In Peru, radio commentator slain in front of family
New York, March 19, 2007—Two hooded gunmen shot and killed a popular Peruvian radio commentator in front of his wife and children on Saturday night, according to news reports. Eyewitnesses quoted by the Lima daily La República said the attackers opened fire on Miguel Pérez Julca as the journalist and his family were nearing the…
Attacks on the Press 2006: Peru
PERU A Supreme Court decision overturning a local mayor’s conviction in the murder of a radio journalist alarmed the news media and punctuated a year in which provincial reporters faced threats and attacks from local officials and their supporters. Citing a lack of evidence, the high court ordered the release of Yungay Mayor Amaro León…
Peruvian court tosses convictions in journalist’s murder
New York, July 28, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by the Peruvian Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the murder convictions of three men, one a local mayor, in the 2004 slaying of journalist Antonio de la Torre Echeandía. The court, in a July 21 decision, freed the three defendants without immediate explanation.…
Journalist attacked, threatened after reporting on colleague’s murder
New York, March 24, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by threats against Peruvian radio journalist Rory Huaney Rodríguez in the city of Yungay, in the northern Áncash province. Huaney said the threats stem from his coverage of the trial of a former local mayor charged in the 2004 murder of journalist Antonio de…
Attacks on the Press 2005: Peru
PERU Attacks and threats against the press, particularly in Peru’s interior, continued a disturbing upward trend that began in 2004. After lessening in frequency and severity after President Alberto Fujimori fled office in 2000, assaults on journalists were reported regularly in 2005. The Lima-based press freedom organization Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, considered the authoritative local…
CPJ welcomes convictions in murder of radio journalist
New York, December 16, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the conviction by a Peruvian court of three men in the murder of radio journalist Antonio de la Torre Echeandía in Yungay, northern Áncash Region. On December 15, the Áncash Superior Court of Justice found former Yungay Mayor Amaro León guilty of masterminding the February…
Attacks on the Press 2004: Peru
Peru Attacks and threats against journalists increased considerably in 2004, reversing a decline that had followed Alejandro Toledo’s accession to the presidency in 2001. And while Peruvian journalists generally work freely, several have been prosecuted on criminal defamation charges. The embattled Toledo, a highly unpopular leader whose term ends in July 2006, has faced several…
CPJ condemns murder of journalistGroup is concerned that local authorities might be responsible
Dear Mrs. Calderón: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the murder of Peruvian journalist Antonio de la Torre Echeandía, who was killed after leaving a party on February 14, 2004, in the city of Yungay, in northern Ancash Department. Based on recent developments in the case, we are concerned Yungay authorities may have been…