rubén Espinosa’s coffin was carried to the graveside under a blistering Mexico City sun, accompanied by a round of applause from his friends and colleagues – and the howling of his beloved cocker spaniel, Cosmo.
As the body of the murdered photographer was carefully lowered into the ground, weeping mourners clutched each other for support – and grappled with the realisation that they could be next.
Espinosa, 31, was found dead in a Mexico City apartment on Friday, alongside four women. All had been beaten, tortured, then shot in the head. The killings came just two months after Espinosa had fled the gulf coast state of Veracruz following death threats over his work.
Journalists and press freedom groups have expressed growing anger at Mexican authorities’ failure to tackle escalating violence against reporters and activists who dare to speak out against political corruption and organised crime.
Espinosa was the 13th journalist working in Veracruz to be killed since Governor Javier Duarte from the ruling Institutional Revolutionary party (PRI) came to power in 2011. According to the press freedom organisation Article 19, the state is now the most dangerous place to be a journalist in Latin America.
Read more:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/04/journalists-mexico-press-freedom-photographer-ruben-espinosa-murder
