(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 7 July 2000 letter to Attorney General Alfonso Gomez Méndez, CPJ expressed its sorrow over the 4 July assassination of Marisol Revelo Baron, a journalist based in Tumaco, in the southwestern department of Nariño. CPJ urged the attorney general to see to it that the perpetrators of this crime are brought […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 7 July 2000 letter to Attorney General Alfonso Gomez Méndez, CPJ expressed its sorrow over the 4 July assassination of Marisol Revelo Baron, a journalist based in Tumaco, in the southwestern department of Nariño. CPJ urged the attorney general to see to it that the perpetrators of this crime are brought to justice swiftly.
Local sources have informed CPJ that on 4 July, at around 7:30 p.m. (local time), two gunmen on a motorcycle stopped in front of Revelo’s house on La Playa Avenue in Tumaco. One kept the motorcycle’s engine running, while the other knocked on the journalist’s door. Revelo’s companion opened the door and was told the visitors had a message for Revelo. When Revelo came to the door, the attacker fired five shots, hitting her three times. The journalist was killed instantly. Her companion, a member of a local battalion of marines, was wounded in the leg and was taken to a military hospital.
Although Revelo spent her entire career working as a journalist, at the time of her death she was a social worker with the Regional Autonomous Corporation of Nariño, a state-run environmental agency. Before joining this agency (also known as Corponariño) a year and a half ago, Revelo worked as a news director for Radio Mira, an affiliate of the Radio Caracol network in Tumaco, and as a local reporter for TV channels Teletumaco and Impacto Television.
According to area reports, the local police are investigating the attack but as yet have made no statement about a possible motive. CPJ’s local sources have not been able to immediately identify the cause of the attack.
CPJ welcomes the commitment made by President Andrés Pastrana Arango in a letter sent to CPJ on 28 June to support the Office for Research on Journalist Cases, created under the Human Rights Unit of his office.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the attorney general:
– stating that you hope the president’s support for the Office for Research on Journalist Cases will ensure a thorough and prompt investigation into the assassination of Revelo, and other crimes committed against journalists
– calling on him to ensure that the perpetrators are punished to the full extent of the law
Appeals To
APPEALS TO:
Alfonso Gomez Méndez
Fiscal General de la Nacion
Fiscalía General de la Nacion
Calle 35 No. 4-31
Apartado Aereo 29855
Bogotá, Colombia
Fax: +57 1 288 2828
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
