On Aug. 12, Peruvian journalist Pompillo Peña Ríos accused the mayor of Balsapuerto and his bodyguards of assaulting him in the province of Alto Amazonas, according to the Press and Society Institute.
Peruvian journalist Humberto Espinoza Maguiña received a death threat in the mail with a bullet in a letter addressed to his parents, reported the Institute for Press and Society on Monday, Aug. 8.
The Peruvian Congress investigated telephone calls made by a group of journalists in 2008 who alleged corruption by several government officials, including President Alan García, reported the newspaper La República.
A Peruvian appeals court has reduced the prison sentence for journalist Paul Garay from three years to 18 months, but has confirmed that he will remain in jail, reported Crónica Viva.
Peruvian newspaper Correo criticized Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa's visit to Peru at the invitation of the Andean nation's new president, Ollanta Humala, to attend the Ceremony of the Assumption.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) sent an open letter to Ollanta Humala, Peru’s new president, asking him to follow through on his campaign promise to decriminalize media offenses and end existing legal cases against journalists, EFE reports.
Peru’s Congress has passed a bill replacing prison time for defamation and libel offenses with fines and community service, Perú.com reports. The change was passed June 21, but it still needs the president’s signature to become law.
Journalist Jaime Quispe, the director of Jornada newspaper in Ayacucho, Peru, received a death threat the same day he published an article about political pressure to release a regional politician’s imprisoned brother, whom he accused of being a member of a blackmail gang, the Press and Society Institute (IPYS) reports.
The National Board of Elections (JNE), Peru’s highest electoral authority, has presented a formal complaint against Uri Ben Schmuel, the director of La Razón newspaper, for not including the complete datasheet of a poll published in the paper, the Press and Society Institute (IPYS) reports.
The Supreme Court of Peru sent a bill to Congress that would imprison those who distribute recordings of private conversations obtained by illegal telephone wiretaps, Perú21 reports. Freedom of expression groups said the bill was an attempt to restrict press freedom and weaken the tools used to watchdog the authorities, Diario Ya explains.