HOMICIDE
Any action that deprives an individual of his or her life. Considered to be the most extreme form of censorship. From 2007 to 2014, ARTICLE19 has documented 64 homicides in Mexico.
Any action by which a message is directly or indirectly issued verbally, in writing, or otherwise to journalists, communicators, editors, directors or communications media with the objective of procuring self-censorship or direct or indirect censorship. From 2007 to 2014, ARTICLE19 has documented 289 threats to communicators and media.
Any action that deprives an individual of his or her life. Considered to be the most extreme form of censorship. From 2007 to 2014, ARTICLE19 has documented 64 homicides in Mexico.
Actions by which a media journalist, communicator, editor, or director stands accused by the courts due to the content of a publication or any other form of media speech with the objective of procuring self-censorship or to discredit said content, causing him or her to run the risk of being sanctioned with prison sentences or the payment of fines. From 2007 to 2014, ARTICLE19 has documented 22 cases of criminal charges filed against communicators for slander or libel.
Action that brings about a lack of information concerning the whereabouts of a media journalist, editor, director or worker who has vanished without a trace, leaving behind evidence of violence committed by government agents either directly or through tolerance or acquiescence. From 2007 to 2014, ARTICLE19 has documented 14 disappearances.
A person who finds themselves compelled to flee their city or community as a consequence of a serious violation of their personal safety or threats to the practice of their profession. From 2007 to 2014, ARTICLE19 has documented the emigration of 33 communicators for these reasons.
When the arrest of an individual by an officer of the law lacks legal grounds and is in violation of his or her human rights, it is considered illegal and arbitrary. From 2007 to 2014, ARTICLE19 has documented 152 arbitrary arrests of communicators.
Forms of aggression that seek to cause some kind of physical or material damage to the journalist or media. From 2007 to 2014, ARTICLE19 has documented 813 physical aggressions against communicators or media. This is the form of violence most frequently committed against the press.
Actions that seek to influence the professional labor, editorial profile or line of investigation of the media journalist, communicator, editor, director, or worker in order to prevent him or her from disseminating specific information. From 2007 to 2014, ARTICLE19 has documented 257 acts of intimidation or pressure against the press.
Action by which an individual deprives another person of their liberty without seeking profit (unlike kidnapping, where profit is involved) with the objective of compelling him or her to act or to stop acting a certain way; in the case of journalists, to prevent them from publishing information. From 2007 to 2014, ARTICLE19 has documented 36 cases of this form of aggression.
Any intentional act where physical or mental suffering is inflicted on a person with the objective of advancing a criminal investigation, as a means of intimidation, as personal punishment, as a preventive measure, as a prison sentence or with any other objective either by government agents or with their tolerance or acquiescence. In 2014, ARTICLE19 documented the case of journalist Edwin Canché, a victim of torture by the mayor and municipal police force of Seyé, Yucatán.
Edwin Canché Pech, correspondent of Grupo Megamedia at the newspaper Diario de Yucatán, was arbitrarily arrested and tortured for covering an accident that took place on January 2, 2014. The driver, Almícar Couoh, a minor in a state of inebriation, was close to Ermilo Dzul Huchim.
Both the mayor and the head of the Seyé municipal police force, Jesús Chuc Aldana, participated in physical aggressions against the journalist.
Numerous residents of Seyé gathered outside the municipal palace, demanding that Canché be set free. This release took place nearly one hour after his arbitrary arrest.
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Edwin Canché provided media coverage of a clash between supporters of the PAN and PRI political parties days before the elections held on May 16, 2010 in San Pedro Holactún. José Guadalupe Collí Tec, a member of the inner circle of Municipal President Ermilo Dzul Huchim, photographs and threatens the journalist.
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Edwin Canché recognizes his aggressor as José Guadalupe Collí Tec, a.k.a. “Pedazo”. He files a criminal complaint, however, the State Attorney General of Justice's office fails to provide Canché with a copy of the corresponding act. Months later, he is notified that his denunciation was deemed groundless and his case closed.
