Inter-American Human Rights System, campaigns against defamation laws keep journalists from jail in Americas
When a prison guard told Ángel Santiesteban Prats that he would be released from jail on a scorching summer day in July, the Cuban independent writer and blogger decided to ignore him, brushing off the news as a cruel joke. By then, Santiesteban had already spent two years and five months in prison, half of…
Peru’s Urresti has eyes on presidency despite being charged in 1988 journalist murder
Almost 30 years after Peruvian war correspondent Hugo Bustíos Saavedra was shot dead, the suspected mastermind is on trial. The man accused in the murder, Daniel Urresti Elera, plans to run for president. A special report by CPJ Andes Correspondent John Otis
Journalist murder haunts career of Peruvian presidential aspirant
Daniel Urresti charged in the 1988 killing of reporter Hugo Bustíos Saavedra New York, September 17, 2015–Almost 30 years after Peruvian war correspondent Hugo Bustíos Saavedra was shot dead, Daniel Urresti Elera–a presidential candidate for the ruling Nationalist Party–has been charged with his murder and is currently on trial. A new report released today by…
Criminal defamation thwarts critical reporting in Ayacucho
When Wilfredo Oscorima, the governor of the southern Peruvian state of Ayacucho, was sentenced in June to five years in prison for official misconduct, independent daily La Calle viewed the ruling as vindication for its vigorous investigations into his administration.
Journalist gunned down in Peru
Bogotá, November 11, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Sunday’s murder of Peruvian journalist Fernando Raymondi and calls on authorities to fully investigate the crime and establish a motive. The journalist was investigating a story on local gangs for Peru’s leading newsmagazine Caretas, according to news reports.
Peruvian radio host’s wife killed in attack on station
Bogotá, Colombia, October 20, 2014–Peruvian authorities must conduct an efficient and thorough investigation into Friday’s attack on a radio station in which assailants killed the wife of a journalist, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Peru Interior minister under investigation in 1988 journalist murder
Some of Peru’s top government officials, including President Ollanta Humala, are former army officers who spent the 1980s fighting Maoist Shining Path guerrillas. Both sides committed massive human rights abuses, but now one particularly brutal episode is coming back to haunt the Humala administration.
Bomb detonates outside journalist’s home in Peru
Bogotá, April 24, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Tuesday’s attack on the home of Peruvian journalist Yofré López Sifuentes and calls on authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and hold the perpetrators to account. Lopez was unhurt after a bomb exploded, but his parents were injured, according to news reports.