LGBT rights activist and freelance reporter, Juan Jose Roldan, was found dead on Sunday in a town 120km east of Mexico City.

Advocates from the local LGBT community in Talaxcala are calling on authorities to investigate Roldan’s death as a hate crime.

Media and neighbours reported that his body “showed signs of torture.”

Regional paper Sintesis told AFP that the journalist started focusing on fighting for LGBT rights five years ago when he stopped working for local TV and print outlets.

Roldan helped the LGBT community advocate for better HIV testing in Mexico. He was also involved in the protection of animal rights.

According to Sintesis, the 38-year-old reported on his Facebook page that he was the victim of harassment.

He appears to have been killed in Calaoulalpan, the south-central region of Talaxcala.

The neighbourhood is notorious for human trafficking.

Local human rights and press freedom organisations including the region’s Union of Journalists have called on the authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Roldan is the fifth journalist to be killed in Mexico in under two months.

According to Reporters Without Borders, (RSF) Mexico continues to be the deadliest country for the media in the Western Hemisphere.

Last November, Mexico’s congressional committee rejected the legalisation of same-sex marriage.

A 2013 Pew Research Center survey showed 61 percent of Mexicans believe homosexuality should be accepted, though anti-LGBT crime is still an issue across Mexico.