Media Workers Set to Open Shelter for Persecuted Journalists in Mexico Agence France-Presse
go to original July 30, 2016

Mexican protesters wear Ruben Espinosa masks, a Mexican journalist who was killed while in hiding, during a demonstration against impunity in Oaxaca, Mexico. (EFE)

When photojournalist Ruben Espinosa felt harassed by the authorities in eastern Mexico, he fled to the capital. Without protection, he was shot dead in a case still unsolved a year later.

Now, a group of journalists is about to open a secret shelter in Mexico City to protect colleagues like Espinosa in one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a reporter.

“It’s a house where we want them to have food, with all the basic services, where they are safe and they have psychological help,” Judith Calderon, president of the House of Rights of Journalists, told AFP.

Journalists who face threats can request government protection in Mexico, but the hideout will give another option for those who don’t trust the authorities, who sometimes are the tormentors.

The organization refused to reveal the shelter’s location for security reasons, but said that it will be able to house a dozen people when it opens in the coming weeks.

The group already has a waiting list.



“Colleagues feel safe because, for the first time, there’s a house to protect journalists” without having to ask for help from the government, Calderon said.

The House of Rights of Journalists was founded in 2010 by Mexican news media veterans to protect and advise their peers who are in mortal danger.

More than 90 journalists have been murdered and another 17 have disappeared in Mexico since 2000, according to Reporters Without Borders.

Read the rest at Gulf News

Related: A Year Without Justice: The Murder of Ruben Espinosa (teleSUR)

Related: Mexico Press Freedom: Former Coahuila Governor, Humberto Moreira Sues Professor Sergio Aguayo for Calling Him "Corrupt" (Mexico Voices)

Related: Impunity: The Beast That Keeps Killing Journalists in Mexico (teleSUR)

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