(PERIODISTAS/IFEX) – On the morning of 26 July 2002, journalist Alejandro Colussi’s house was showered with bullets by unknown persons. The assailants destroyed the journalist’s car and assaulted his police guard. Colussi hosts the programmes De Frente and Atardece que no es poco on the radio station LT9 Radio Brigadier Lopez. At 4:30 a.m. (local […]
(PERIODISTAS/IFEX) – On the morning of 26 July 2002, journalist Alejandro Colussi’s house was showered with bullets by unknown persons. The assailants destroyed the journalist’s car and assaulted his police guard. Colussi hosts the programmes De Frente and Atardece que no es poco on the radio station LT9 Radio Brigadier Lopez.
At 4:30 a.m. (local time), Colussi heard a racket outside his house, where he lives with his wife and three-month-old daughter. Then, four or five shots were fired and unknown individuals were heard shouting at the journalist, reprimanding him and daring him to come outside. According to witness testimony, two hooded men opened fire on the house and then fired at Eduardo Cadenazzi, aged 29, a police guard assigned to the journalist’s home. The police arrived at the scene a few minutes later, but the attackers had already escaped. Cadenazzi was hospitalised and underwent an operation to remove a bullet lodged in his leg.
Colussi was assigned a guard a month ago after he received threats via anonymous telephone calls and from unknown individuals in the street. At that time, the journalist was investigating complaints about irregularities committed in connection with the social assistance programme “Heads of the household” (“Jefes y Jefas de Hogar”), in Sante Fe province. Justice councillors involved in the irregularities were being investigated by Griselda Tessio, an official from the Sante Fe Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Pablo Bosch, the producer of Colussi’s programmes, believes that the latest attack is not connected to the threats Colussi had received. “The journalist’s house is located close to San Lorenzo neighbourhood, where the day before police had carried out an operation to dismantle a dangerous criminal gang hiding out in the area,” Bosch told PERIODISTAS. “Local residents had asked the authorities to intervene and our programme strongly supported this call for security.”
Colussi filed a complaint with the Sante Fe Regional Police Fourth Division and the investigation is in the hands of Judge José Manuel García Porta. The Sante Fe Press Association (Asociacion de Prensa de Santa Fe), the Rosario Press Union (Sindicato de Prensa de Rosario) and the Argentine Federation of Press Workers (Federacion Argentina de Trabajadores de Prensa, FATPREN), have condemned the attack. PERIODISTAS expressed support for their colleague and called on the authorities to do everything possible to shed light on the attack and guarantee the security of the journalist and his family.
On 27 July, García Porta stated that the preliminary police investigation led to the detention of three people with prior records who may be connected to the attack. The judge also noted that though the delinquents confiscated Cadenazzi’s gun, a different weapon was used to shoot him.
Recommended Action
Send letters of support to Colussi:
LT 9 Radio Brigadier Lopez
Tel: +54 342 410 9999
E-mail: lt9sfe@santafe.com.ar
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
