H. E. Carlos Menem
President of Argentina
Casa Rosada
Buenos Aires
Argentina

Vienna, 28 January 1997
Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors and media executives from newspapers, magazines, broadcasting organisations and news agencies in over 90 countries, strongly condemns the killing of José Luis Cabezas, a photographer for the weekly news magazine Noticias.

We are informed that the charred body of Mr. Cabezas, with a gunshot wound in his head and his hands handcuffed behind his back, was found by a fisherman early on Saturday, 25 January 1997, in a burned car near the seaside resort of Pinamar, southeast of Buenos Aires.

Mr. Cabezas had been sent to Pinamar, a favourite summer resort of Argentinian politicians, to cover seasonal social and political events. According to reports, he was last seen on the night of 24 January covering a party that was attending by several celebrities.

IPI shares the concern of many journalists in Argentina that Mr. Cabezas’ murder could be related to his work, and merits an especially thorough investigation in a country where scores of journalists were murdered during the military regime of 1976-83 and where journalistic independence is being increasingly curtailed by a combination of violence and intimidation directed at journalists and media outlets. We therefore strongly urge You Excellency to authorise an immediate and full investigation into the killing of Mr. Cabezas and to ensure that those responsible for this heinous crime are brought to justice. We further urge that you disclose any findings with regard to his murder.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director