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Amílcar Couoh, a minor and a member of the inner circle of the Municipal President of Seyé, crashes into the stone wall of a residence belonging to Amanda Pech. Couoh is in an inebriated state and driving a SUV belonging to Sergio Dzul Huchim, the magistrate's brother.
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After the journalist photographs the mayor, Dzul orders police officers to arrest him. Minutes later, a municipal patrol car arrives at the scene. An officer beats Edwin Canché while indicating to him that he cannot stay there and that he has to accompany him. Edwin refuses and is forced into the patrol car. When he requests the motive for his arrest, the police officers respond that he is not being placed under arrest, yet insist that he cannot abandon the vehicle.
Canché is transferred to the municipal palace, where Ermilo Dzul awaits him. Canché's testimony describes the mayor ordering Chief of Municipal Police Juan Manuel Chuc Aldana1 to give him a beating. Before having his radio taken, Edwin succeeds in alerting his brother, Bartolomé, to the attack.
Bartolomé Canché heads for the municipal palace, accompanied by a group of approximately 30 people, in order to demand the release of Edwin Canché.
Ermilo Dzul requests back-up from the state Secretariat of Public Safety, arguing that the crowd intends to overrun the palace.
The mayor and five police officers, including Juan Manuel Chuc, beat Canché and recriminate him for his journalistic endeavors. Stripping him of his belongings, they erase the photographs and videos the journalist had taken of the accident and the attack.
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After being tortured and receiving threats, Edwin Canché is released. He presents injuries to his ribs as a consequence of the assault.
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Edwin Canché files a complaint regarding these events with the Attorney General of Yucatán's Office, based in Mérida. Civil society and local media demand that the FEADLE or Special Office of the Attorney General for Crimes against Freedom of Speech1 assume jurisdiction over the case.
Around 370 residents of Seyé request that the State Congress remove Mayor Ermilo Dzul Huchim from office due to administrative irregularities, disregard for the law, and human rights violations experienced by citizens of the town.
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FEADLE opens preliminary case file 031/FEADLE/2014, dedicated to investigating the events that took place on January 1 of that same year against journalist Edwin Canché Pech.
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Edwin Artemio de la Cruz Canché Pech appears before the FEADLE to give a statement. In said statement, he expresses his desire to join the Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists1, given his own assessment that he and his relatives found themselves in a latent risk situation.
Ermilo Dzul and Jesús Chuc Aldana declare in writing that the journalist Edwin Canché Pech was "agitating a crowd of people" where the automobile accident that triggered the attack took place. They argue that he was arrested in order to "calm him down".
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The Case Reception and Immediate Response Unit authorizes the incorporation of Edwin Canché into the Mechanism of Protection for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists under ordinary procedures.
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The FEADLE recommends criminal charges be filed against Municipal President Ermilo Dzul Huchim and the police officers Juan Manuel Chuc Aldana, Felipe Antonio Tut Chalé alias “El Soldado”, Fernando Chuc Pech alias “El Chulazo”, Andrés Díaz Kantun, and Adrián Vázquez Pantoja as likely perpetrators of the crimes of abuse of authority and physical injury.
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The file is housed at the Fifth District Court of the State of Yucatán, located in Mérida, after having been registered as penal case 30/2014.
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The Fifth District Judge issues a warrant for the arrest of the aforementioned municipal police officers as likely perpetrators of the crime of abuse of authority, as well as an order that these same persons appear before the court and answer to charges of physical injury. In the case of Mayor Ermilo Dzul Huchim, it is decided that no judicial warrant be issued given that first, a declaration of jurisdiction must be issued in order to try him in penal court because —in his opinion— as mayor, he possesses constitutional immunity.
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Edwin Canché Pech presents a written statement before the Fifth District Court requesting special assistance in the aforementioned penal case in order to defend his rights as the victim of a crime, naming as legal representatives and/or consultants various members of the organizations ARTICLE19 and the Team of Indignation: Promotion and Defense of Human Rights1. The Judge, in an agreement dated May 27, recognizes and admits said special assistance.
