Mexican authorities said a journalist was shot dead in the south of the country on Monday afternoon, shortly after he posted on Facebook about the disappearance of 43 Mexican students from a neighboring area eight years ago.
The local Attorney General’s Office said journalist Freddy Roman, who posted his investigations on various social media accounts and contributed to a local newspaper, was found dead in his car in Chilpancingo, Guerrero’s state capital.
A few hours before his death, Roman posted a lengthy Facebook post titled “Treason Crime Without Blaming the President” in which he recounted a meeting that took place between 4 Mexican officials at the time of the disappearance of the students, including former Attorney General Jesús Murillo Karam.
The case concerns a group of students from a teacher training school in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero, who, on the night of September 26/27, 2014, traveled to the nearby city of Iguala to “request” buses to travel to the capital. Mexico, to participate in the demonstration.
The investigation revealed that the police arrested 43 young men, including them, in connection with the Guerrero Onidos drug smuggling gang, then shot them and burned their bodies in a landfill for reasons that are still not clear. The remains of more than 3 of them have not been identified.
It was not immediately clear whether Roman’s latest publication on the missing students or his other journalistic investigations played a role in his death.
Twelve journalists have been killed in Mexico this year, according to the government, and Reporters Without Borders reported nine of them. Some media give the number 15 or 16.
About 150 journalists have been killed since 2000, according to Reporters Without Borders, making Mexico one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists. Most of these murders go unpunished.
Source: AFP.