UNESCO Director-General condemns murder of Mexican journalist María Elena Ferral

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay has condemned the murder of journalist María Elena Ferral, who was fatally injured on 30 March in the centre of the town of Papantla. The journalist died a few hours later in hospital in nearby Poza Rica, in the Mexican state of Veracruz.

“I condemn the assassination of journalist María Elena Ferral,” said the Director-General. “I trust the authorities will conduct a thorough investigation into the murder and bring its perpetrators to trial. Gunpoint censorship which undermines the fundamental right of freedom of expression cannot go unpunished.”

María Elena Ferral had received threats in relation to her journalistic work and had informed the Mexico’s Comisión Estatal para la Atención y Protección de los Periodistas (CEAPP), the body in charge of protecting journalists. She worked for several local news media, including the newspaper Diario de Xalapa and the Veracruz Quinto Poder website, of which she was one of the founders.