This editor of a Mexican newspaper has been found dead with his body showing signs of torture after he spent over a decade exposing criminals in the world’s most dangerous country for journalists.
The editor of online news outlet Guerrero al Instante, Rogelio Barragan Perez, 47, was found murdered inside a vehicle in the streets of the colony Benito Juarez, in the municipality of Zacatepec, in the central Mexican state of Morelos.
The vehicle was found abandoned and the police were called to the scene and they are working with the Morelos general prosecution in the investigation.
According to local media outlet El Universal, Perez’s body was found with injuries to his face and brain and has been identified by the victim’s mother. Guerrero al Instante have confirmed their editor’s death on social media and the motives behind the murder are unclear.
According to Journalists Without Borders (Reporteros Sin Fronteras), Mexico is the most dangerous country for journalists in the world. Balbina Flores, a representative from the organisation, told local media that “he had been working for more than ten years in journalism, especially in crime stories” and added that he was a journalist who faced risks.
She added: “We will keep investigating more to know if his murder has something to do with his work as a journalist.”
During the current administration, that started on 1st December 2018, more than ten journalists have been reportedly killed in Mexico, and all of the murders were reportedly linked with their work as journalists.
Flores said: “It has been a terrible year for the free press. We hoped this situation would not go on during this administration, but we have seen that it was not like this, that it has taken a step back.”
Freedom of expression organisation Articulo 19 report 128 journalists have been murdered in Mexico since 2000 because of their work, with 118 men and 10 women.
No arrests have been reported in Perez’s death. The cause of the injuries to his head are currently unclear.
