(FLIP/IFEX) – The following is a 14 August 2006 FLIP press release: Jaime Garzón’s murder still unpunished seven years later Seven years after the 13 August 1999 murder of journalist and humourist Jaime Garzón in Bogotá, not one person is being detained for the crime. The only person found guilty of it was paramilitary commander […]
(FLIP/IFEX) – The following is a 14 August 2006 FLIP press release:
Jaime Garzón’s murder still unpunished seven years later
Seven years after the 13 August 1999 murder of journalist and humourist Jaime Garzón in Bogotá, not one person is being detained for the crime. The only person found guilty of it was paramilitary commander Carlos Castaño, whose whereabouts have been unknown since April 2004.
During the trial Juan Pablo Ortiz and Edilberto Sierra Ayala were detained as suspected of having carried out the murder. However, in March 2004 they were acquitted, on grounds that they had been framed by third parties.
During the investigation, several witnesses identified the paramilitary group United Self-Defence Groups of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, AUC) as responsible for the murder. One of them, a demobilised paramilitary leader, stated that Carlos Castaño, former AUC commander, had declared the journalist a military target. Castaño was sentenced to 38 years in prison for being the mastermind behind the murder. There have been contradictory reports regarding his death or departure from the country.
FLIP has sent a message of solidarity to Garzón’s family, friends and colleagues on the seventh anniversary of his murder. As expressed in its previous statements, FLIP is concerned that the murders of journalists in Colombia continue in impunity. Justice is the fundamental condition in order for freedom of the press to be fully exercised.
