A man convicted of commissioning the 2017 murder in Mexico of a famous journalist, Miroslava Breach, who had notably investigated drug trafficking, was sentenced to 50 years in prison on Saturday by a federal judge in Mexico City, a announced the prosecutor's office.
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The conviction of Juan Carlos Moreno, alias “ El Larry ”, as the “ intellectual author ” of this assassination is a rare fact in this country, one of the most dangerous for journalists. More than 100 have been killed there since 2000, and 90% of these cases remain unresolved. The prosecution estimated that Miroslava Breach, 54, had been killed " with premeditation " after receiving messages of intimidation.
He added that such a heavy sentence set a precedent for cases of crimes against freedom of expression, stressing that it was the longest prison sentence ever imposed for such an act.
Propuesta Civica, an NGO fighting for human rights and freedom of expression, for its part stressed that this sentence constituted " an important precedent in the fight against impunity for crimes against journalists ".
Miroslava Breach, who worked for La Jornada and Norte de Juarez newspapers, was found dead in her car with gunshot wounds to the head on March 23, 2017 in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.