Urgent Action: JOURNALIST AT RISK (Mexico 17.24)

Mexican journalist, Alberto Amaro, reported that officers of the investigative police of the Tlaxcala Attorney General’s Office threatened him with a firearm on June 4. He has denounced several very serious attacks in the last five years due to his work. Despite this, officials from Mexico’s Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists have questioned his claims and even attempted to withdraw Amaro’s protective measures. We urge the Ministry of the Interior to grant protective measures to Alberto that adequately respond to the level of risk he is facing.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE UNTIL: August 8, 2024

take action:

• Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to one or both government officials listed. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.
• Click here to let us know the actions you took on Second Urgent Action 17.24. It’s important to report because we share the total number with the officials we are trying to persuade and the people we are trying to help.

contact information:

sample letter:

Dear Minister / Your Excellency,

 

I’m writing to express my deep concern about the security situation of journalist, Alberto Amaro Jordán, director of the Mexican media outlet La Prensa de Tlaxcala. Due to his work, Alberto has been the victim of several very serious attacks. 

On the evening of June 4, 2024, Alberto Amaro was traveling with his bodyguards of the federal Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists to cover an incident in a community in Tlaxcala, when a black vehicle pulled up next to the car in which he was traveling. Then, a person in the car pointed a gun at the journalist´s vehicle. According to the journalist, shortly thereafter, police officers from the Secretariat of Citizen Security of Tlaxcala arrived at the scene and let the investigating police officers leave without taking any further action. Afterwards, Alberto Amaro requested the support of members of the Secretariat of the Navy, who accompanied him to the Attorney General’s Office in the city of Tlaxcala.

Over the last year, Alberto Amaro has reported numerous failures in some of the protective measures granted to him by the federal Protection Mechanism. As of the beginning of June, the Mechanism has not fully addressed his concerns about his protection scheme.

I therefore urge you to immediately reassess Alberto Amaro’s security situation in consultation with him, to guarantee that his existing protective measures are not withdrawn, and to grant any additional measures that are needed to guarantee his safety given the level of risk he faces.

Yours sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

• READ THE FULL URGENT ACTION: Wordopens in a new tab or PDFopens in a new tab
• GET INSPIRED: Read about the people you have helped
• READ TIPS for writing effective letters and emails
• CONTACT US: [email protected]