A man accused of killing a US journalist during a protest in Mexico three years ago is innocent and being used as a scapegoat, human rights group Amnesty International said.
Journalist Brad Will, 36, died on October 27, 2006, as he reported from the southern Oaxaca state capital for New York-based news Web site Indymedia.
A man from Oaxaca, Juan Manuel Martinez Moreno, was accused of the murder in October 2008 and remains imprisoned awaiting trial.
"Amnesty International considers that the proof against him is without foundation," a statement said.
"They're using him as a scapegoat," it added.
Will died as he was covering a street battle between armed government supporters and protesters led by the anti-government Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca.
Many rights groups, independent investigators and Brad Will?s family believe a group of men who were widely photographed shooting directly in the direction where Brad stood are responsible for the crime.
Will had been documenting a teacher-led protest against governor Ulises Ruiz.
On October 14, Mexico?s Supreme Court ruled that Ruiz was responsible for rights abuses during the 2006 protests, in which 13 people died.
The ruling does not carry any binding consequences or criminal penalty.
