Bradley Will

Last week marked the fourth anniversary of the murder of Brad Will, a 36-year-old American activist and journalist who was shot while covering anti-government protests in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. His murderers remain at large. 

For those following the case of Bradley Roland Will, left, a U.S. activist-journalist killed while reporting on a protest movement in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca in 2006, a long wait ended on February 18. After 16 months in prison, Juan Manuel Martínez, a grassroots activist from an impoverished neighborhood in Oaxaca, left his cell after a federal appeals tribunal exonerated him of murdering Will.

Top Developments
• Amid threats and attacks, self-censorship becomes more pervasive.
• Congress stalls on reforms to combat violence against the press.

New York, November 11, 2009—A court in Oaxaca has not ordered the release of Juan Manuel Martínez Moreno, who was charged last year for the 2006 killing of U.S. journalist Bradley Roland Will, contrary to initial news reports in the Mexican press.  

We issued the following statement today in response to reports that a tribunal in Oaxaca state called for the release of Juan Manuel Martínez Moreno, who was charged last year for the 2006 killing of U.S. journalist Brad Will. The tribunal determined there was insufficient evidence to continue holding the suspect...

Three years ago today, an independent journalist named Bradley Roland Will was killed in Mexico while reporting on a heated protest movement in the capital city of the southern state of Oaxaca. Today, the crime remains unresolved. A man from Oaxaca, Juan Manuel Martínez Moreno, who many close followers of the case believe is innocent, was accused of the murder in October 2008. Martínez remains imprisoned awaiting trial. 

On July 26, the following headline appeared in Mexico's daily Milenio newspaper: "Canada: Will assassinated at point-blank range." Soon, similar headlines followed. The stories focused on a recent report by three Canadian investigators that sustains conclusions made by the Mexican authorities in the case of Bradley Roland Will, left, a U.S. video-journalist and activist killed in October 2006 in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. The government-commissioned report has sparked controversy for echoing the findings of Mexican authorities, whose investigation has been heavily questioned by local and international human rights groups and the Will family for being politicized and riddled with irregularities.

Powerful drug cartels and escalating violence made journalists in Mexico more vulnerable to attack than ever before. The dangerous climate was compounded by a pervasive culture of impunity. Most crimes against the press remained unsolved as Mexican law enforcement agencies, awash in corruption, did not aggressively investigate attacks. With no guarantee of safety, reporters increasingly turned to self-censorship to protect themselves. CPJ research showed that 24 journalists had been killed since 2000, at least eight in direct reprisal for their work. In addition, seven journalists had disappeared since 2005.

Mexico's special prosecutor for crimes against journalists has responded to CPJ's October 24 letter expressing concerns about the investigation into the murder of U.S. filmmaker Bradley Will. The prosecutor's response leaves much unresolved.

October 24, 2008

Eduardo Medina Mora
Attorney General
Mexico City, Mexico

Via facsimile: 52-55-5346-0901

Dear Mr. Medina Mora:

The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by developments in the criminal investigation into the October 27, 2006, killing of U.S. journalist Bradley Roland Will in Oaxaca. The recent indictment of three protesters ignores considerable evidence indicating that pro-government gunmen were behind the killing.