(PFC/IFEX) – On 29 September 2003, during the “TV Libre” television programme, journalist Julio Toyos announced that he had received death threats because of an investigation he was conducting into alleged police links to a mafia ring in the city of Paysandú. Toyos said that after he and his news team decided to talk to […]
(PFC/IFEX) – On 29 September 2003, during the “TV Libre” television programme, journalist Julio Toyos announced that he had received death threats because of an investigation he was conducting into alleged police links to a mafia ring in the city of Paysandú.
Toyos said that after he and his news team decided to talk to an individual from Paysandú who wanted to make a statement about the situation, he received a call warning him that he would be killed if he went ahead with the interview. According to Toyos, the individuals who threatened him said that they were allowing the person he was going to interview to make declarations to the local but not the national press. They further added that if Toyos went to Paysandú they would kill his contact, the journalist and anyone who would accompany him.
After Toyos publicly broadcast the fact that he had received death threats, Paysandú’s police chief phoned the journalist, offering him protection if he decided to visit Paysandú. Toyos refused the offer, saying that his only protection would come “when the microphones speak and the camera images are broadcast on television.” Toyos subsequently visited Paysandú without incident.
In a letter to Interior Minister Guillermo Stirling, PFC expressed concern over the threats against Toyos. “The intimidation of journalists represents a grave threat against free expression since it hampers journalists in their work and deprives the public of information,” PFC said, while calling for a complete investigation into the identity of those responsible for the threats against Toyos.
For further information on the case, see:
http://portal-pfc.org/perseguidos/2003/135.html
