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Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
CPJ condemns murder of Guatemalan journalist
New York, May 12, 2008--The Committee to Protect Journalists
condemns the murder of Jorge Mérida Pérez, a correspondent in
Quetzatenango province for the national Guatemalan daily Prensa
Libre. Mérida was shot to death in his home on Saturday afternoon.
CPJ calls on the Guatemalan authorities to begin an immediate,
thorough investigation into this brutal killing.
While a motive has yet to be confirmed, early indications are that
the killing may have been linked to Mérida's journalism.
At 4 p.m. on Saturday, at least one unidentified individual stormed
into the journalist's home in Coatepeque, 130 miles (210
kilometers) southwest of Guatemala City, according to press reports
and CPJ interviews. Mérida, 40, who was working at his computer at
the time of the attack, was shot four times in the head, Prensa
Libre reported. His 14-year-old son was in the house but was not
injured.
"It is shocking that a journalist can be killed in this matter,"
said Carlos Lauría, CPJ's senior Americas program coordinator. "The
gunman clearly had no fear; responsibility falls on the Guatemalan
government to solve this crime and produce assurances that
journalists cannot be murdered with impunity."
According to Miguel Ángel Méndez, Prensa Libre's deputy director,
the journalist had reported recently on local drug trafficking and
government corruption.
In the weeks prior to his death, Mérida told colleagues and family
members that he had received multiple threats, Méndez told CPJ. The
journalist did not seem overly concerned with the threats and did
not give any more details, according to Méndez. Brenda Dery Muñoz,
a local prosecutor for crimes related to drug trafficking, told CPJ
that on at least one occasion Mérida and other reporters were
threatened after covering a recent police seizure of 440 lbs. (200
kilograms) of cocaine.
According to Méndez, national authorities, who are in charge of the
investigation, are focusing on Mérida's work as the main motive
behind his killing. Rosa Salazar Marroquín, the spokeswoman for the
office of the special prosecutor for crimes against journalists and
union members, told CPJ that the prosecutor is investigating links
between Mérida's death and his journalism.
© 2008 Committee to Protect Journalists. www.cpj.org E-mail:
info@cpj.org
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