Guerrero: Journalist Pablo Morrugares Murdered with his Guard in Iguala

© Quadratín

On August 2nd, journalist Pablo Morrugares Parraguirre was shot dead in Iguala, Guerrero while he was in a restaurant with his security guard.

The events happened when a group of armed men fired, in a direct attack, against the journalist and the police officer who was serving as his guard. The director of the digital newspaper PM Noticias de Guerrero was the beneficiary of precautionary measures provided for in the Mechanism to Protect Journalists and Human Rights Defenders since 2015. In addition, in 2016, he and his wife were attacked by an armed group in Guerrero, which forced him to move out of the state for a time.

The Human Rights Commission of the State of Guerrero condemned the crime in a statement and demanded that the State Prosecutor’s Office “carry out an immediate and comprehensive investigation into the events, to find the whereabouts of the person or persons responsible for the crime.” Other organizations, such as Article 19, demanded that the Attorney General of the State of Guerrero “refrain from ruling out a priori that the homicide may be related to the journalistic profession.” For its part, the PM Noticias website reported: “We demand zero impunity from the authorities, we want justice for our colleague.”

The Mexican Association of Displaced and Attacked Journalists and the Federation of Latin American Journalists (FEPAL) stated that Pablo Morrugares “is the seventh press worker killed in Mexico in 2020. We express our condolences to family and colleagues and demand that the Mexican State put an end to violence and impunity against journalists.”

For more information in Spanish:

ARTICLE 19 documenta el homicidio del comunicador Pablo Morrugares en Guerrero(Article 19, 3 de agosto 2020)

Asesinan en Guerrero al periodista Pablo Morrugares (Animal Político, 2 de agosto 2020)

Asesinan al periodista Pablo Morrugares en Guerrero (Excelsior, 2 de agosto 2020)

Asesinan al periodista Pablo Morrugares en Iguala (Milenio, 2 de agosto 2020)

For more information from SIPAZ:

National/International: Global Witness Reports 212 Murders of Environmental Defenders in 2019 (August 4, 2020)

National/International: Smear Campaign against Journalist and Activist “Frida Guerrera”Revealed by Article 19 (July 24, 2020)

National/International: CSOs Warn CIDH about Situation of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists (July 21, 2020)

National / International: High-level dialogue on human rights resumes between Mexico and the European Union; OSC warn of the serious human rights crisis in Mexico (July 18, 2020)

Mexico: Articulo 19 Launches “Interrupted Message” Documentary on Risks Journalists Face (July 7, 2020)

National: Reform Of Law for Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists Debated in Context of Greater Vulnerability in Pandemic (May 26, 2020)