The east-coast state of Veracruz, classified by Reporters Without Borders as one of the world’s most dangerous places for journalists, is unfortunately living up to its reputation. Reporters Without Borders has learned that Sergio Landa Rosado (photo), a crime reporter for Cardel, a local newspapers based in the town of Cardel, in the north of the state, has been missing for the past month and a half. A month before he went missing, he was kidnapped by an armed group and was released...

The abrupt suspension of the genocide trial of former de facto head of Guatemala, Efraín Ríos Montt, raises serious concerns about victims’ access to justice, Human Rights Watch said today. On April 18, 2013, as the four-week trial was nearing its conclusion, Judge Carol Patricia Flores - who had been suspended from the case in 2011 and then reinstated by a judgment of the Constitutional Court - ruled that all actions taken in the case in her absence were null and void,...

Javier Manzano. Agence France-Presse. Three Mexican journalists have won 2013 Pulitzer Prizes: Alejandra Xanic von Bertrab, for Investigative Reporting of corruption in Wal-Mart´s expansion in Mexico; Javier Manzano for Feature Photography of photos of Syrian rebel soldiers; and Narciso Contreras for breaking news photography of the war in Syria. See the prize-winning articles and photos below. The Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting was awarded to David Barstow and Alejandra...

Below is a list of the interviews that Steve Emerson, Executive Director, of the Investigative Project has given regarding the Boston Terrorist Attack. Select interviews are linked below. Please click the picture to view the individual segments. TELEVISION National TV Appearances Katie Couric - ABC TV Megyn Kelly - Fox News Washington Journal - C-SPAN Steve Emerson on C-SPAN's Washington Journal (click the picture to view the video) Steve Emerson on Fox News with Megyn Kelly (click...

Reporters Without Borders hopes for quick results from the investigation into journalist Fausto Valdivieso’s murder yesterday in Guayaquil. The motive is not yet known but press reports quoted local sources as saying he had been the target of a murder attempt 24 hours earlier and had received threats. A former employee of privately-owned TV stations Ecuavisa, Teleamazonas and TC Televisión, Valdivieso still worked intermittently as an independent journalist while pursuing...

Two cases have rightly fuelled the controversy about a decision to award Veracruz state governor Javier Duarte a prize for his supposed “commitment in the service of freedom of expression.” The first is the 38-year jail sentence that a man has just received for Proceso correspondent Regina Martínez’s April 2012 murder in Veracruz state. The second is Verónica Danell’s dismissal as Megacable TV presenter, which she has blamed on pressure from the...

The Government of Guatemala on Monday announced it has recognition of a Palestinian state, bringing the number of countries that recognized the State of Palestine to 133 countries. The Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations in New York said that it had received from the Permanent Mission of Guatemala to the United Nations a Letter from Fernando Carrera Castro Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala, to the Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Al Malki in this regard. ...

Day 8 of the Rios Montt genocide trial had ended close to 8 pm with document review and challenges. Day 9 began at 8.30 am on Wednesday, with a plea from defense attorney Cesar Calderon for more “normal” court hours, particularly in light of the advanced ages of the defendants and various other commitments. Judge Barrios responded that the tribunal would take into account the petition, and assured that the late ending the previous day was exceptional. Eleven witnesses on the ninth...

The eighth day of the Rios Montt genocide trial began with a nearly full courtroom in anticipation of testimonies of indigenous women subjected to rape by the Guatemalan military between 1982 and 1983; their supporters attended in large numbers. Before the day’s proceedings began, supporters hung banners outside the courthouse and placed photos of women killed during the years of the armed conflict along an altar of dried flowers, with candles and the word “Justicia,” or...

The trial of former de facto head of Guatemala, Efraín Ríos Montt, on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, is a landmark achievement in the fight for justice in Guatemala. Ríos Montt was indicted in January 2012 for genocide and crimes against humanity relating to 15 massacres that resulted in the deaths of 1,771 indigenous Ixil peopleduring his rule from 1982 to 1983. He will be tried in Guatemala City together with his former chief of military intelligence,...