13 Nov 11 | News and features
MURDERED 13 NOVEMBER 2008
José Armando Rodríguez Carreón, Reporter, “El Diario de Ciudad Juárez” — Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.
Join us in demanding justice for crime reporter José Armando Rodríguez Carreón, 40, who was shot at least eight times in a company-owned car parked inside his garage on 13 November 2008. His 8-year-old daughter, who was in the backseat, was uninjured. Rodríguez had recently written an article accusing the local prosecutor’s nephew of having links to drug traffickers. Earlier that year, as a result of threats to “tone it down,” Rodríguez was temporarily transferred to El Paso, Texas, for his safety. But on his return he insisted on resuming work without any special protection. He said, “The risks here are high and rising, and journalists are easy targets. But I can’t live in my house like a prisoner. I refuse to live in fear.”
In July 2009, the lead investigator on Rodriguez’s murder was shot to death. Less than a month later, his replacement was also murdered. Not one of the three cases has been solved. Drug-related violence has reportedly killed more than 35,000 in Mexico since the government launched an armed offensive against drug cartels five years ago. And as reported often by IFEX members, more journalists have been killed in Mexico than anywhere else in Latin America
International Day to End Impunity is on 23 November. Until that date, we will reveal a story each day of a journalist, writer or free expression advocate who was killed in the line of duty.
10 Nov 11 | News and features
MURDERED 10 November 2006
Editor and Owner, “El Despertar de la Costa” — Ixtapa, Mexico
Join us in demanding justice for Misael Tamayo Hernández. A security guard came across his naked body in a motel room in Zihuatanejo, a Pacific coastal resort town in the southern state of Guerrero on 10 November 2006. His body was found with his hands tied behind his back. Three small puncture marks on his arm suggested he may have been given a lethal injection. A preliminary autopsy concluded that he died from a massive heart attack.
The motive behind the murder is still unknown, but there are indications it may have been related to his family-run newspaper’s investigative reporting on organised crime, drug trafficking and local corruption. Colleagues and family members at the paper said Tamayo had received death threats a couple of months before his murder, but that he had not taken them seriously.
Take Action: Write a letter demanding justice for Misael Tamayo Hernández
International Day to End Impunity is on 23 November. Until that date, we will reveal a story each day of a journalist, writer or free expression advocate who was killed in the line of duty.
05 Nov 11 | News and features
MURDERED 5 NOVEMBER 2008
Reporter, “Expreso Matamoros”, Matamoros, Mexico
Join us in demanding justice Carlos Alberto Guajardo Romero, the 37-year-old left home to cover a confrontation between military forces and drug traffickers in Matamoros on 5 November 2010. His pickup was reportedly shot at least 20 times as he was heading for the Secretariat of Homeland Security to gather more information. National news reports said army officers had fired at the journalist’s unmarked truck mistaking him for a gunman involved in the shooting – part of a major operation targeting Antonio Ezequiel Cárdenas Guillén, the kingpin of the Gulf drug cartel. The army deployed 150 soldiers, three helicopters and 17 vehicles; besides Guajardo and Cárdenas, three soldiers and four other gang members were killed.
At the same time, the government announced a strategy to protect journalists from death threats from common criminals, drug cartels and even the authorities. But IFEX members strongly denounced the programme – having been devised and run entirely by government officials.
Take action and send a letter to the authorities demanding an immediate and open investigation into this case here
International Day to End Impunity is on 23 November. Until that date, we will reveal a story each day of a journalist, writer or free expression advocate who was killed in the line of duty.
05 Nov 11 | Events
Night of the Imprisoned Writer
Tuesday 15 November, 7.30pm (Doors at 7pm)
Venue: The Tabernacle, 34-35 Powis Square, London, W11 2AY
A unique performance evening to mark the 30th annual Day of the Imprisoned Writer, in association with ice&fire theatre company.
Hello Mr Miller, Hello Mr Pinter
Don’t miss your chance to see this special one-off performance in which the powerful words of persecuted writers from Mexico to Bahrain, from Kenya to Azerbaijan, have been woven together by award-winning playwright Sonja Linden and English PEN’s Cat Lucas. Directed by Christine Bacon and performed by Actors for Human Rights, ‘Hello…’ is both a moving celebration of PEN’s work on behalf of imprisoned and persecuted writers around the world and a concrete testament to the bravery of those writers who, often at great risk to themselves and their families, continue to speak out.
Stand Up For Writers In Prison
And because no-one speaks out quite like a comic, we’re delighted to be bringing you some of today’s finest acts to illustrate what freedom of speech is all about……
How to book
Tickets are £10 and all proceeds will go directly to English PEN’s Writers in Prison Programme.
To book, please click here: http://www.carnivalvillage.org.uk/all-events/night-of-the-imprisoned-writer/
English PEN’s Writers in Prison Programme would like to thank Richard and Elena Bridges for their invaluable support.
