A journalist investigating human rights violations committed during the Uruguayan dictatorship (1973-1985) received a “veiled threat” Feb. 7, when his personal information was published on Facebook, La República reports.
Roger Rodríguez, a reporter for Caras y Caretas magazine, had his name, address, id, telephone numbers, and names of his parents published on the “In Support of the Liberty and Amity Forum" Facebook group by former members of the military.
The Peace and Justice Service (SERPAJ) human rights group called the post a “veiled threat,” and the Uruguayan Press Association (APU) said it was “an act of intimidation.”
Retired Coronel Héctor Marcos Varela González, one of the Facebook posters, told Metrópolis FM that it was not “intimidation” but part of an “information exchange,” El País explains.
On Jan. 4, Rodríguez published an article about the origins of the Liberty and Amity Forum, a group that supports ex members of the military who are allegedly tied to dictatorship-era crimes, UYpress reports. Later that month, the Forum released a letter to General Jorge Rosales, that said the investigations into human rights violations have become “bullying” and warned that their voice would be heard “very loudly.”
Other Related Headlines:
» El Mundo (Ex-members of the military threaten to resist if they are convicted for dictatorship-era crimes)
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.
