Francisco Barrio, Ambassador to Canada
Embassy of the Republic of Mexico
45 O'Connor, Suite 1000
Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 1A4

May 6, 2009

Excellency,

I am writing on behalf of Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE), a non-profit, non-governmental organization that works to promote and protect press freedom and freedom of expression around the world.

CJFE is appalled by the fatal shooting of journalist Carlos Ortega Samper on May 3, 2009. Four unidentified men attempted to remove Ortega from his car in the town of Santa María Del Oro, Durango. Ortega's attackers shot him in the head three times.

Ortega, also a lawyer, had been writing for the daily newspaper Tiempo de Durango for less than a year. In recent months, Ortega had been at odds with local officials for reporting on unhygienic conditions in a local slaughterhouse. Local authorities neglected to investigate recent attacks against Ortega. In his column the day before his death Ortega blamed Mayor Martín Silvestre Herrera, and local official, Juan Manuel Calderón Guzmán, for the death threats he had received.

Records compiled by CJFE show that one other journalist has been killed in Mexico this year in connection to their work. In 2008, 10 journalists were killed in Mexico, making it the second deadliest country for the press and the most dangerous place in the Americas. Despite President Calderón's support for free expression laws, prosecutions are rare and impunity is widespread.

May 3 is World Press Freedom Day - a day when countries around the world express their commitment to press freedom; this attack is a tragic reminder of the continuing dangers faced by journalists in Mexico. CJFE calls on the Mexican authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the death of Ortega and ensure that those responsible for this, and other attacks on press freedom, are found and brought to justice.

We thank you for your attention and look forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely,

Arnold Amber, President

c.c.: Guillermo Rishchynski, Canadian Ambassador to Mexico
The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs