The house of a Peruvian journalist was burnt down on March 9 after two unknown men threw a fuse drenched with gasoline inside the building, the Journalists’ Association of Peru (ANP) said, according to news agency EFE. The incident took place in the jungle region of Loreto after journalist Teobaldo Meléndez reported on several acts of corruption committed by the former mayor of the province of Alto Amazonas, the news agency added.
Meléndez told the Press and Society Institute, or Ipys, that he started receiving threats after his stories came out. Meléndez already reported the incident to the authorities and added that he’s requesting protection for him and his family, reported the portal Pro y Contra. “This is a coward act of vandalism that can’t be described,” Meléndez said, who accused the former mayor of the attack, the portal added.
In 2011 the journalist was accused of defamation by the mayor and sentenced to three years in prison. However, he was released after proving that the information was accurate and had a public interest, EFE reported.
Ipys called authorities to determine if these aggressions were related to the mayor and to punish those responsible.
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.
