(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 10 February 2004 IAPA press release: IAPA condemns murder of Nicaraguan journalist and calls for urgent investigation Miami (February 10, 2004)- The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) today condemned the murder of Nicaraguan journalist Carlos Guadamuz and asked officials of that country to begin an immediate investigation to find […]
(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 10 February 2004 IAPA press release:
IAPA condemns murder of Nicaraguan journalist and calls for urgent investigation
Miami (February 10, 2004)- The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) today condemned the murder of Nicaraguan journalist Carlos Guadamuz and asked officials of that country to begin an immediate investigation to find those responsible.
Guadamuz was shot five times at midday on February 10, as he was driving to Channel 23 station in Managua, where he hosted a daily program. Although the motive is unknown, William Hurtado García was arrested and identified by station employees as the person who fired at the journalist.
The chairman of the IAPA’s Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, Rafael Molina, stated, “we ask officials to investigate the facts of this case as soon as possible to avoid impunity and lack of punishment, something that is prevalent in Nicaragua.”
Guadamuz, widely known in Nicaragua and former director of the official radio station, La Voz de Nicaragua (The Voice of Nicaragua), during the Sandinista period, drifted apart from the group and became a harsh critic of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) leadership, including its head, Daniel Ortega.
“We urge officials to apply the full extent of the law against those guilty,” said Molina, of the Dominican Republic-based newspaper El Nacional. Molina recalled that January 10 was the 26th anniversary of the murder of journalist Pedro Joaquín Chamorro.
