Mexico: Assassinated Journalist, Regina Martinez, Honored With The Polk Special Award.
Location: Mexico, New Mexico
Date: February 25, 2021
The George Polk Awards this year decided to honour Regina Martinez with the Polk Special Award. Regina Martinez, a crime reporter, was assassinated in her home in 2012. The investigation into her murder was riddled with irregularities, causing outrage in the journalist communities across the globe.
On February 24, 2021, the George Polk Awards rewarded Forbidden Stories, who aptly shared the honour with the Late Regina Martinez. Forbidden Stories is a global network of investigative journalists who continue to work on the stories of those reporters who have received threats, have been subjected to censorship, or have tragically lost their lives in the line of duty. In fact, the journalists at Forbidden Stories following Martinez's lead after her death produced "The Cartel Project''. "The Cartel Project" is an investigative report that linked politicians to drug circuits in the state of Veracruz. They also discovered, that prior to her assassination, Regina was planning to publish a report about thousands of people possibly linked to this network who mysteriously disappeared.
Regina Martinez was a crime reporter at Proceso, known for her critical inquiries of the power circles in Mexico. Regina, in her lifetimes, often faced censorship for reporting on the human rights violations in the country, the institutional overreach of the political establishment and the drug trafficking in Veracruz. She was eventually found dead on April 28, 2012, inside her home. Her body was bruised, and examination concluded that she was beaten prior to her death, and died because of strangulation. The investigation into her death was extremely inconsistent. A suspect came initially came forward and the police claimed that the motive of the murder was theft. However, the suspect later retracted his confession and revealed that he was subjected to police brutality while in custody so a false confession could be forced. This apparent police corruption and the suspicious circumstance of her death caused much outrage across journalist organizations around the world. Despite the pressure, however, the investigation never reached a satisfactory conclusion.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism welcomes the decision to honour Regina Martinez's memory by honouring her with an award. Regina Martinez was one of the most powerful voices of our times who dedicated her life to speaking truth to power. Her loss was tragic, and the manner in which her murder investigation was conducted reflects extremely poorly on Mexican authorities. May Regina rest in power.
The CFWIJ strongly condemns the police brutality against journalists. We demand the immediate return of the press cards seized from the security forces. Policies to intimidate journalists should be abandoned, and journalism should be practiced under the criteria of freedom of the press.
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