Rebels burn copies of newspaper
Click here to read more about press freedom conditions in COLOMBIA New York, July 11, 2000 — On June 20, guerrillas from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the armed movement known by its Colombian acronym FARC, confiscated and burned copies of the Bogotá-based daily El Tiempo.
Colombia: Journalist Assassinated
Dear Mr. Gómez, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to express its sorrow over the July 4 assassination of Marisol Revelo Barón, a journalist based in Tumaco in the southwestern department of Nariño. We urge you to see to it that the perpetrators of this crime are brought to justice swiftly.
Colombia: Reporter kidnapped, tortured after covering prison massacre
Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply disturbed by the May 25 kidnapping and torture of Jineth Bedoya Lima, a reporter with the Bogotá-based daily El Espectador. We call on Your Excellency to ensure that the incident is fully investigated, and the guilty parties punished.
Colombia: Suspicious break-in at magazine offices
Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists is disturbed by the recent break-in at the offices of the Bogotá-based magazine Alternativa, which was apparently carried out with the intention of blocking publication of the magazine’s forthcoming issue. We call on Your Excellency to see to it that the incident is fully investigated and the guilty parties punished.
Attacks on the Press 1999: Americas Analysis
By Marylene SmeetsGovernments in several Latin American countries took steps to bring their media laws up to international standards. But as the Latin American press continued to expose wrongdoing, its very strength rendered it vulnerable to a new kind of harassment: defamation campaigns.
Attacks on the Press 1999: 1999 Death Toll: Listed by Country
[Click here for full list of documented cases] At its most fundamental level, the job of a journalist is to bear witness. In 1999, journalists in Sierra Leone witnessed rebels’ atrocities against civilians in the streets of Freetown. In the Balkans, journalists watched ethnic Albanians fleeing the deadly menace of Serbian police and paramilitaries. In…
Attacks on the Press 1999: United States
Since its founding in 1981, CPJ has, as a matter of strategy and policy, concentrated on press freedom violations and attacks on journalists outside the United States. CPJ aims to devote its efforts to those countries where journalists are most in need of international support and protection. As a result, we do not systematically monitor…
EDITOR FORCED INTO EXILE AFTER AVOIDING ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
New York, March 14, 2000 — Francisco “Pacho” Santos Calderón, editor of Colombia’s largest daily newspaper, El Tiempo, fled the country on March 11 after an apparent attempt was made on his life. According to one of Santos’ colleagues, the assassins were hired by members of the left-wing Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Colombia’s…
Colombia: Journalist remains in captivity
New York, Feb. 15, 2000—CPJ is deeply concerned about the safety of Guillermo Cortés, editorial director of “Hora Cero,” a nightly television news program broadcast on Canal A in Bogotá, who was kidnapped on January 22 and remains missing. While no one has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, new evidence points to the Revolutionary Armed…