"Peruvian authorities must investigate the recent harassment of journalist Manuel Calloquispe, ensure his safety, and take steps to protect members of the press covering political protests, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday [Feb. 3]. On Jan. 27, a group of about 200 protesters surrounded Calloquispe’s home in the eastern town of Puerto Maldonado and shouted insults at him, according to news reports and the journalist, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app.
Later that day, while broadcasting a live TV report on anti-government demonstrations in Puerto Maldonado, Calloquispe said he received a series of screenshots from a WhatsApp group of protesters who discussed killing him, including one who summarized comments by others in the chat saying, ‘They want to kill Calloquispe because he is a traitor.’
Calloquispe, who reports for the Lima-based El Comercio newspaper and broadcaster Latina TV, said one of his editors called the police after he saw those threatening messages, and officers escorted him to an airport where he flew to Lima for his safety."