Judicial arrest warrants are served against the municipal police officers who committed the assault. They provide opening statements and are released that same day, at approximately 11:45 PM, having paid their bail. The Judge presiding over this case determines that the charges of abuse of authority and personal injury are not to be deemed serious. He therefore orders that the suspects be released on bail, to be set in the amount of $7,400.00 to $8,333.00 pesos for each of the defendants.
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The Judge presiding over this case exercises expanded constitutional powers to hand down formal prison sentences against the municipal police officers who committed the assault: Juan Manuel Chuc Aldana, Felipe Antonio Tut Chale, Fernando Chuc Pech, Andrés Díaz Kantún, and Adrián Vázquez Pantoja, considering them moreover to be probable perpetrators of the crime of abuse of authority. Likewise, a decree is issued determining that they will stand trial as probable perpetrators of the crime of personal injury.
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Given the determination of probable responsibility against the aforementioned police officers of Seyé for the crimes of abuse of authority and personal injury, a motion is filed to the effect that said crimes be reclassified as torture, given the gravity of the event that actually took place against Edwin Canché Pech.
This indirect human rights trial, registered under case number 52/2014, is substantiated before the Unitary Tribunal of the 31st Circuit Court, the same that awarded constitutional protection on December 12, 2014. However, the same Federal Court places in doubt the status of Edwin Canché Pech as a journalist, requesting that he accredit his profession with documentation such as an ID or professional contract.
Given the situation, a motion to review is filed to dispute the decision, given that it goes against international standards; accreditation should not be required of the journalist, because the career of journalism is carried out to exercise the right to freedom of speech and information; obligatory unionization being prohibited as well; otherwise, it would constitute an illegitimate restriction disproportionate to the practice of said rights.
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The Meeting of the Governing Council of the Mechanism of Protection awards protective measures to Edwin Canché Pech. These turn out to be insufficient, given that they do not translate into effective protection for the journalist. In this regard, a request for review is presented before the National Executive Committee of the Mechanism requesting that they reevaluate and issue new measures. However, on November 27, 2014, the Government Council reinstates the protective measures that were granted previously.
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Edwin Canché Pech becomes aware of harassment and persecution on the part of José Guadalupe Colli Tec, Councilor of Public Works in the town of Seyé, who had previously assaulted the journalist in 2010.
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A formal statement is presented before Local Congress to request a declaration of origin be issued against the Mayor of Seyé, Ermilo Dzul Huchim in order to initiate a procedure to determine impeachment, thus allowing penal proceedings to be carried out as a result of his likely responsibility for the crimes committed against Edwin Canché Pech.
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Once the request for a review filed against the resolution registered under case number 44/2015 casting doubt on the profession of Edwin Canché as a journalist is located, a petition is presented before the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation requesting that it exercise its faculty of jurisdiction under the criteria of importance and transcendence, given the relevance of the issue at hand.
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Minister José Ramón Cossío Díaz1 decides to file a request for jurisdiction on his own and awaits drafting of said project in order to submit it to the consideration of the remaining Ministers of the First Order of the Supreme Court, in order to determine whether, in the end, they will assume jurisdiction over the case.
The criminal trial is still in process.
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Edwin Canché Pech, correspondent of Grupo Megamedia at the newspaper Diario de Yucatán, was arbitrarily arrested and tortured for covering an accident that took place on January 2, 2014. The driver, Almícar Couoh, a minor in a state of inebriation, was close to Ermilo Dzul Huchim.
Both the mayor and the head of the Seyé municipal police force, Jesús Chuc Aldana, participated in physical aggressions against the journalist.
Numerous residents of Seyé gathered outside the municipal palace, demanding that Canché be set free. This release took place nearly one hour after his arbitrary arrest.
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Edwin Canché provided media coverage of a clash between supporters of the PAN and PRI political parties days before the elections held on May 16, 2010 in San Pedro Holactún. José Guadalupe Collí Tec, a member of the inner circle of Municipal President Ermilo Dzul Huchim, photographs and threatens the journalist.
