UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay has called on the authorities to investigate the double murder of journalist Pablo Morrugares and his police bodyguard in the city of Iguala, in Mexico’s Guerrero State, on 2 August.
“I condemn the murder of Pablo Morrugares and his bodyguard,” said the Director-General. “I call on the authorities to investigate this ruthless crime and bring its perpetrators to justice. Rule of law must be guaranteed to end criminals’ use of violence as censorship and protect press freedom, freedom of speech, and access to information.”
Morrugares, the Director of news website PM Noticias, was shot dead in a restaurant. His unnamed police bodyguard, provided by the Mexican Ministry of the Interior as part of its protection mechanism for human rights defenders and journalists, was also killed. The journalist had been receiving death threats since 2015 and had survived an assassination attempt in 2016.
UNESCO promotes the safety of journalists through global awareness-raising, capacity building and a range of actions, notably in the framework of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity.
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See also: UNESCO observatory of killed journalists
Media contact: Guilherme Canela De Souza Godoi, g.godoi@unesco.org