UNESCO chief urges probe into killing of journalist in MmMexicoMexico

Stop killing journalists. Photo: UNESCO

27 June 2016 – The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom today called for an investigation into the killing of journalist Zamira Esther Bautista in Ciudad Victoria, the capital of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.

“I condemn the murder of Zamira Esther Bautista,” Irina Bokova, the Director-General of UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said in a statement.

“In the interest of the rule of law, and to make sure that crime is not allowed to silence the voice of independent media, I call on the authorities to investigate this case and bring its perpetrators to trial,” she added.

Bautista, a former correspondent of local dailies La Verdad and El Mercurio, was a freelance journalist and teacher. She was shot on the morning of 20 June.

UNESCO’s chief regularly issues statements on the killing of media workers in line with Resolution 29 adopted by UNESCO Member States in 1997, entitled “Condemnation of Violence against Journalists.”

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