Mexican federal authorities must fully investigate renewed anonymous death threats against prominent journalist and human rights activist Lydia Cacho and bring those responsible to justice, New York-based press freedom group Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has demanded.
"Mexican authorities must put an end to the continuous intimidation against one of Mexico's leading journalists, immediately investigate the threats, and bring the perpetrators to justice," said Carlos Lauría, CPJ's senior programme coordinator for the Americas. "Ignoring the plight of Cacho and other journalists who work in fear only perpetuates a cycle of violence, impunity and silence."
Cacho has faced legal harassment and multiple threats since a 2005 tangled case that sparked headlines and led to a criminal defamation suit, CPJ research shows. In 2009, the Inter American Commission on Human Rights called on Mexico to protect Cacho but threats continue. Drug-related violence has made Mexico one of the world's most dangerous countries for the press, according to CPJ research.
