Tijuana (April 23, 2004).- The first meeting to review files on the murder of journalist Hector Felix Miranda, was the objective this morning of representatives of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Baja California, and the Ministry of Foreign Relations of Mexico.
Felix Miranda, co-editor of the weekly Zeta, was murdered on April 20, 1988, in Tijuana, Baja California. Victoriano Medina Moreno and Antonio Vera Palestina were convicted for the murder as the actual killers, but nobody has been tried for plotting the crime. The IAPA investigated his case in 1995 and two years later brought it to the consideration of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), which assigned it case number 11.739.
On March 15, the Working Group between the Government of Mexico and IAPA was officially created, although they agreed to this step in October 2003 when representatives from both parties attended a hearing in Washington before the IACHR.
Based on recommendations made by the IACHR to the Mexican government in 1999, the objective of the Working Group is to review and analyze official investigations and legal proceedings on the murders of Felix Miranda and Victor Manuel Oropeza, columnist from Diario de Juárez newspaper, Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, killed on July 3, 1991.
The IACHR recommendations establish:
1. Conducting an earnest, complete, impartial and effective investigation to
determine the criminal responsibility of all those involved in the murder of
Hector Felix Miranda.
2. Conducting an earnest, complete, thorough and impartial investigation to
determine if there has been any cover-up or obstruction of justice related to
these crimes and their investigation; and if so, to assess all appropriate criminal,
administrative and/or disciplinary penalties.
3. Providing appropriate redress and compensation to the family members of Hector
Felix Miranda for the violations of his human rights set forth herein.
During the first meeting of the Working Group that also developed a schedule to follow up and review the files, the Mexican government was represented by María Teresa de Jesús Valadez Morales, Assistant Attorney General from the region, based in Tijuana, and Jorge Urbina, Assistant Case Director of the Ministry of Foreign Relations; and for the IAPA, Roberto Rock, El Universal, Mexico and Ricardo Trotti, Press Freedom director. Journalist Jesus Blancornelas, director of Zeta and attorney Francisco J. Ortiz Franco participated as part of the group.
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