In a resolution adopted at its recent Midyear Meeting, the Association urged “the Attorney General’s Office and the police authorities to step up their efforts to solve these crimes and bring the responsible parties to justice.” It also asked the Supreme Court “to take up these cases without delay, under provisions appropriate for the proper and reasonable administration of justice.”
Mora Rodríguez was murdered on December 23, 2003 in circumstances yet to be determined.
Medina, a radio reporter, was killed on July 7, 2001 and three people have been arrested on suspicion of having murdered him or been accomplices in the crime and another two have been held as alleged masterminds of the murder.
During the IAPA’s meeting in Los Cabos, Mexico, in addition to Costa Rica the organization adopted resolutions on crimes against journalists in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Nicaragua and Peru, calling on the authorities in each country to pursue investigations into the crimes and bring the guilty to justice.
Specifically, the IAPA urged special attention to the following murder cases:
Argentina: José Luis Cabezas and Mario Bonino
Brazil: Reinaldo Coutinho, Manoel Leal de Oliveira, Edgar Lopes de Faria, Ronaldo Santana de Araújo, José Carlos Mesquita Maria Nilce Magalhães, Mário Eugênio Rafael de Oliveira, José Wellington Fernandes, Mário Coelho de Almeida Filho, Aristeu Guida da Silva, Tim Lopes, Domingos Sávio Brandão de Lima, Edgar Ribeiro Pereira de Oliveira, Nicanor Linhares Batista, Ivan Rocha, Nivanildo Barbosa Lima and Luís Antônio da Costa
Colombia: William Soto Cheng, Oscar Alberto Polanco, Jaime Garzón, José Emeterio Rivas, Gerardo Bedoya, Jairo Elías Márquez, Ernesto Acero Cadena, Flavio Bedoya Tovar, Pablo Emilio Mota Medina, Francisco Castro Menco, Gustavo Ruiz Cantillo, Álvaro Alonso Escobar, Elizabeth Obando, Mario Prada Díaz, Gimbler Perdomo and Luis Eduardo Alfonso
Guatemala: Jorge Carpio Nicolle
Mexico: Héctor Félix Miranda and Víctor Manuel Oropeza
Nicaragua: Carlos José Guadamuz Portillo
Peru: Antonio de la Torre Echeandía.
In its resolutions, the Association made reference to the IAPA-sponsored Declaration of Chapultepec, comprising 10 principles for free speech and press freedom, whose Principle No. 4 states, “Freedom of expression and of the press are severely limited by murder, terrorism, kidnapping, intimidation, the unjust imprisonment of journalists, the destruction of facilities, violence of any kind and impunity for perpetrators. Such acts must be investigated promptly and punished harshly.”
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