By Diego Cruz
The Foundation for Freedom of the Press (abbreviated as FLIP in Spanish) published its annual report about the situation of press freedom in Colombia on Feb. 11. The report states that in 2013 a total of 194 individuals were victims of 123 direct attacks against the press.
The number of aggressions decreased from 158 registered incidents in 2012. However, the 2013 report included the killing of two journalists, Edison Molina and José Darío Arenas.
In Molina’s case, a journalist who criticized local power elites in his region, authorities had been informed about the risks he faced before he was killed but did not take any measures to protect the journalist. In the case of Arenas, the report mentions that his death could be related to his coverage of irregularities at the National Institute of Correctional Facilities and Prisons (INPEC).
The most common aggressions registered by the FLIP were threats, with 75 journalists being the targets of intimidation and harassment because of their profession. Another main cause behind the aggressions were the social protests that took place in various regions of the country in June, July and August of last year. They resulted in 44 attacks against journalists.
In terms of legal proceedings, the report highlighted the setbacks. In the case of Orlando Sierra, who was killed in 2002, some of the people indicted for the crime -- including former political leader Ferney Tapasco -- were cleared of the charges against them. This contributed to Colombia reaching fifth place worldwide concerning impunity in aggressions against media employees.
On Feb. 9, Day of the Journalist in Colombia, the representative of FLIP Pedro Baca said that 142 journalists have been killed in the country since 1977, Caracol Radio reported.
Baca also mentioned that there have been convictions in only 19 cases, and these have punished the hit men exclusively. The case of Orlando Sierra was the first where the mastermind behind the actual attack had been convicted, Semana reported.
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.
