(IPYS/IFEX) – On 12 April 2005, journalist César Hildebrandt Chávez, of the Lima-based “La Ventana Indiscreta” television programme, was assaulted by relatives of National Police Lieutenant Lady Bardales Castillo. Bardales Castillo is a member of the Government Palace security unit. Hildebrandt Chávez said he visited Bardales Castillo’s family home in Chiclayo, northern Peru, to investigate […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 12 April 2005, journalist César Hildebrandt Chávez, of the Lima-based “La Ventana Indiscreta” television programme, was assaulted by relatives of National Police Lieutenant Lady Bardales Castillo. Bardales Castillo is a member of the Government Palace security unit.
Hildebrandt Chávez said he visited Bardales Castillo’s family home in Chiclayo, northern Peru, to investigate allegations of diversion of public funds to the police officer’s family. Several months earlier, some media outlets had alleged that there was a romantic relationship between Bardales Castillo and President Alejandro Toledo.
After identifying himself as a journalist, Hildebrandt Chávez was stopped by the lieutenant’s father, retired police officer Hipólito Bardales Cáceres, and her brother, non-comissioned National Police Officer Joel Nazareno Bardales Castillo, who threw him to the floor and began to kick him. The two men also took Hildebrandt Chávez’s camera and the documents he was carrying.
The journalist escaped from his assailants and filed a report about the incident at the nearest police station. A forensic doctor confirmed his injuries. Hours later, in the presence of Víctor Tiñedo Padilla, a Public Prosecutor’s Office representative, Hildebrandt Chávez confronted Joel Bardales Castillo, who denied the journalist’s accusations. Bardales Castillo was allowed to go free, but police chief Juan Álvarez Manrique, of the police’s Second Territorial Division, initiated an investigation and Hipólito Bardales Cáceres has been summoned to appear at the Public Prosecutor’s Office on 18 April.
