Similar to the United States' recent denial of a visa for television journalist Hollman Morris to come to Harvard University as a Nieman Fellow, now a second Colombian journalist, Claudia Duque, has had her visa request rejected, according to journalism.co.uk.
Duque, an award-winning journalist who has been kidnapped and received death threats for her work, had applied for a visa to the United Kingdom to give a speech to the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) about her experiences reporting on human rights.
Both the NUJ and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) have condemned the UK's decision, calling on the government to reverse its decision.
"At a time when the international community should be cracking down hard on impunity and the violations of journalists' rights, it is extraordinary that the authorities in Britain are closing the door to one of Colombia's most distinguished reporters who work is an inspiration in the struggle for democracy and human rights," said IFJ General Secretary Aidan White in a statement.
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.