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Edwin Canché recognizes his aggressor as José Guadalupe Collí Tec, a.k.a. “Pedazo”. He files a criminal complaint, however, the State Attorney General of Justice's office fails to provide Canché with a copy of the corresponding act. Months later, he is notified that his denunciation was deemed groundless and his case closed.
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Amílcar Couoh, a minor and a member of the inner circle of the Municipal President of Seyé, crashes into the stone wall of a residence belonging to Amanda Pech. Couoh is in an inebriated state and driving a SUV belonging to Sergio Dzul Huchim, the magistrate's brother.
[clef] => [line] => 1 [feat] => 0 [date] => 2015-06-04 00:00:23 [adre] => january-1-2014-400-pm [fullAdre] => en/event/january-1-2014-400-pm.html [plugs] => Array ( [scene] => Array ( [0] => 4 ) [media] => Media Object ( [iden] => 211 [cTitu] => [titu] => [cDesc] => [desc] => [target] => even-media [formats] => [redims] => [files] => [feat] => [clef] => [line] => 1 ) ) [posi] => 108 )Edwin Canché visits the domicile of Amanda Pech in order to cover the story. Ermilo Dzul Huchim 1 is present at the time.
After the journalist photographs the mayor, Dzul orders police officers to arrest him. Minutes later, a municipal patrol car arrives at the scene. An officer beats Edwin Canché while indicating to him that he cannot stay there and that he has to accompany him. Edwin refuses and is forced into the patrol car. When he requests the motive for his arrest, the police officers respond that he is not being placed under arrest, yet insist that he cannot abandon the vehicle.
Canché is transferred to the municipal palace, where Ermilo Dzul awaits him. Canché's testimony describes the mayor ordering Chief of Municipal Police Juan Manuel Chuc Aldana1 to give him a beating. Before having his radio taken, Edwin succeeds in alerting his brother, Bartolomé, to the attack.
Bartolomé Canché heads for the municipal palace, accompanied by a group of approximately 30 people, in order to demand the release of Edwin Canché.
Ermilo Dzul requests back-up from the state Secretariat of Public Safety, arguing that the crowd intends to overrun the palace.
The mayor and five police officers, including Juan Manuel Chuc, beat Canché and recriminate him for his journalistic endeavors. Stripping him of his belongings, they erase the photographs and videos the journalist had taken of the accident and the attack.
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After being tortured and receiving threats, Edwin Canché is released. He presents injuries to his ribs as a consequence of the assault.
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Edwin Canché files a complaint regarding these events with the Attorney General of Yucatán's Office, based in Mérida. Civil society and local media demand that the FEADLE or Special Office of the Attorney General for Crimes against Freedom of Speech1 assume jurisdiction over the case.
Around 370 residents of Seyé request that the State Congress remove Mayor Ermilo Dzul Huchim from office due to administrative irregularities, disregard for the law, and human rights violations experienced by citizens of the town.
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FEADLE opens preliminary case file 031/FEADLE/2014, dedicated to investigating the events that took place on January 1 of that same year against journalist Edwin Canché Pech.
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Edwin Artemio de la Cruz Canché Pech appears before the FEADLE to give a statement. In said statement, he expresses his desire to join the Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists1, given his own assessment that he and his relatives found themselves in a latent risk situation.
Ermilo Dzul and Jesús Chuc Aldana declare in writing that the journalist Edwin Canché Pech was "agitating a crowd of people" where the automobile accident that triggered the attack took place. They argue that he was arrested in order to "calm him down".
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The Case Reception and Immediate Response Unit authorizes the incorporation of Edwin Canché into the Mechanism of Protection for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists under ordinary procedures.
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The FEADLE recommends criminal charges be filed against Municipal President Ermilo Dzul Huchim and the police officers Juan Manuel Chuc Aldana, Felipe Antonio Tut Chalé alias “El Soldado”, Fernando Chuc Pech alias “El Chulazo”, Andrés Díaz Kantun, and Adrián Vázquez Pantoja as likely perpetrators of the crimes of abuse of authority and physical injury.
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The file is housed at the Fifth District Court of the State of Yucatán, located in Mérida, after having been registered as penal case 30/2014.
