10 May 2005
Alert
Journalist harassed, under house arrest during civil suit by Mexico's First Lady
Incident details
Olga Wornat journalist(s)"It is surprising and shocking that house arrest can be used in a civil and not criminal case," said RSF. "Would this step, unprecedented in Mexico, have been taken if the complainant wasn't the first lady?" the organisation asked.
"This case is not only a violation of free expression but also gives rise to a double standard in the justice system."
The Argentine journalist and writer is the author of an unauthorised biography of Marta Sahagún entitled "La Jefa," published in 2003, and a more recent work, "Crónicas malditas" [published in English as "Damned Chronicles from a Devastated Mexico"] investigating the presidential couple and their entourage.
In "Damned Chronicles from a Devastated Mexico", Wornat claimed that the First Lady's sons, particularly Manuel Bribiesca Sahagún, were involved in influence-peddling and illegally profiting from building sector contracts. She said that Bribiesca had a private jet worth one million dollars.
Marta Sahagún's personal secretary announced on 3 May 2005 that a suit was being filed against the journalist for "mental pain and suffering".
Justice Carlos Jiménez Mora, the federal civil litigations court judge hearing the case, admitted the claim on 6 May and placed Wornat under house arrest pending his decision.
Bribiesca, who denies Wornat's allegations, said on 8 May that he also intended to take her to court.
Wornat told RSF, "I have never been so afraid. I have been harassed for several days by people following me and watching me in the hotel where I live." The journalist added that her phone was being tapped.
Source:
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
47, rue Vivienne
75002 Paris
France
rsf (@) rsf.org
Phone: +33 1 44 83 84 84
Fax: +33 1 45 23 11 51
@rsf_rwb
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