Tweeting can land you in jail in Mexico

It's true. Two residents of Veracruz -- one coincidentally a journalist -- recently found themselves facing up to 30 years in prison for passing along a tweet that warned of imminent violence at a local public school. Although the story turned out to be unfounded rumor, concerned parents panicked and rushed to the school to pick up their children. State prosecutors then charged the pair with the transmission of terroristic communications and "sabotage." They're in jail now, awaiting a September 23 hearing to determine if the case will go forward. But the case speaks volumes about the way prosecutorial discretion is exercised in Mexico. Read my editorial opinion of the case here: http://www.theyucatantimes.com/2011/09/mexcio-should-proceed-with-caution-in-%E2%80%9Ctwitter-terror%E2%80%9D-cases/
The powerful drug cartels which virtually run Veracruz routinely kidnap, murder and decapitate -- especially if you're a journalist and happen to write something negative about them (but then again, what else would you write?). No wonder most Veracruzanos are on edge and justifiably hypersensitive about any threat or rumor of violence. Read what happened to two Veracruz newspaper reporters in just the past 90 days: http://www.theyucatantimes.com/2011/07/veracruz-press-furious-over-prosecutor%E2%80%99s-comments/