(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has voiced concern about a proposed anti-terrorism statute that was approved on 6 November 2003 by Colombia’s House of Representatives on its sixth reading. The statute would allow the army to carry out searches, tap telephones and intercept private correspondence without a warrant, during a 72 hour period, in cases involving individuals […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has voiced concern about a proposed anti-terrorism statute that was approved on 6 November 2003 by Colombia’s House of Representatives on its sixth reading. The statute would allow the army to carry out searches, tap telephones and intercept private correspondence without a warrant, during a 72 hour period, in cases involving individuals suspected of having terrorist links.
“If these provisions are applied to journalists, they will threaten the confidentiality of sources and cast doubt on the independence of the press,” RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard said. The organisation is especially concerned that a lack of judicial control could open the way to abuses.
For the proposed statute to become law, it must now be approved by the Senate’s first commission and then passed in a Senate plenary session. Ménard wrote to the chairman of the Senate’s first commission, Luis Humberto Gómez, calling for the elimination of the anti-terrorism provisions at the next reading.
During the 6 November House of Representatives session, legislators struck down an article that would have banned news media from revealing the names of detained persons during the first 72 hours of arrest on the grounds of an individual’s right to protect their reputation.
