(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is an 8 April 2002 IAPA press release: IAPA speaks out against murder of Colombian journalist Miami (April 8, 2002) – The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) mourns the murder of a Colombian journalist and demands that authorities initiate a prompt investigation so that this crime does not remain unpunished, and […]
(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is an 8 April 2002 IAPA press release:
IAPA speaks out against murder of Colombian journalist
Miami (April 8, 2002) – The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) mourns the murder of a Colombian journalist and demands that authorities initiate a prompt investigation so that this crime does not remain unpunished, and at the same time, urges the government to take immediate steps to guarantee news coverage without barriers.
The body of Juan Carlos Gomez Díaz, a 22-year old radio announcer who worked at La Voz radio station in Aguachicha in César Department, located in the northeastern part of the country, was found on Wednesday, April 3, in the waters of the Magdalena River, in Puerto Mosquito, with several gunshot wounds to the head and signs of torture.
Gomez, who gave commentaries on a wide range of local issues and ran a music program, arrived at a friend’s home on the evening of April 1 where he observed alleged members of the paramilitary group United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, AUC), grabbing his friend. When he started to ask what was going on, he was also forced to get into a vehicle.
Rafael Molina, chairman of the IAPA Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, asked authorities for an expeditious investigation and reiterated the need to adopt measures to guarantee the free exercise of the profession in the country’s conflict zones.
According to initial investigations by the IAPA’s Rapid Response Unit in Colombia, the victim’s father, Luis Alejandro Gomez, who is also a journalist, has received death threats allegedly from the paramilitary group, because of statements he has made to the media accusing them of being responsible for the crime.
Molina also recalled the recent murders of Colombian journalists Orlando Sierra Hernández, on February 2, and Alvaro Alonso Escobar, on December 23, 2001.
Meanwhile, the IAPA demands that Colombian authorities investigate the repeated death threats against Carlos José Lajud Llanos, a reporter for City TV television station.
