MEXICO CITY (AFP) – A journalist was shot dead in southern Mexico on Monday (August 22) afternoon after he posted online the news that 43 students from a nearby area had gone missing eight years ago. has been done, officials said.
Freddie Roman, who has published work on various social media pages and contributed to local newspapers, was found dead in his car in the city of Chilpancingo, the state capital of Guerrero, the local prosecutor’s office said Monday night. said.
The disappearance of 43 Guerrero students in 2014 is considered one of the worst human rights disasters in Mexican history, after they hijacked a bus en route to a protest.
The case was thrust back into the spotlight last week when the Truth Commission identified the atrocity as a “state crime” involving agents from various agencies.
Hours before his death, Roman published a lengthy Facebook post titled “National Crime Without Prosecuting Boss,” in which he accused former Attorney General Jesus Murillo Callum at the time of the disappearance of students. He mentioned the alleged meeting between the four officials.
Murillo Karam was arrested last week after a Truth Commission report was released, and dozens of warrants were issued against suspects, including military personnel, police officers and cartel members.
It was not immediately clear whether Roman’s recent posts about missing students or his other journalism work played a role in his death.
According to the government, 12 journalists have been killed in Mexico so far this year, with the NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) citing nine. Some media put this number at 15 or 16.
About 150 journalists have been killed since 2000, according to RSF, making Mexico one of the most dangerous countries in the world for news outlets.
Most of these murders go unpunished.
