Sinaloa Press Law 'Worthy of an Authoritarian State' Will Be Repealed Martin Duran - VICE News
go to original August 19, 2014

Lawmakers in the Mexican state of Sinaloa are expected to backtrack on some controversial legislation this week. The law in question prohibits journalists from photographing, videoing or recording audio at crime scenes, forcing them to rely on official government accounts. After an outpouring of public disapproval and media protest, however, congressional leaders have promised it will be repealed, just as soon as they return from vacation.

The law, which was approved unanimously by the state congress on July 30 — but which some representatives have now admitted they didn't read in full — states that only crime scene information made available exclusively through the attorney general's office may be used in news accounts. It also bars officials from speaking to or giving statements to journalists.

Authorities argued that the measure was necessary so that Sinaloa can comply with federal-level judicial reforms requiring transparent hearings and investigations. The presence of news reporters could alter a crime scene or hinder an investigation, the state argued.

Local citizens and media outlets dubbed the disputed article of the Statutory Law for the Attorney General's Office, which is part of a wider package of related state reforms, the "gag law." Press rights groups denounced the measure, particularly since Sinaloa is one of the most crime-ridden states in Mexico and the traditional base of the powerful Sinaloa cartel.

Read the rest at VICE News

Photo by Enrique Serrato

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