Self-portrait of Rubén Espinosa
Mexican photojournalist Rubén Espinosa, who worked for the left-wing Mexican magazine Proceso, was murdered in Mexico City along with four women on July 31.
Espinosa is the fifth Mexican journalist to be murdered over the past seven weeks.
The other four were:
- Ismael Díaz López, a reporter for the El Criollo and Tabasco Hoy newspapers
- Gerardo Nieto Álvarez, editor of the weekly paper El Tábano
- Juan Mendoza Delgado, editor of the local news website Escribiendo la verdad
- Filadelfo Sánchez Sarmiento, news host for La Favorita 103.3 FM
See Four journalists killed in two weeks as deadly violence continues for details.
Espinosa was based in Veracruz, and his beat was social movements. He went to bat for other murdered journalists, and was a harsh critic of Veracruz governor Javier Duarte. He moved from Veracruz to Mexico City in June as a result of threats.
Protest in Mexico City for the 43 murdered students of the Escuela Normal Rural Raul Isidro Burgos in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero. Photo by Rubén Espinosa.
According to Darío Ramírez of the freedom of expression group Article 19, Espinosa was tortured before he was shot, and the other four victims were apparently tortured and sexually assaulted. Ramirez criticized the prosecutor, Rodolfo Rios Garza, for not making Espinoza's work and the threats against him the primary focus of the investigation.
Article from The Guardian: Mexican photojournalist found dead was likely tortured, activists say
Article by Lydia Cacho in Aristegui Noticias (in Spanish): No se mata la verdad
Article from Proceso (in Spanish): Rubén Espinosa, un fotógrafo ‘incómodo’ para el gobierno de Duarte
Interview of Espinosa on the Mexican online TV station Rompeviento (in Spanish):