(PFC/IFEX) – A suspect, together with his companion, have been arrested for the murder of journalist Roberto Mora. The alleged murderer, Mario Medina, a 23-year-old citizen of the United States, and his companion were presented to the press on 28 March 2004. On 29 March, Medina claimed he had been tortured. Although a judge summoned […]
(PFC/IFEX) – A suspect, together with his companion, have been arrested for the murder of journalist Roberto Mora. The alleged murderer, Mario Medina, a 23-year-old citizen of the United States, and his companion were presented to the press on 28 March 2004. On 29 March, Medina claimed he had been tortured. Although a judge summoned the officials accused by Medina, they failed to appear for questioning.
Mora, who was the editorial director of “El Mañana” newspaper, was stabbed about 20 times on the morning of 19 March as he was entering his home in Nuevo Laredo after returning from work. Municipal police officers found his body.
The United States Embassy protested Medina’s “apparent mistreatment” and the fact that he did not have access to a lawyer or a consular representative when he confessed to the crime. Medina and his companion, who are a gay couple, were Mora’s neighbours and have said they are being implicated in the murder because of their sexual preferences.
In an attempt to give the impression that Mora’s murder was a crime of passion, Stereo 91, a Nuevo Laredo radio station, reported that Mora was gay and cited jealousy as the motive for the murder, alleging that an Interior Ministry investigation was the source of the information. The Interior Ministry strongly rejected the allegation, however, and both the radio station and reporter Gabriel Alós could face slander charges for the report. Alós has appeared in a photograph with Nuevo Laredo’s mayor, with whom both Mora and his newspaper, “El Mañana”, had recently had a disagreement.
Mora, who was married and the father of a seven-year-old son, was known in northeastern Mexico as a journalist who conducted himself with honesty and in a professional manner.
Meanwhile, local and international journalists and civic organisations have created a “commission to shed light on Roberto Mora’s murder”. The commission will follow the investigation of the Mora case and make public statements regarding the authorities’ efforts to solve the crime.
For additional information on the Mora case, see:
www.cepet.org/rj1.htm
portal-pfc.org/index.php?seccion=perseguidos/2004/027.html
This alert has been prepared by PFC with information from the Centre for Journalism and Public Ethics (Centro de Periodismo y Ética Pública, CEPET) in México.