JUNE 11, 2007
Posted June 26, 2007
Erica Guzmán, Hoy and Radio Popular
THREATENED
Guzmán, correspondent in the eastern city of Samaná for the national daily Hoy and the national station Radio Popular, told CPJ that her daughter received two anonymous calls threatening the journalist and her family with death after she reported on a local corruption scandal.
At 11:30 p.m., Guzmán’s daughter received a call to her cell phone from an undisclosed number. An unidentified man told said: “We are going to kill your mother for talking too much, and you and your brother should also be careful.” A few minutes later, an unidentified woman called the daughter’s phone, again from an unidentified number, and reiterated the threat.
Guzmán told CPJ that she believes the threats are linked to a March 29 report she published in Hoy and aired on Radio Popular on two local officials who were charging for notary services the government provides free. After the report was made public, Dominican authorities began an investigation into the two officials Guzmán named. One was fired on May 7 and the second on June 11, Guzmán told CPJ.
Gzmán said she reported the threats to local authorities who provided her with a police escort.