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The Fifth District Judge issues a warrant for the arrest of the aforementioned municipal police officers as likely perpetrators of the crime of abuse of authority, as well as an order that these same persons appear before the court and answer to charges of physical injury. In the case of Mayor Ermilo Dzul Huchim, it is decided that no judicial warrant be issued given that first, a declaration of jurisdiction must be issued in order to try him in penal court because —in his opinion— as mayor, he possesses constitutional immunity.
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Edwin Canché Pech presents a written statement before the Fifth District Court requesting special assistance in the aforementioned penal case in order to defend his rights as the victim of a crime, naming as legal representatives and/or consultants various members of the organizations ARTICLE19 and the Team of Indignation: Promotion and Defense of Human Rights1. The Judge, in an agreement dated May 27, recognizes and admits said special assistance.
Judicial arrest warrants are served against the municipal police officers who committed the assault. They provide opening statements and are released that same day, at approximately 11:45 PM, having paid their bail. The Judge presiding over this case determines that the charges of abuse of authority and personal injury are not to be deemed serious. He therefore orders that the suspects be released on bail, to be set in the amount of $7,400.00 to $8,333.00 pesos for each of the defendants.
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The Judge presiding over this case exercises expanded constitutional powers to hand down formal prison sentences against the municipal police officers who committed the assault: Juan Manuel Chuc Aldana, Felipe Antonio Tut Chale, Fernando Chuc Pech, Andrés Díaz Kantún, and Adrián Vázquez Pantoja, considering them moreover to be probable perpetrators of the crime of abuse of authority. Likewise, a decree is issued determining that they will stand trial as probable perpetrators of the crime of personal injury.
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Given the determination of probable responsibility against the aforementioned police officers of Seyé for the crimes of abuse of authority and personal injury, a motion is filed to the effect that said crimes be reclassified as torture, given the gravity of the event that actually took place against Edwin Canché Pech.
This indirect human rights trial, registered under case number 52/2014, is substantiated before the Unitary Tribunal of the 31st Circuit Court, the same that awarded constitutional protection on December 12, 2014. However, the same Federal Court places in doubt the status of Edwin Canché Pech as a journalist, requesting that he accredit his profession with documentation such as an ID or professional contract.
Given the situation, a motion to review is filed to dispute the decision, given that it goes against international standards; accreditation should not be required of the journalist, because the career of journalism is carried out to exercise the right to freedom of speech and information; obligatory unionization being prohibited as well; otherwise, it would constitute an illegitimate restriction disproportionate to the practice of said rights.
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The Meeting of the Governing Council of the Mechanism of Protection awards protective measures to Edwin Canché Pech. These turn out to be insufficient, given that they do not translate into effective protection for the journalist. In this regard, a request for review is presented before the National Executive Committee of the Mechanism requesting that they reevaluate and issue new measures. However, on November 27, 2014, the Government Council reinstates the protective measures that were granted previously.
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Edwin Canché Pech becomes aware of harassment and persecution on the part of José Guadalupe Colli Tec, Councilor of Public Works in the town of Seyé, who had previously assaulted the journalist in 2010.
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A formal statement is presented before Local Congress to request a declaration of origin be issued against the Mayor of Seyé, Ermilo Dzul Huchim in order to initiate a procedure to determine impeachment, thus allowing penal proceedings to be carried out as a result of his likely responsibility for the crimes committed against Edwin Canché Pech.
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Once the request for a review filed against the resolution registered under case number 44/2015 casting doubt on the profession of Edwin Canché as a journalist is located, a petition is presented before the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation requesting that it exercise its faculty of jurisdiction under the criteria of importance and transcendence, given the relevance of the issue at hand.
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Minister José Ramón Cossío Díaz1 decides to file a request for jurisdiction on his own and awaits drafting of said project in order to submit it to the consideration of the remaining Ministers of the First Order of the Supreme Court, in order to determine whether, in the end, they will assume jurisdiction over the case.
The criminal trial is still in process.
