(RSF/IFEX) – Journalist Freddy Muñoz of Telesur international television network was charged on 7 December 2006 with “rebellion and terrorism” and faces six to 15 years in prison. The prosecutor’s office in Barranquilla, northern Colombia, where the journalist is being held, said the case would take eight months to come to court. The Colombian authorities […]
(RSF/IFEX) – Journalist Freddy Muñoz of Telesur international television network was charged on 7 December 2006 with “rebellion and terrorism” and faces six to 15 years in prison. The prosecutor’s office in Barranquilla, northern Colombia, where the journalist is being held, said the case would take eight months to come to court. The Colombian authorities insist that the case against him has nothing to do with his work as a journalist, in particular his interview a year ago with guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, FARC). They said Muñoz is accused of taking part in a 2002 FARC attack, which he has always denied, in which no one was injured.
Three former FARC combatants have provided evidence against Muñoz, but his lawyer, Tito Gaítan, told RSF that the testimony itself was vague. One of them had said he knew someone called Jorge Eliecer, alias “Freddy”, an Afro-Colombian, whereas Muñoz is mestizo, that is to say of mixed indigenous-white descent. Another one only mentioned the nickname “Freddy” and said this man was an explosives expert expert and had injuries caused by explosions. A medical examination of the journalist showed that his scars were not caused by handling explosives.
“In the light of such weak ‘evidence’, Reporters Without Borders does not believe that Freddy Muñoz is the man sought by the Colombian courts. The organisation fears that the journalist is a victim of political score-settling linked to his work for Telesur, known to be hostile to President Alvaro Uribe. We therefore call for his release,” RSF added.
Muñoz was arrested at the Bogota airport on 19 November on his return from Caracas, where Telesur has its headquarters. The network, which is funded jointly by four Latin American countries, was set up at the initiative of the Venezuelan government, which the Colombian authorities accuse of covering up for FARC.
