Cancun, Q.R. — Two Cancun police officers are being held liable for damages against a Cancun journalist. On Wednesday, the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) said that Cancun officers Rubén “M” and Everardo “M” are being held liable for the March 2023 incident.
The investigation of assault and freedom of expression was processed through the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Attention to Crimes committed against Freedom of Expression of the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Human Rights.
The FGE reported that the incident happened in Cancun in March of this year “when a journalist was documenting the detention of two people in Cancun and two members of the Benito Juárez Ministry of Public Security and Traffic detained him without just cause, affecting his freedom of expression. During his detention, he was injured and his eye glasses damaged.”
Cancun police officers Rubén “M” and Everardo “M” were charged for damages, qualified injuries and abuse of authority as well restricting freedom of expression.
A Cancun judge assessed the evidence presented by the FGR and ordered financial compensation to be paid to the victim as well as a public apology in a printed medium acknowledging the facts of the attack and committing to respect the freedom of expression of the people.
Both officers will also have to take a course on freedom of expression in order to guarantee a non-repetition of the incident.
The Special Prosecutor’s Office for Attention to Crimes committed against Freedom of Expression also determined to exercise the power of attraction contemplated in Article 21 of the National Code of Criminal Procedures, since there was sufficient evidence to affirm that the aggression was committed with the purpose of limiting, impairing or affecting the freedom of expression of a journalist.
