WASHINGTON, Aug. 6, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Following is a statement from Emily Wilkins, president of the National Press
Club on the murder of veteran crime reporter Alejandro Martinez Noguez in Mexico Aug.
4.
"The killing of Alejandro Martinez Noguez is a tragedy for
his family, his colleagues and his county. WE mourn his loss. A
veteran crime reporter on the most dangerous beat in Mexico, Martinez has been under government
protection since his life was threatened in 2022. On Sunday
he was riding in a car with armed agents when he was shot and
killed by gunman in a passing car. The agents were wounded in the
assault. It is vital for the profession that his killers be found,
tried and sentenced. Sadly this is seldom the case for murders of
journalists in Mexico. Martinez
was killed in Guanajuato a region
marked by violent clashes between cartels.
"Mexico's government protection
program is cited in asylum cases by the U.S. Government as a
reason to deport Mexican journalists, who, the government argues in
court, will be protected by Mexico. Sadly this program has proven over the
years to be fatally ineffective. The Department of Homeland
Security tried unsuccessfully to use this argument to deport
journalist Emilio Gutierrez Soto in
a case the National Press Club helped fight in court. The
Immigration judge accepted the government's argument but was
overturned by the U.S. Bureau of Immigration Appeals. Gutierrez Soto was granted asylum earlier this
year in a landmark case that lasted 15 years.
"Martinez death follows that of journalist Victor Morales who was killed in Chiapas
state June 28. There have been no
arrests in Morales case."
Founded in 1908, the National Press Club is the world's leading
professional organization for journalists. With 3,000 members
representing nearly every major news organization, the Club is a
leading voice for press freedom in the U.S. and worldwide.
Contact: Bill McCarren,
202-662-7534 for the National Press Club
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SOURCE National Press Club