bradley-will/

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.

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.

Monday, October 27, marks the second anniversary of the killing in Mexico of Bradley Roland Will, a U.S. documentary filmmaker. Will was shot while covering clashes between anti-government protesters and government supporters in the southern state of Oaxaca. The investigation into the killing has become a source of great concern.

The deaths of two Croatian journalists, killed when a bomb exploded beneath their car Thursday in Zagreb, is getting extensive coverage across the region today. 

Mexico City, June 9, 2008—President Felipe Calderón today pledged his commitment to federalize crimes against freedom of expression in a meeting with the Committee to Protect Journalists in Mexico City.

Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora announced draft legislation that would amend Article 73 of Mexico’s political constitution and would make a federal offense any crime causing “social alarm,” including threats to freedom of expression.