Columnist Fredid "Fredy" Roman was killed just after posting a column on the alleged involvement of local politicians in the disappearance of 43 students in 2014.
Roman's death follows the murders of at least three other Mexican journalists this month.
(Reuters)
A journalist has been shot dead in southern Mexico, authorities said, shortly after posting online about the disappearance eight years ago of 43 students from a nearby area.
Fredid Roman, who published his work on various social media pages and contributed to a local newspaper, was found dead in his car in the city of Chilpancingo, the capital of Guerrero state, the local prosecutor's office said Monday evening.
The case of the 43 students from Guerrero, who went missing in 2014 after commandeering a bus to head to a protest, is considered one of the worst human rights disasters in Mexican history.
The case was forced back into the spotlight last week when a truth commission branded the atrocity a "state crime" that involved agents of various institutions.
READ MORE:Mexico arrests ex-top prosecutor over disappearance of 43 students
Mexico arrests ex-attorney general Jesus Murillo, who oversaw highly criticised investigation into 2014 disappearance and execution of 43 students – local media pic.twitter.com/4pNMPQMB0f
Facebook post
A few hours before his death, Roman published a long Facebook post titled "State Crime Without Charging the Boss," in which he mentioned an alleged meeting between four officials at the time of the students' disappearance, including former attorney general Jesus Murillo Karam.
Murillo Karam was arrested after the publication of the truth commission report last week, while dozens of warrants were issued for suspects including military personnel, police officers and cartel members.
It was not immediately clear if Roman's recent post on the missing students or his other journalistic work played a role in his death.
READ MORE:Mexico commission blames military over 43 disappeared students
Twelve journalists have been killed in Mexico so far this year, according to the government, while the NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) lists nine. Some media outlets have put the figure at 15 or 16.
With about 150 journalists murdered since 2000, according to RSF, Mexico is considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world for the press.
Most of those murders remain unpunished.
Source: AFP
British Journalist Simon Clark explained his Financial Times story on the PTI's foreign funding.
Says the people who donated for a charity match didn't know where their money is headed.
Says under Pakistan's law no company can bankroll a political party but Abraaj did.
British Journalist Simon Clark of the Financial Times, who reported on the foreign funding of the PTI, has said that the people who donated for the charity cricket match did not know that their money was being used to fund a political party’s election campaign in Pakistan.
Talking during Geo News' programme, "Aaj Shazaib Khanzada Kay Sath" on Monday, Clark said: "When I told them about [their money going to] the PTI, they were astonished."
He said the guests at the chairty match knew that their money would be spent on "philanthropic ventures" but they did not know precisely which charity organisation or activity the match was raising funds for.
The British journalist said the PTI admitted that Arif Naqvi's company, Wootton Cricket Limited, sent $2.1 million to it. Of the total, $1.3 milion came from Naqvi's Abraaj Enterprise. "The overseas Pakistani citizens did not send this money," he explained.
He said that Sheikh [Mohamed bin Zayed] Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates donated $2 million to the Wootton Cricket, adding that Naqvi and his associates, in Abraaj emails, could be seen talking about sending $1.2 million out of $2 million to the PTI, while mentioning that the money was sent by a sheikh of the Abu Dhabi's royal family. The money was transferred to Pakistan via the bank account of Tariq Shaif and Insaf Trust.
It was clearly mentioned in the Abraaj emails that the money was meant for the PTI, Clark said. But the PTI denied that, saying it was not aware that Sheikh Al Nahyan provided funding for the party’s election campaign.
The investigative reporter said it was possible that the money collected in Wootton was used for some other purposes other than philanthropic ones.
He noted that under Pakistani law, no company is permitted to bankroll political parties.
"Secondly, as far as I know, Sheikh Al Nahyan is not a Pakistani citizen. And Naqvi sent $1.2 million from his money to Pakistan for the PTI. My story elaborates that the donations collected through a cricket match under the Wootton Cricket's events were channeled to the PTI by Abraaj," he said.
Clark said he had been investigating the matter for the last four-and-a-half years.
"[During this time], I have not come across evidence of any conspiracy against Naqvi. Instead, I have seen immense evidence of financial irregularities in Abraaj."
"I have presented these facts before my friends and have written a book on it. As a journalist, I am supposed to unearth the truth. There are multiple criminal and civil cases against Abraaj in the US. Dubai's financial regulators fined Abraaj. I have been a financial journalist for 22 years but I have not noticed a similar situation in any company."
Clark added that Abraaj was an investment company but Naqvi also used it to fund charitable activities.
"But Abraaj faced problems owing to investment. This was the reason for cases against Naqvi in the US. Abraaj collected funds from investors for investment purposes and possessed funds worth one billion dollars for building hospitals. Abraaj received money from different investors, and organisations, including the Bill Gates Foundation. That aside, the firm received funds from the US, British, and French governments as well."
"The Abraaj executives, however, spent this money on other expenditures like salaries and bonuses. I have complete documentary evidence regarding this," Clark asserted.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Tuesday with the family of Shireen Abu Akleh, a veteran journalist who was shot dead in May while covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for the Al Jazeera news outlet.
"Today I met with the family of slain Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, whose fearless journalism earned her the respect of audiences around the world. I expressed my deepest condolences and commitment to pursue accountability for her tragic killing," Blinken said on Twitter.
He also shared pictures of the meeting.
Abu Akleh, a 51-year-old Palestinian-American, was shot dead on May 11 while covering an Israeli military raid near the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
While Palestinian officials and Al Jazeera accused Israel of killing the reporter, Tel Aviv denied any responsibility.
Earlier in July, the family had harshly criticized the results of an investigation where the US avoided remarks that held Israel responsible for her killing.
"We, the family of Shireen Abu Akleh, write to express our grief, outrage and sense of betrayal concerning your administration’s abject response to the extrajudicial killing of our sister and aunt by Israeli forces on May 11, 2022, while on assignment in the occupied Palestinian city of Jenin in the West Bank," family members said in a long letter to US President Joe Biden.
It underlined that the journalist, who was also a US citizen, was killed by an Israeli-fired bullet to the head, despite wearing a protective helmet and a blue bulletproof vest that was marked "press.”
Pristina bans Daria Aslamova's entry for 5 years, announces Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla
