Gunmen disrupt distribution of newspaper
OCTOBER 3, 2006 Posted: October 13, 2006 El Meridiano de Sucre HARRASSED Several groups of unidentified individuals stopped distributors for the Sincelejo-based daily El Meridiano del Sucre, threatened them with guns and bought the majority of that day’s edition, which featured a story linking local government officials to paramilitary leaders, the daily’s editorial director Elsa…
Colombian radio commentator gunned down in his home
New York, August 28, 2006—Colombian radio commentator Atilano Segundo Pérez Barrios was murdered last week in his apartment in the northern city of Cartagena in the Bolívar province, according to news reports and CPJ interviews. The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating whether Pérez’ murder is related to his journalistic work. An unidentified assailant forced…
In Colombia, a provincial radio journalist is murdered
New York, August 11, 2006—Colombian radio host Milton Fabián Sánchez was gunned down on Wednesday night outside his home in Yumbo, in the southwestern Valle del Cauca province. The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating whether there is a connection between the murder and Sánchez’ work. A masked assailant shot Sánchez three times in the…
CPJ calls for probe into death threats against Bucaramanga editor
New York, July 25, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Colombian authorities to fully investigate death threats against a provincial journalist who criticized a local mayor. Marcos Perales Mendoza, editor of the weekly regional newspaper Portada in the northeastern city of Bucaramanga, has already been given a bulletproof vest, and a two-way police…
CPJ alarmed by threats against journalists and press freedom group
New York, June 14 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a spate of threats of violence this month against Colombian journalists and nongovernmental organizations, including the press freedom group Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa (FLIP). An unknown group calling itself Frente Democrático Colombia Libre (Free Colombia Democratic Front) sent e-mails on June…
Four journalists held during indigenous protest released
New York, May 22, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of four Colombian journalists who were detained on May 17 while covering indigenous protests against a free trade pact with the United States in Cauca province. Two days after the arrest, police released Richard Calpa, director of the radio station La Libertad in…