|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 11, 2007
|
For more information:
|
Letter on Behalf of Lydia Cacho
May 11, 2007
President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa
c/o Embassy of Mexico in the United States of America
1911 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20006
Dear President Calderón:
We are writing on behalf of the International Women’s Media Foundation to express our alarm concerning Mexican journalist Lydia Cacho.
Cacho’s car was sabotaged May 8. Cacho was also threatened earlier this month when she testified at the trial of Succar Kuri, a pedophile about whom she has written and at whose trial she was testifying. During the trial, Kuri’s lawyer attacked Cacho for writing her book, The Devils of Eden. Kuri complained that he was in jail because of Cacho and that he would do away with her.
Cacho’s advocacy work and investigative journalism have drawn attention to the rights of women and children in Mexico. In particular, she is the founder and director of the Centro Integral de Atencion a las Mujeres in Cancun, a crisis center and shelter for victims of sex crimes and gender-based violence. In standing up for women, Cacho has put her life on the line and has endured death threats and rape.
With the recent increase in such threats to Cacho and other journalists, we are alarmed at the restrictions on free expression and press freedom in Mexico. All viewpoints should be allowed to be expressed in the media without force or coercion from authorities. We urge you to investigate the criminal network of pedophiles such as Succar Kuri, so that justice will be done and so that courageous journalists like Lydia Cacho will be able to practice their profession without threats from criminals.
As a network of thousands of women and men in the media around the world who are supporters of a worldwide free press, we respectfully ask you to intervene to ensure that Cacho – who was simply engaged in carrying out her professional work – is protected and not further threatened. By using your power to ensure that justice is done in this case, you will take a strong step toward preserving a free and independent press in Mexico.
Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
Eleanor Clift, co-chair
Liza Gross, co-chair
cc: Embassy of the United States of America in Mexico
Paseo de la Reforma 305
Col. Cuauhtemoc
06500 Mexico, D.F.
###
]