By Ingrid Bachmann
Prosecutor Ricardo Bejarano was taken off the investigation of TV journalist William Parra, just days after Bejarano had sought an arrest warrant for the Colombian reporter, accusing him of links to guerrillas, reported the Associated Press (AP).
According to RCN Radio and Telesur, Bejarano did not pass a qualifying exam to act as a specialized prosecutor, as the case requires. His replacement has not been named.
Bejarano, a retired military man, told the AP he did not know whose toes he had stepped on by taking on the Parra case. He rejected the possibility of having asked for the journalist's capture without consulting his superiors.
Parra, who lives in Venezuela, alleged that the accusations against him were contrived and that his lawyers have not had access to any evidence that incriminates him, according to another story from Telesur, Parra's former employer.
The Parra case has reverberated among international journalism organizations. The Inter American Press Association asked the prosecution to guarantee due process for the journalist, and Reporters Without Borders characterized the case against Parra as dubious.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
