(IPYS/IFEX) – In a precautionary measure, the Bucaramanga Attorney’s Office ordered that Jorge Torres, Carlos Castillo and Hernando Maldonado be placed under detention with no possibility of being released on bail. The three are accused of being responsible for the attack on Eduardo Pilonieta Pinilla, a lawyer and columnist for the daily “Vanguardia Liberal”. The […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – In a precautionary measure, the Bucaramanga Attorney’s Office ordered that Jorge Torres, Carlos Castillo and Hernando Maldonado be placed under detention with no possibility of being released on bail. The three are accused of being responsible for the attack on Eduardo Pilonieta Pinilla, a lawyer and columnist for the daily “Vanguardia Liberal”.
The attack under investigation occurred on 14 June 2000 at 1:45 p.m. (local time) in Bucaramanga, capital city of the department of Santander, in Colombia’s western region. At the time, two assassins riding a motorcycle attempted to kill the journalist, leaving him seriously injured. Pilonieta also works as a lawyer.
IPYS was informed of the latest developments in the case by the office of the Attorney General.
Torres is the former director of the Workers’ Labour Union (Union Sindical Obrera, USO), Bucaramanga branch. According to local authorities, the former labour leader is believed to be behind the attack. He is accused of attempted murder, aggravated assault and conspiring to commit a crime.
According to a source in the police department, Torres was intending to leave the country when he was apprehended on Friday 24 November in the Venezuelan consulate in Bucaramanga.
Castillo and Maldonado are alleged to have committed the attack. They are believed to have shot Pilonieta while riding by on a motorcycle.
It is still believed that the motive behind the attack on the columnist was not related to his journalism work but rather to his work as a lawyer.
Ten journalists have been murdered in Colombia this year, at least six of them for reasons related to their profession.
