, Article 19 criticized the efficacy of government protection.

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