(IPYS/IFEX) – On 20 May 2005, congressman Victor Valdez Melendez assaulted Rufino Zambrano Pinto, a reporter for “Ahora”, a newspaper in Pucallpa, eastern Peru. The incident occurred after Valdez testified before the Third Penal Court of the province of Coronel Portillo, as part of a libel suit he filed against “Ahora” on 28 March. The […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 20 May 2005, congressman Victor Valdez Melendez assaulted Rufino Zambrano Pinto, a reporter for “Ahora”, a newspaper in Pucallpa, eastern Peru. The incident occurred after Valdez testified before the Third Penal Court of the province of Coronel Portillo, as part of a libel suit he filed against “Ahora” on 28 March. The politician is seeking damages from the paper after an article alleged he had organised a popular uprising two months earlier, which lead to public buildings being damaged.
Zambrano told IPYS that he asked Valdez, as the congressman left the court, if he still upheld his accusation against the newspaper. When Valdez answered that he did, the journalist accused him of lying, adding that the paper had video evidence and witnesses to the events. Zambrano then told the congressman he would be better to go after other media outlets in the area who questioned his private life. It was then that Valdez reacted with violence.
Zambrano told IPYS that he has already made a formal complaint at Pucallpa’s police headquarters. The congressman has issued a press release in his own defence, claiming his reaction was only natural considering he had been insulted.
