Colombia / Americas

  

Colombian journalist José Abelardo Liz killed during military attack on Indigenous group

Bogotá, Colombia, August 18, 2020 — Colombian authorities must swiftly and transparently investigate the killing of Indigenous radio journalist José Abelardo Liz, determine if members of the military were responsible, and bring his killers to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 13, Liz was shot and killed during a two-day military…

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Soldiers shoot at journalist in Colombia, threaten reporters covering coca protests

Bogotá, August 17, 2020 – Colombian authorities must undertake a thorough and transparent investigation into violence against journalists Fernando Osorio and Edilson Álvarez, and ensure those responsible are brought to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 8, soldiers chased Osorio, a photographer for the local news cooperative Voces del Guayabero, which…

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Colombian court orders authorities to compensate journalist Claudia Julieta Duque for years of harassment and surveillance

New York, August 13, 2020 – In response to a decision by the Administrative Tribunal of Cundinamarca finding that the Colombian state violated journalist Claudia Julieta Duque’s rights and ordering multiple government entities to compensate her, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “The Cundinamarca Administrative Tribunal’s ruling is a necessary and overdue…

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Colombian vice president files criminal defamation suit against journalist

Bogotá, July 28, 2020 – Colombian Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez should drop her criminal defamation suit against InSight Crime journalist Jeremy McDermott, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 24, the attorney general’s office notified McDermott, a British national who works as co-director and legal representative of the Medellín-based news organization InSight…

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Three photographers arrested while covering protests in Medellín, Colombia

On June 15, 2020, police assaulted, arrested, and detained overnight photographers Harrison Agudelo, Juan Carlos Londoño, and Juan Pablo Herrera, according to Londoño who spoke to CPJ via phone and the Bogotá-based group Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP). The incident happened as the three were covering an anti-government protest in the western Colombian city of…

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In Colombia, a shipping container on wheels brings a roving reporting workshop to news deserts

Can the key to ending news blackouts in isolated areas of Colombia come from inside a shipping container? The Bogotá-based Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) thinks so. In an experiment to turn community activists into reporters in regions that lack local news outlets, FLIP has converted a shipping container into a roving journalism classroom. For…

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Colombian police officers are seen in Soacha, near Bogota, on March 31, 2020. CPJ recently joined a letter calling on the Colombian government to strengthen protections for journalists amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (AFP/Raul Arboleda)

CPJ joins letter calling on Colombia to strengthen protections for journalists

The Committee to Protect Journalists on May 4 joined more than 100 civil society organizations in an open letter calling on Colombia’s National Protection Unit to adopt measures to ensure the safety of journalists and other human rights defenders under increased threat due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Colombian soldiers wearing masks as a preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19 are deployed on Simon Boliviar square in Bogota on April 21, 2020. A report by Colombian newsweekly Semana released May 1 found that Colombian military intelligence had surveilled local and international journalists. (AFP/Juan Barreto)

Colombian military monitored local, international journalists, Semana reports

New York, May 1, 2020 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed alarm at a new report alleging that Colombian military intelligence officials carried out an extensive monitoring operation targeting more than 130 individuals including more than 30 national and international journalists, and called on authorities to immediately undertake a transparent investigation into the…

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A police officer patrols the streets in Bogota, Colombia, on March 25, 2020. Colombian journalist Eder Narváez Sierra recently received death threats over his reporting. (AFP/Juan Barreto)

Colombian journalist receives death threat after reporting on killings

Bogotá, April 17, 2020 – Colombian authorities must swiftly and thoroughly investigate the death threats against journalist Eder Narváez Sierra and ensure he has adequate protection, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Police are seen in Bogota, Colombia, on March 25, 2020. Authorities recently suspended meetings of the country's journalist protection program amid fears of the COVID-19 pandemic. (AP/Fernando Vergara)

Colombian protection unit suspends risk assessments ‘indefinitely’ due to coronavirus

New York, April 2, 2020 — In response to the Colombian National Protection Unit’s announcement that it would be suspending the country’s Risk Assessment and Protection Measures Recommendation Committee, which grants protective measures to journalists, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement:

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