IMPUNITY
- COSTA RICA
WHEREAS
the police investigation into the murder of journalist Parmenio Medina Pérez,
who was shot three times and killed on July 7, 2001, led to the arrest of
three men charged with varying degrees of participation in the crime and two
others alleged to have ordered the murder
WHEREAS
the case is in the hands of the Costa Rican Attorney General’s Office
and could soon go to trial
WHEREAS
journalist Ivannia Mora Rodríguez was shot to death on December 23,
2003, and this crime remains unsolved
WHEREAS
the murder of Ivannia Mora Rodríguez is the second recent homicide
to have shaken Costa Rican society, which has not been accustomed to this
type of violence for decades
WHEREAS
Principle 4 of the Declaration of Chapultepec states, “Freedom of expression
and of the press are severely limited by murder, terrorism, kidnapping, intimidation,
the unjust imprisonment of journalists, the destruction of facilities, violence
of any kind and impunity for perpetrators. Such acts must be investigated
promptly and punished harshly”
THE MIDYEAR MEETING OF THE IAPA RESOLVES
to ask the Attorney General’s
Office and police authorities to step up their efforts to solve these crimes
and bring the responsible parties to justice
to ask the Supreme Court
to take up these cases without delay, under provisions appropriate for the
proper and reasonable dispensation of justice.
questions
or comments?