Another journalist slain in Mexico as attacks on reporters continue

Mexican journalist Francisco Leyva was found dead on July 22 in the southern state of Oaxaca, the state’s Attorney General’s Office said, marking at least the fourth journalist killed in the country since June.

The prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into the killing and said it has requested support from the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Crimes Against Freedom of Expression, Caliber.Az reports via Reuters.

Leyva, 60, was known for covering cases involving alleged government corruption and violence connected to criminal groups operating in Oaxaca.

Mexico remains one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists outside active war zones. Press freedom organisations say most crimes committed against media workers remain unresolved.

In early July, Mexican authorities confirmed that human remains discovered at a property in the eastern state of Veracruz belonged to journalist Roxana Guzmán, who had been kidnapped a month earlier by an armed group.

According to the organisation Article 19, journalists Luis Angel Lopez and Manuel Moreno were also killed in June in connection with their work.

Last year, Reporters Without Borders recorded nine journalist killings in Mexico, making it the deadliest year for media workers in the country in the past three years.

By Jeyhun Aghazada