Article Author:
Reuters
MEXICO CITY, Aug. 18 – This year has been the deadliest on record for Mexican journalists, with 18 dead so far, human rights group Article 19 said in a report on Thursday.
Of the 18 fatalities, so far Article 19 has identified a potential link to their activities in nine of his cases, said Leopold, the organization's regional director. Maldonado told Reuters.
"2022 could be the worst year for the press in a century," he said.
The death toll for 2022 has already surpassed his 13 recorded murders last year and his 14 recorded in 2020 in just over eight months. increase. Case for 2021 and 2020, it said.
Meanwhile, the organization recorded a total of 331 attacks against journalists in the first half of the year, most of which involved intimidation and harassment. Some have been threatened, and there have been some cases of suspected abuse of public power.
This represents a 51.83% increase compared to the first half of 2018 when former President Enrique Peña Nieto was in power, the company said.
Furthermore, Article 19 states that in the first half of the year he had four journalists deported from the country and two into exile.
"The role played by the authorities in violence against the media is a clear violation of the State's obligation to ensure the rights and integrity of journalists and the media," the report added.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has repeatedly said his government has not attacked the media and that recent murders have been attributed to criminal gangs.
Article 19 claimed the state was behind most of the attacks on the media, with 128 cases recorded in the first six months. This is a "consistent trend since 2007," the group said.