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0
Aguascalientes
7
Morelos
9
Baja California
0
Nayarit
2
Baja California Sur
3
Nuevo León
0
Campeche
16
Puebla
6
Chiapas
1
Querétaro
8
Chihuahua
42
Quintana Roo
3
Coahuila
2
San Luis Potosí
1
Colima
13
Sinaloa
85
Distrito Federal
5
Sonora
3
Durango
4
Tabasco
7
Estado de México
6
Tamaulipas
1
Guanajuato
0
Tlaxcala
28
Guerrero
41
Veracruz
1
Hidalgo
2
Yucatán
2
Jalisco
2
Zacatecas
4
Michoacán
63
203
60
During 2014, ARTICLE19 registered a total of 326 agresions against the press, a number only 99 victims above of the 227 that were registered during the first semester of 2015 Read here the complete 2014 report.
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Assess the types of violence involved in each case.
Any action by which a message is directly or indirectly issued verbally, in writing, or otherwise to journalists, communicators, editors, directors or communications media with the objective of procuring self-censorship or direct or indirect censorship. From 2007 to 2014, ARTICLE 19 has documented 289 threats to communicators and media.
Any action that deprives an individual of his or her life. Considered to be the most extreme form of censorship. From 2007 to 2014, ARTICLE19 has documented 64 homicides in Mexico.
Actions by which a media journalist, communicator, editor, or director stands accused by the courts due to the content of a publication or any other form of media with the objective of procuring self-censorship or to discredit said content, causing him or her to run the risk of being sanctioned with prison sentences or the payment of fines. From 2007 to 2014, ARTICLE 19 has documented 22 cases of criminal charges filed against communicators for slander or libel.
Action that brings about a lack of information concerning the whereabouts of a media journalist, editor, director or worker who has vanished without a trace, leaving behind evidence of violence committed by government agents either directly or through tolerance or acquiescence. From 2007 to 2014, ARTICLE 19 has documented 14 disappearances.
A person who finds themselves compelled to flee their city or community as a consequence of a serious violation of their personal safety or threats to the practice of their profession. From 2007 to 2014, ARTICLE 19 has documented the emigration of 33 communicators for these reasons.
When the arrest of an individual by an officer of the law lacks legal grounds and is in violation of his or her human rights, it is considered illegal and arbitrary. From 2007 to 2014, ARTICLE19 has documented 152 arbitrary arrests of communicators.
Forms of aggression that seek to cause some kind of physical or material damage to the journalist or media. From 2007 to 2014, ARTICLE 19 has documented 813 physical aggressions against communicators or media. This is the form of violence most frequently committed against the press.
Actions that seek to influence the professional labor, editorial profile or line of investigation of the media journalist, communicator, editor, director, or worker in order to prevent him or her from disseminating specific information. From 2007 to 2014, ARTICLE 19 has documented 257 acts of intimidation or pressure against the press.
Any intentional act where physical or mental suffering is inflicted on a person with the objective of advancing a criminal investigation, as a means of intimidation, as personal punishment, as a preventive measure, as a prison sentence or with any other objective either by government agents or with their tolerance or acquiescence. In 2014, ARTICLE 19 documented the case of journalist Edwin Canché, a victim of torture by the mayor and municipal police force of Seyé, Yucatán.
Action by which an individual deprives another person of their liberty without seeking profit (unlike kidnapping, where profit is involved) with the objective of compelling him or her to act or to stop acting a certain way; in the case of journalists, to prevent them from publishing information. From 2007 to 2014, ARTICLE 19 has documented 36 cases of this form of aggression.
Edwin Canché Pech, correspondent of Grupo Megamedia en the newspaper Diario de Yucatán, was arbitrarily arrested and tortured for covering an accident that took place on January 2, 2014. The driver, Almícar Couoh, a minor in a state of inebriation, was close to Ermilo Dzul Huchim.
Both the mayor and the head of the Seyé municipal police force, Jesús Chuc Aldana, participated in physical aggressions against the journalist.
Numerous residents of Seyé gathered outside the municipal palace, demanding that Canché be set free. This release took place nearly one hour after his arbitrary arrest.