Lydia CACHO RIBEIRO
Impunity for the December 2005 arrest and torture of Lydia Cacho Ribeiro continued in 2024. Arrested for alleged defamation in connection with her 2005 book Los Demonios del Edén: el poder detrás de la pornografía (The Demons of Eden: the power behind pornography) in which she implicated a number of influential businessmen and politicians in child abuse networks operating across Quintana Roo and Puebla states, she was tortured in detention. She was cleared of all charges in 2007 but due to ongoing harassment, she went into exile in 2019.
The former Director of the Judicial Police of the State of Puebla, Hugo Adolfo Karam Beltrán, arrested in July 2023 for the crime of torture against the journalist, was released from prison with restrictions. The former official is linked to an organised power structure within the local government, whose members planned and executed the attack against Cacho Ribeiro in retaliation for the publication of her book. The arrest of Karam was an important step in the fight against impunity for the human rights violations Cacho Ribeiro suffered, and his conditional release is a worrying step. PEN International has consistently campaigned on her behalf and considers that much more needs to be done to provide Cacho Ribeiro with redress, including payment of compensation, as demanded by the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
Lydia Cacho Ribeiro, born on 12 April 1963, has worked as a journalist for over 30 years, reporting on people trafficking, organised crime, drug trafficking, gender violence and corruption, among other topics. She has also published multiple books on similar issues. She has won numerous awards, including the 2009 One Humanity Award from Canadian PEN, the 2008 Tucholsky prize from Swedish PEN and the 2007 Oxfam/Novib PEN Award for Free Expression. Her books include: Los Demonios del Edén (The Demons of Eden, Grijalbo, 2004), Memorias de una Infamia (Memoirs of a Scandal, DEBOLSILLO, 2007), Esclavas de poder: un viaje al corazón de la trata sexual de mujeres y niñas en el mundo (Slavery Inc. the Untold Story of International Sex Trafficking, Grijalbo, 2010), Sexo y Amor en tiempos de crisis (Sex and Love in Times of Crisis, Grijalbo, 2014), among others. She is an Honorary Member of Scottish PEN and English PEN.