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.
The president of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, has urged the governors and mayors of his country to accept media criticism as a “bucket of cold water” and see if they are doing things well, according to the newspaper El País.
The president of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, has urged the governors and mayors of his country to accept media criticism as a “bucket of cold water” and see if they are doing things well, according to the newspaper El País.
After a nine-year legal process that involved several courts, the Supreme Court of Justice in Chile absolved a journalist accused of slander, according to the web portals of Cooperativa Chile and the country's judicial branch.
Concerned about the growing threat of slander and libel lawsuits as tool to censor the press, the Free Press Foundation (FLIP in Spanish) released "Outside Justice: a manual for journalists facing slander and libel charges,".