A Colombian prosecutor with the human rights unit ordered the arrest of seven former officials with the country’s intelligence center who are being accused of psychological torture against a journalist, Caracol Radio’s news portal reported.
A Colombian journalist received a letter bomb on Thursday, March 7, reported the website Caracol Radio. Journalist Juan David Betancur found the explosive at his home in the city of Dabebia, Antioquia, added the website.
In what has become a historic decision, the Council of State of Colombia ordered the National Police to correct a statement given in 1996 that affected two businessmen, said the newspaper El Tiempo. The Director of the Police will have to give a press conference and correct the information given to a television news program as an “exclusive” that linked two businessmen with a drug cartel, said the paper.
Two Colombian journalists claimed they were physically and verbally attacked by a former congressman and his wife in the view of police officers, who did nothing to stop the assault, reported the Colombian Federation of Journalists (FECOLPER in Spanish). The attack took place in Sincelejo, Sucre when the two journalists tried to cover a suspected robbery at the home of former Congressman Héctor Vergara, added FECOLPER.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC in Spanish) guerrillas postponed the Thursday, Feb. 14 release of two kidnapped police officers in the country, alleging persecution from the media, reported the newspaper El Colombiano. The ICRC delegate for southwestern Colombia, Angela Bertini, reported the news, according to the publication.
During the forum "Journalists: harm, memory and healing" on Feb. 8, in Bogota, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos recognized the work of renowned journalist Hollman Morris. For the journalist, who former-president Álvaro Uribe accused of being allied with the FARC and had been followed by state intelligence agents, the acknowledgement could mark an positive turn in his relationship with the government.
The Press Freedom Foundation (FLIP in Spanish) celebrated the Day of the Journalist in Colombia on Saturday, Feb. 9, with the release of its 2012 report on the state of press freedom in Colombia. Click here to read the full report (in Spanish).
The Internal Affairs Office of the Colombian police accused an officer of involuntary manslaughter for the death of journalist Guillermo Quiroz Delgado, reported the newspaper El Universal. The disciplinary hearing of officer Jorge David Pérez took place on Monday, Feb. 4, at the Sucre department police headquarters, the newspaper added.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF in French) called on the Colombian authorities to provide more protection for journalists threatened in the country during the past month, according to statements from both groups.
Colombia started off 2013 with a series of attacks on the press, including death threats against three journalists, censorship at the hands of criminal gangs and the interrupted distribution of a newspaper in the department of Sucre, reported the Press Freedom Foundation, FLIP, in a press release Thursday, Jan. 31.
The Antioquia Journalism Association, APA, requested protection for some journalists in the city of Medellín, claiming that they are the targets of threats and harassment.
The Colombian newspaper El Meridiano de Sucre claimed that copies of its publication were burned on Tuesday, Jan 29, to prevent its distribution.