(IPYS/IFEX) – On 10 July 2004, journalist Marco Cruzálegui Chávez, director and host of the “TV y Cine al Día” television programme, was struck in the face by Alberto Longaray Rocha, son of the head of San Martín’s Superior Court, Judge César Longaray Bolaños. The incident occurred in front of the journalist’s house, in Moyobamba […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 10 July 2004, journalist Marco Cruzálegui Chávez, director and host of the “TV y Cine al Día” television programme, was struck in the face by Alberto Longaray Rocha, son of the head of San Martín’s Superior Court, Judge César Longaray Bolaños. The incident occurred in front of the journalist’s house, in Moyobamba province, San Martín region, northeastern Peru.
Cruzálegui Chávez was returning home from a social event when he was intercepted by Longaray Rocha and two other people. Longaray Rocha attacked the journalist while reprimanding him for investigating his father’s actions. Cruzálegui Chávez has been investigating the hiring of Longaray Rocha to work on a project named Proyecto Especial Alto Mayo.
One week before the attack, Cruzálegui Chávez had accused Max Ramírez García, president of the San Martín regional government, of using his position of authority to authorise the hiring of Longaray Rocha to work on the Proyecto Especial Alto Mayo. The journalist alleged that Ramírez García’s objective in allowing the judge’s son to be hired was to delay legal proceedings launched against him for alleged misappropriation of funds. The Proyecto Especial Alto Mayo was transferred to the San Martín regional government’s jurisdiction earlier this year.
Cruzálegui Chávez underwent surgery for a broken nose. A complaint was filed with the Peruvian National Police (PNP) and the Moyobamba Provincial Prosecutor’s Office.
A number of media outlets, both in Moyobamba and in Lima, have reported on allegations of corruption and misappropriation of funds by Ramírez García.
