The December 22 murder of Alberto Velázquez, a reporter with the Tulum newspaper Expresiones, brought the number of such homicides in Mexico in 2009 to 12, with a total of 57 news men and women having lost their lives from the year 2000 to date, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) reported in a press release.

The NHRC has filed notice calling on the authorities to solve this latest crime, committed in the southeastern Mexican state of Quintana Roo, and bring the guilty to justice.

The murder of Velázquez follows the disappearance of eight journalists and seven attacks with explosives on news media buildings around Mexico.

“Mexico has become a high-risk country to work as a journalist,” the NHRC commented.

In 2000 the agency had 13 case files; in 2001 21; 43 in 2002; 29 in 2003; 43 in 2004; 72 in 2005; 74 in 2006; 84 in 2007; 80 in 2008, and in the first 11 months of 2009 78.

The figure could, however, be higher, the NHRC says, if taken into account are the cases recorded by state human rights agencies, rather than the national one, and those that have not been recorded at all.