A new case of harassment of human rights advocates has been recorded in Venezuela. On Wednesday, armed men robbed Hernán Antonio Bolívar, the husband of Marianela Sánchez Ortiz, the legal coordinator of the Observatorio Venezolano de Prisiones (Venezuelan Prisons Observatory, OVP). The criminals intercepted Bolívar when he was arriving in his place. There, he was forced to get into his car. The criminals threatened to retaliate against Bolívar and his...

Three photojournalists who covered the perilous crime beat in the violence-torn eastern Mexico state of Veracruz were found slain and dumped in plastic bags in a canal on Thursday, less than a week after a reporter for an investigative newsmagazine was beaten and strangled in her home in the same state. Press freedom groups said all three photographers had temporarily fled the state after receiving threats last year. The organizations called for immediate government action to halt a wave of...

Venezuelan NGO "Espacio Público" (Public Space) counted 244 reports of freedom of expression violations, registered in 201 cases/events during 2011, which represents an increase of 16% over 2010. According to a report presented by the NGO, "Each week of 2011, (in average) 4.3 cases of violations of the content and scope of the right to freedom of expression occurred in Venezuela. These data point out to continuous freedom of expression violations." The most...

The Mexican senate unanimously passed a law on April 24 that requires the national government to protect journalists and human rights activists when they receive threats, the legislative chamber said. “The senate approved the Law for Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, which will allow the government to implement preventive measures to guarantee the life and security of those in these professions and who are in an at-risk situation,” the chamber added. The...

Senator Alejandro González Alcocer, President of the Justice Committee of the Mexican Senate Senator Ricardo Pacheco Rodríguez, Secretary of the Justice Committee of the Mexican Senate Senator Leonel Godoy Rangel, Secretary of the Justice Committee of the Mexican Senate Dear Senators González Alcocer, Pacheco Rodríguez, and Godoy Rangel: I am writing on behalf of Human Rights Watch regarding the various legislative proposals being drafted in Congress to reform...

Workers of Caracas-based private TV news network Globovisión rejected through a statement the accusations and threats made last weekend by several pro-government groups. "We categorically reject their accusations as absurd and totally unfounded," said the document. The workers also urged government authorities to "publicly repudiate and detach themselves from these acts of harassment against journalists and workers of Globovisión, and to ensure peaceful...

Honduras should urgently overhaul its prison system to end overcrowding and improve prison conditions, Human Rights Watch said today. On February 14, 2012, over 300 inmates were killed and dozens were injured during a fire in the Granja Prison in Comayagua, according to local press accounts. Honduran authorities said the fire could have been the consequence of a prison riot or an electrical short circuit. “The tragic deaths of hundreds of inmates, one of the worst incidents of its kind...

NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned the Venezuelan government's policies to control the independent media and to subdue the judiciary power in order to silence opposition. During the presentation of its World Report 2012, Emma Daly, the Communications Director at Human Rights Watch, complained that Venezuelan media are "vulnerable" and judiciary authorities "support" government interests. Although there are elections in Venezuela, "democracy requires not...

Venezuelan authorities must adopt the "necessary measures" to protect the life and physical integrity of Rocío San Miguel, the head of NGO Control Ciudadano (Citizen's Oversight for Security, Defense and Armed Forces) and her daughter, as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) ordered the State of Venezuela to do so. The commission, which is an independent branch of the Organization of American States (OAS), set a 15-day deadline to receive information about...

Less than 24 hours after he was reported missing, the badly beaten body of Jose Trinidad de la Cruz Crisoforo, a peace activist in his seventies, was found near the town of Aquila in Michoacan state. According to authorities, the corpse bore signs of torture. De la Cruz was found with his hands tied behind his back and at least four bullet wounds, and his left ear was almost detached. Other activists told press that de la Cruz had been beaten and threatened with death in June. As a result...