(IPYS/IFEX) – On 27 January 1999, at approximately 3:00 p.m. (local time), journalist Victor Raúl Arroyo Huamán was attacked by three individuals who beat and kicked him, causing serious head and body injuries. Arroyo Huaman, who hosts the news program “La Razon” (“Reason”) on Radio Exito, was attacked as he returned by taxi to his […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 27 January 1999, at approximately 3:00 p.m. (local time),
journalist Victor Raúl Arroyo Huamán was attacked by three individuals who
beat and
kicked him, causing serious head and body injuries. Arroyo Huaman, who hosts
the news program “La Razon” (“Reason”) on Radio Exito, was attacked as he
returned by taxi to his home in Ica (300 kilometres south of the capital,
Lima).
Police officers happened to pass Arroyo Huamán’s home during the attack and
were able to capture two of the three assailants. However, twenty four hours
after they were detained, Arroyo Huamán’s attackers were released on a
promise to appear. They were released before the motive for the attack had
been determined. According to IPYS, early investigations show that the
assault may have been motivated by personal reasons, since one of the
assailants told Arroyo Huamán that he had “not shown respect for his lover.”
In the past few months, Arroyo Huamán (who also goes by the pseudonym Paul
Mayer), along with other journalists from Ica, had undertaken a news
campaign aimed at exposing irregularities which has allegedly occurred for
several years at the National University San Luis Gonzaga de Ica (UNICA). On
28 January 1999, Congress declared that UNICA was being reorganised and its
administrators were relieved of their functions. Based on this, Arroyo
Huamán’s theory regarding his attack should not be rejected: he believes
that the attack on him was ordered by persons loyal to UNICA’s rector,
Alejandro Encinas Fernández. According to information obtained by IPYS,
Encinas has the support of various governmental bodies.
This is not the first time that an attack against a journalist has been
attributed to UNICA administrators.
The Journalist’s Emergency Network has registered a complaint and is
checking out the story. To this end, a delegation of the Journalist’s
Emergency Network will travel to Ica in the coming days to interview Arroyo
Huamán as well as police and judicial authorities.
