Committee to Protect Journalists - Peru

CPJ urges OAS not to weaken human rights system

2013-03-18T16:40:37Z

Dear OAS Ministers of Foreign Affairs: Ahead of the assembly of the Organization of American States on Friday, the Committee to Protect Journalists urges you to oppose any attempts to debilitate the regional human rights system. The failure of member states to preserve the autonomy and independence of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and its special rapporteur on freedom of expression would make citizens throughout the hemisphere more vulnerable to human rights violations and represent a blow to democracy in the Americas.

Unidentified gunman kills Peruvian photographer in Lima

2013-02-25T18:01:34Z

Bogota, Colombia, February 25, 2013--Authorities in Peru should immediately determine the motive behind the murder of a journalist on Saturday and bring the perpetrators to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Attacks on the Press in 2012: Peru

2013-02-14T05:04:59Z

Anti-press violence dipped slightly, but impunity persisted in past attacks. The prosecutor in charge of investigating the 2011 slaying of TV journalist Pedro Alfonso Flores Silva was murdered himself in April 2012, the same week he was to announce his findings. The following month, national police announced that Flores’ murder had been ordered by a local mayor in reprisal for the journalist’s reporting on government corruption, but the mayor was never formally charged in the case. Separately, the former mayor of the city of Coronel Portillo was acquitted in May in connection with the 2004 murder of radio journalist Alberto Rivera Fernandez. After condemnation by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the Peruvian Supreme Court overturned its own decision to free Alberto Pinto, former head of the military’s intelligence service, who had been serving a 15-year sentence for the 1990s-era murders of civilians, including journalist Pedro Yauri. Pinto went into hiding in the face of an arrest warrant. Several assaults were reported. One journalist was beaten unconscious after reporting on local corruption. Journalists who covered violent protests against a mining project were attacked by police and demonstrators. No journalists were imprisoned in 2012, but two were given suspended prison sentences on criminal defamation charges. A bill that eliminated jail terms for defamation has been stalled in Congress since mid-2011.

Peruvian journalist shot after reporting on corruption

2013-02-06T22:10:27Z

Bogota, Colombia, February 6, 2013--A provincial radio journalist in southern Peru who has reported on local government corruption was shot in the leg while riding his motorcycle to work today, according to local press reports and the regional press group Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS).

CPJ mourns the deaths of four journalists in Peru

2012-11-06T19:34:08Z

New York, November 6, 2012--The Committee to Protect Journalists is saddened by the deaths of four Peruvian journalists who perished Monday in a car accident in the central highlands Junín region while on assignment, according to news reports.

Journalist who reported on corruption attacked in Peru

2012-06-26T18:56:15Z

New York, June 26, 2012--Peruvian authorities must investigate a violent attack on a local TV journalist and ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Two Peruvian journalists found guilty of defamation

2012-06-06T21:26:12Z

New York, June 6, 2012--An appeals court in Peru must overturn the guilty verdict handed down yesterday to two Peruvian journalists charged with defamation, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Peruvian journalist's defamation conviction overturned

2012-04-02T17:17:40Z

New York, April 2, 2012--The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes a recent decision by a Peruvian appeals court to overturn the criminal defamation conviction against a journalist who reported on local corruption.

Attacks on the Press in 2011: Peru

2012-02-21T05:44:00Z

Press freedom suffered notable setbacks in 2011. In the run-up to the presidential election in June, journalists reported an alarming rise in attacks and threats in response to campaign coverage. In northern Peru, one journalist was murdered in reprisal for his work, while two others were killed under unclear circumstances. Trial courts convicted four journalists under archaic criminal defamation laws, with one reporter imprisoned for more than six months until his conviction was overturned on appeal. President Ollanta Humala pledged upon assuming office in July to be a “defender of human rights, freedom of the press, and freedom of expression.” In July, Congress passed a bill that would eliminate jail terms for defamation, but by late year the president had not signed the measure into law.

Peruvian daily attacked after linking police to gangs

2011-12-06T21:09:41Z

New York, December 6, 2011--The offices of Peruvian regional daily El Sol de los Andes were attacked and vandalized on November 30 after the newspaper reported on alleged links between local police and criminal gangs, according to local press reports.

In Peru, journalist given suspended prison sentence

2011-11-10T20:41:47Z

New York, November 10, 2011--A Peruvian provincial journalist was found guilty of defamation by a regional court on Monday and received a suspended prison sentence and fine for his reports about alleged corruption, news reports said.

Peruvian journalist attacked after reporting on corruption

2011-11-07T17:45:03Z

New York, November 7, 2011--A Peruvian provincial reporter was shot and wounded on Saturday while resisting an attempted kidnapping that his colleagues believe may have been in reprisal for his coverage of police corruption, news reports said.

Peru frees journalist jailed for defamation

2011-10-31T19:23:43Z

New York, October 31, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release on Saturday of Peruvian journalist Paul Segundo Garay Ramírez, a television and radio news show host who had been imprisoned for more than six months. Citing flawed evidence, the Supreme Court on Friday overturned Garay's conviction on charges of defaming a prosecutor in Coronel Portillo, according to news reports.

Critical journalist gunned down in Peru

2011-09-16T20:08:52Z

New York, September 16, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Peruvian authorities to fully investigate the murder of journalist José Oquendo Reyes, who was shot to death on Wednesday, and bring those responsible to justice.

Peruvian journalist dies after attack by gunman

2011-09-08T19:47:03Z

New York, September 8, 2011--Peruvian television journalist Pedro Alfonso Flores Silva died today from gunshot wounds sustained in an attack by an unidentified assailant late Tuesday, local press said.