Writers and NGOs: Supreme Court Ruling is a ‘Disgrace’

Writers, journalists and non-governmental organisations have called the Supreme Court’s decision at the end of last week a ‘disgrace’. The Court ruled that the rights of journalist Lydia Cacho’s had not been sufficiently violated to warrant legal action against Puebla State Governor Mario Marin.
In a show of solidarity for the journalist, twenty of the country’s writers signed a brief declaration in Guadalajara over the weekend that says that the Supreme Court’s decision last week not to investigate the alleged human rights abuses against Cacho has disgraced the country, according to reports in today’s newspapers.
In addition, a number of the country’s NGOs that work in issues of press freedom and freedom of expression today issued a statement saying that the Supreme Court decision violates human rights.More…
“This decision is worrisome because it demonstrates the vulnerability of those trying to exercise freedom of expression in Mexico today,” says the statement, which is cosigned by a number of organisations including Article19, the Committee for the Protection of Journalists, Foundation for Press Freedom, Foundation for Press Freedom and Centro Nacional de Comunicación Social, CENCOS.
The missive from the groups condemned the Supreme Court’s decision, saying it ‘provides an incentive to maintain the high incidence of impunity in the country. There is sufficient evidence demonstrating the degree of involvement by public officials from the Puebla and Quintana Roo governments in the violation of the journalist’s rights.’
Los Demonios Del Eden premiered in Mexico City on Saturday night (29/09/07)Cacho was arrested by Puebla police on December 16th 2005 in her home state of the Yucatan following the publication of her book called Los Demonios Del Eden, in which she alleges that Cancun-based businessman Jean Succar Kuri was the leader of a pedophile ring. She also linked a number of state officials and other businessmen to the shady network.
The declaration signed by writers over the weekend included the names of Paco Ignacio Taibo, Alberto Ruy Sanchez, Heraclio Zepeda and Margo Glantz. The declaration has been left open in the hope of garnering more support.
MexicoReporter.com was unable to find a link to the declaration- please contact us if you have more information.