Government blames protesters for Brad Will murder

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Government blames protesters for Brad Will murder Two years after the murder of Brad Will as he was reporting on the conflict in Oaxaca, the Mexican federal government has arrested members of the Oaxaca Peoples' Popular Assembly. Rather than investigate the police and local officials widely photographed firing on protesters, the government has charged those who tried to save Brad's life with his murder. Brad's family and numerous human rights organizations have denounced the federal government's investigation and called on the U.S. government to suspend Merida Initiative funds. Global Exchange Media Fellow John Gibler described the situation on Democracy Now! on Monday October 20. You can listen to or watch John's Democracy Now! segment at http://www.democracynow.org/2008/10/20/ignoring_evidence_mexican_authorities_charge_activists. Below is an in-depth article by John chronicling the Mexican government's biased investigation and Brad's family's pursuit of justice. The Rule of Impunity: Mexican Government Ignores Overwhelming Evidence, Charges Oaxacan Activists with Brad Will's Murder By John Gibler October 20, 2008 | Posted in IndyBlog On October 27, 2006, Brad Will stood on Juarez Avenue in the municipality of Santa Lucia del Camino, Oaxaca, Mexico. He was filming a violent clash between armed, civilian-clad municipal police and officials and members of the Oaxaca Peoples' Popular Assembly, or APPO. Brad, a longtime New York City activist and independent journalist, traveled to Oaxaca in early October 2006 to report on the protest movement led by the state teachers union that sought to oust governor Ulises Ruiz of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which had ruled Oaxaca with an iron fist for almost 80 years. Brad stood amid the APPO protesters and other journalists, filming down the length of Juarez Avenue where armed officials were firing at the protesters. Brad was shot and fell to the ground, his camera still running, having recorded the sound of the shot that hit him. Brad was shot from straight on, just below the chest, and yet his killer does not appear in the camera frame at the moment of the gunshot. Brad died on the way to the hospital. He had been shot twice. Two years later, on October 16, 2008, the Mexican federal government arrested two members of the APPO, charging Juan Manuel Martinez as the gunman and Octavio Perez with helping to cover up Brad's murder (Perez was later released on bail). Federal police were still looking for other suspected accomplices, all members of the APPO who had tried to carry Brad to safety and save his life. The arrests came after a series of human rights reports criticized the government's investigation for failing to follow leads pointing to local officials who were widely photographed by the press shooting at APPO protesters on October 27, 2006. "It is such a coverup," said Kathy Will, Brad's mother, in a telephone interview on learning of the arrests. "It is an insult to us and to all of the groups that have tried to help with a meaningful investigation." To read the entire article, click here. Upcoming Book: John Gibler will be traveling across the country in early 2009 to present his book Mexico Unconquered: Chronicle of Power and Revolt (forthcoming in January 2009 from City Lights Press) and discuss recent events in Mexico. To host an event please write him at john.gibler@globalexchange.org. For more information about the book see the City Lights website: http://www.citylights.com/book/?GCOI=87286100093700	Global Exchange is an international human rights group that relies on its members - tens of thousands of people like you - to work with us to create social, political and environmental justice. Please become a Global Exchange member today. Your tax-deductible donation helps keep our programs running.
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