
New York, February 9, 2010—In a controversial ruling, a Peruvian tribunal acquitted on Monday two alleged masterminds in the 2004 murder of radio reporter Alberto Rivera Fernández, the local press reported. The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Peruvian judicial authorities to review the ruling and ensure that all those responsible for killing Rivera, left, are brought to justice.
Luis Valdez and Solio Ramírez, two former public officials in the town of Coronel Portillo, Loreto Department, were acquitted of plotting Rivera’s killing after the Lima Superior Court found there was insufficient evidence to convict them of “instigating murder” under the criminal code, the Peruvian press reported. The district attorney’s office had requested the tribunal sentence the accused to 20 years in prison.
“This verdict is a disappointment to many in the Peruvian media who see it as a signal that crimes against journalists will go unpunished,” said Carlos Lauría, CPJ senior program coordinator for the Americas. “We call on the appeals court to overturn this decision and ensure a retrial that will hear all evidence.”
Rivera’s family filed a petition of annulment before the
Peruvian Supreme Court of Justice today, the family’s lawyer, Carlos Rivera,
told CPJ. If the Supreme Court accepts the request,
According to the lawyer, the evidence presented during the
trial showed a clear link between
On April 12, 2004, two unidentified gunmen shot
Rivera to death at the glass store the journalist owned in the city of
In November 2007, the Superior Court of Ucayali sentenced
Lito Fasabi, aka Chino Lito, to 35 years for killing Rivera, and Alex Panduro
Ventura, aka Trolón, to 20 years for acting as an intermediary between the
killer and the mastermind. According to media reports, both Fasabi and Panduro
said that