MEXICO

September 12
Juan Francisco Ealy Ortiz, El Universal, HARASSED, LEGAL ACTION
The Mexican government sent an estimated 40 armed federal judicial policemen to the office of the Mexico City daily El Universal to arrest Ealy Ortiz, the newspaper's owner, for alleged tax evasion, but he was not there. Ealy Ortiz peacefully turned himself in to the attorney general's office the following morning. He posted bail and was freed pending a judicial proceeding. On Sept. 17, Ealy Ortiz was formally charged with tax evasion. In a letter to President Ernesto Zedillo, CPJ stressed that it had no information about the veracity of the tax evasion charges against Ealy Ortiz but that it questioned the government's extreme show-of-force in its attempt to arrest him at his office, especially at a time when the Mexican press is becoming increasingly independent and is playing a crucial role in Mexico's economic and political evolution. CPJ also pointed out that it is widely known that El Universal hired some of Mexico's most prominent journalists, some of whom had been critical of the government.

For more information contact americasweb@cpj.org