Two journalists attacked in Cuernavaca, say reports

Reports are surfacing in Mexico today that two journalists in the city of Cuernavaca, Morelos, were detained and one of them abused by state police over the weekend.

CENCOS (Centro Nacional de Comunicación Social) is circulating a release stating that journalists Óscar López and Ariel Ramírez Arrieta, of the cultural publication “El Perro Azul”, were detained by Preventative Police.

One of the journalists – Lopez- was brutally beaten, according to the report from the NGO and newspaper accounts of the incident.

A complaint has been filed with the Cuernavaca Office of the Public Ministry (Ministerio Público) accusing the police officers of abuse of authority, illegal detention and assault, but the release from CENCOS says that the organization has not managed to contact the journalists directly and relying on reports in the newspaper “La Jornada de Morelos”.

The newspaper reported that Lopez was beaten and sustained injuries to his arms, legs, backs and hands and that the attack was witness by three people – María Arrieta Sotelo, Rocío Ramírez and Javier Emanuel Nocelo Ramírez.

The event was announced by the State of Morelos’ Independent Human Rights Commission, which has also called for an investigation into the alleged attack.

Go to our journalism category to read more about violence against journalists in Mexico.